An active paddler in Colorado and the West since 1990, Nathan grew up in the Boulder area and began his boating career racing C-1 slalom and OC-2 downriver. Nathan began guiding and instructing in 1993 in Colorado before relocating to Oregon where he received his Degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland. Nathan continued to teach and guide around the Northwest until he returned to Colorado in 1999 and turned his focus towards collaborative river conservation and watershed protection.

Nathan has worked for several years with federal and state agencies, national and statewide non-profits, and local community groups to protect river resources in western Colorado and throughout the state. Nathan is the former Executive Director of the San Miguel Watershed Coalition, and a Core Committee member of the Dolores River Watershed Coalition, both in Southwestern Colorado. He has also served on the Advisory Board of the SW Colorado Program of The Nature Conservancy, and the Colorado Watershed Assembly.

In 2005, Nathan received the William C. Kenney Foundation’s Leadership Grant award, a prestigious award supporting individuals working to address water resource issues in the western United States. With support from the River Network and the Kenney Foundation, Nathan has worked on grassroots community River Stewardship issues in the Uncompahgre River basin in southwest Colorado.

Since joining AW's Stewardship Team in 2007, Nathan has been actively engaged in Wild and Scenic Rivers management, Access, and Conservation across Colorado.

Nathan is a fifth generation Coloradoan and lives in Longmont, Colorado.