River Relief

Home / About Us / Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Missouri River Relief Staff

Diverse skills in a group dedicated to the Missouri River

Steve Schnarr, Executive Director

Steve Schnarr lives in Columbia, Mo. His love for the river developed from years of exploring its waters by canoe. He was drawn to Missouri River Relief as a volunteer at local clean-ups, later serving as an event coordinator, MegaScout coordinator, MRR board member and for many years as Program Manager. He continues to help direct the organization and assist in planning several events. 

Josh McCarroll, Development Director

A long time Columbia resident, Josh graduated from Culver Stockton College with a BA in Communications. He worked for many years with the Missouri State Legislature. From politics, he moved to higher education fundraising, serving as the Assistant Director for Affinity Giving at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. Josh loves getting outdoors to go hiking and loves reading, primarily history and nonfiction. 

Melanie Cheney, Office Manager

Melanie has been a volunteer crewmember with Missouri River Relief since 2002, working on clean-ups, special projects, and educational events.  Hired as an Americorps Stream Team Assistant in 2007, she networked with Stream Teams in the area, developed education programs and helped coordinate events. She now manages the MRR office full time to keep the organization legal and the financials flowing. 

Kristen Schulte, Education Director

Kristen Schulte has over twelve years of experience in environmental education and a Master of Science in Natural Science Education and Environmental and Natural Resources.  Her passion for environmental education was first ignited during a trail crew in the North Cascades, WA.  Ever since this experience, she has felt a drive to connect people to the environment, while promoting stewardship.  In her role at MRR, she works to advance our mission of connecting people to the Missouri River with an emphasis on education.

Kevin Tosie, Operations Manager

Kevin Tosie first became interested in the Missouri River in 2015 after helping organize a clean-up with Missouri River Relief and two student organizations, Sustain Mizzou and the Student Environment Coalition of UMKC. Since then, he has been addicted to the Missouri River and all its beauty. After graduating from the University of Missouri - Columbia with a degree in forestry, he became MRR's full-time event coordinator, organizing clean-up events throughout the Lower Missouri River Region.

Anna Miller, AmeriCorps VISTA: Education Assistant

Anna lives in Rocheport and graduated from Truman State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and a robust minor in English. She was involved with several science and conservation-oriented organizations during her undergraduate years, including the Biology honor society Beta Beta Beta.  She enjoys spending weekends relaxing on or in the Missouri River, lounging with a book, obsessively collecting candles or relishing in both the successes and failures of her late night baking habit. 

 Katy Miller, Bookkeeper

Katy Miller participated in her first river clean up over 10 years ago and is committed to getting junk out of the river! When she’s not busy homeschooling, homesteading, and catching babies as a local homebirth midwife, she helps keep the River Relief office running smoothly managing paperwork and organizing financial information.

John Brady, Fleet Manager

John Brady has been with us from the beginning, and served on the board of directors from 2001 - 2011.  A former barge pilot, John knows all things river and the inner workings of the entire River Relief machine.  The boats are purring and the captains are competent to run the river largely because of this man.  Whether meticulously tinkering on boats in his spare time or sharing bits of wisdom around the fire, John Brady is the spark plug of our crew.

“Racin” Dave Stevens, Mechanic

Dave Stevens, a.k.a Racin’ Dave has been River Relief’s equipment and logistics coordinator, operator and mechanic, as well as one of the “hard core” volunteers of every cleanup since 2001. He gets his name from road racing motorcycles across the country for 11 years. With at least 25 years of working on boats and jet ski’s under his belt, and a PhD in Harley Davidson mechanics, Dave can operate and work on anything from tractors to boats to motorcycles, and the man runs a mean chop-saw.

Missouri River Relief Crew

We would be nothing without our homegrown, grassroots crew of volunteers. From motorcycle mechanics and chefs to ecologists and government officials, this growing group of clean-up “addicts” loves to work hard and play hard. What binds them together is a shared love for the Missouri River.

Our crew puts in countless hours each year planning, training and putting on events across five states of the Missouri River.

The Missouri River Relief crew at the 2018 Great Rivers Clean-up at the Confluence.