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Meet the Team

Missouri River Relief Staff

Jeff Barrow, Director

Jeff has been involved in clean water issues for years, from being a founding member of Show-Me Clean Streams and Missouri River Relief to his work at Greenbelt Land Trust. Through the years, he has served as a coordinator and board member of MRR. He is co-author of "From the Bottom Up - One Man's Crusade to Clean Up America's Rivers", the story of Chad Pregracke's Living Lands & Waters barge clean-up crew. Jeff has a deep love of the Missouri River, and is a two-time veteran of the Missouri River 340 Paddler's Race.

Steve Schnarr, Program Manager

Steve Schnarr lives in Columbia, Mo., a stone’s throw from the Missouri River. 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 is currently the Lower Reach Manager, Steve coordinates the River Relief crew, manages the website and communications and organizes clean-ups across the state.

Melanie Cheney, Assistant Program Manager

Melanie has been a volunteer crewmember with Missouri River Relief since 2002, working on clean-ups, special projects, and educational events. As an Americorps Stream Team Assistant she networked with Stream Teams in the area, developed education programs and helped coordinate events. She continues to do all of those things, as well as tighten up things in the office.

Jan Thompson, Office Manager

Jan Thompson is a semi-retired CPA and has done public accounting for 20 years. She spends her free time with her grandchildren, as well as gardening, hiking and biking, especially along the Katy Trail. She has always enjoyed lending her accounting expertise to non-profit causes and now serves on the board of First Chance for Children. In the past, she served as campaign treasurer for local Green Party elections. This is her eighth year managing the finances for Missouri River Relief.

John Brady, Fleet Manager

John Brady has been with us from the beginning, and served on the board of directors from 2001 - 2011.  An HVAC Technician by training and a former river 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 and the name has stuck. 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 Core 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 travelled up to help at a clean-up in Yankton, S.D.