MEET THE STAFF
Find a staff member by program in our staff directory.
Or jump to a staff member alphabetically by last name: A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z
Katrina A., IT Technician and Licensing Specialist
Katrina (she/her) works on the Center’s information technology team. Prior to joining the Center, Katrina worked as an IT technician at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. She holds an associate's degree from Red Rocks Community College. In her free time, Katrina volunteers for the National Park Service removing invasive plant species.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.867.6657, email Katrina
Collette Adkins, Carnivore Conservation Director, Senior Attorney
Collette (she/her) leads the Carnivore Conservation program, where she focuses on combating exploitation and cruel treatment of wolves and other rare wildlife. Collette received her law degree from the University of Minnesota, where she also earned a master's degree in wildlife conservation. Before joining the Center, she was in private practice, where her pro bono work focused on preservation of endangered species and their habitats. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable John R. Tunheim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Contact: Minneapolis, MN, 651.955.3821, email Collette
Rose Marie Akacha, Junior Accountant
Rose Marie (she/her) helps handle receivables for the Center’s administration team. Prior to joining the Center, Rose Marie worked as an accountant and cashier at the Buea Police Credit Union. She holds an accounting diploma from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 300, email Rose Marie
Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies Director, Senior Northern Rockies Attorney
Kristine (she/her) leads the Center's Northern Rockies program, where she focuses on safeguarding the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and beauty of the Northern Rockies region. Prior to joining the Center in 2020, Kristine worked in private practice representing public-interest environmental nonprofits to protect and land, water and air in the Northwest. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Northern Arizona University and a law degree from the University of Montana.
Contact: Missoula, MT, email Kristine
Taylor Allen, Online and Social Fundraising Director
Taylor (she/her) works on the Center’s development team sharing stories to help build community and support for our work. Before she came to us, she was head of Creative for Logitech and a lead strategist on the award-winning Song Breaker Awards; she also produced a Superbowl commercial and ran a partner program with influencers in the 10 million+ follower range. Taylor holds a degree in theatre from the University of Southern California, where she was her class's commencement speaker.
Contact: 512.740.2445, email Taylor
Ileene Anderson, Deserts Director, Senior Scientist
Ileene (she/her) works in the Urban Wildlands program to conserve animals and plants and their habitats in the deserts, mountains and urban wildland interface of Southern and Central California. Ileene's project areas include lands in the California deserts and mountains, the Santa Ana River Watershed, the Santa Clara River watershed, and the inland empire of Southern California and Central California, among other places. She holds a master's in biology from California State Northridge.
Contact:
Los Angeles, CA,
323.490.0223,
email Ileene
Twitter: @andersonileene
Amy (she/her) strategizes and litigates high-priority cases for species conservation. Before joining the Center in 2007, Amy worked as a staff attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center and as an associate attorney for Meyer & Glitzenstein (now Eubanks & Associates). She earned her law degree in 2000 from Vermont Law School and received a bachelor's in political science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
503.283.5474,
email Amy
Twitter: @atwood55
Justin Augustine, Senior Attorney
Justin (he/him) works on endangered species and forest issues. Justin graduated with a bachelor of science in earth systems from Stanford University and completed his law degree at Lewis and Clark Law School. Prior to law school, Justin was employed as a wildlife biologist and has worked on projects in the San Bernardino Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness Areas.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 302, email Justin
Sarah (she/her) works in the Climate Law Institute to combat oil and gas pollution in New Mexico. Prior to joining the Center full-time, Sarah worked as a Law Clerk at the Center, Our Children’s Trust, and Greenpeace International. She holds a law degree from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact: Gardiner, NY, email Sarah
Laurent Baig, Senior Software Engineer
Laurent (he/him) works on software in the Center's IT program. Prior to joining the Center, Laurent worked as a freelance software developer, as a yoga instructor and yoga studio manager at Tucson Yoga, and as a member of technical staff for Rincon Research Corp. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Laurent
Drew (he/him) works in the Center’s Endangered Species program. He graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School, where he spent his summers clerking at Earthrise Law Center and Midwest Environmental Advocates. Prior to attending law school, Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Michigan.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Drew
Vanessa Barchfield, Senior Media Specialist
Vanessa (she/her) works on communications for the Center's regional conservation programs across the Southwest, the Great Basin and the Rockies, as well as for the Center's oil and gas campaigns in New Mexico. Before joining the team, she worked in local government and spent seven years as a reporter and producer at Arizona Public Media, the NPR and PBS station in southern Arizona. Vanessa holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. She has lived in Brazil, India and Austria.
Contact:
Tucson, AZ,
520.867.6686,
email Vanessa
Twitter: @Vbarchfield
Harrison (he/him) works in the Urban Wildlands program to protect habitat and species from urban sprawl. Prior to joining the Center, Harrison worked as an associate attorney at Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group, a private, public-interest environmental law firm, and as an associate attorney at the Sierra Club. He holds a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School, where he earned a certificate in environmental and natural resources law, and a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and political science from Macalester College.
Contact: email Harrison
Dan Becker, Director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign
Dan (he/him) works in the Climate Law Institute. Dan began his career at Environmental Action, MassPIRG and Public Citizen’s Congress Watch and fought in Congress for the Clean Air Act, CAFE standards, Superfund and other responsible energy policies. He led the clean-car fight, beginning in 1989, as director of Sierra Club’s Global Warming and Energy Program and then as director of the Safe Climate Campaign. He helped win and defend the Obama Clean Car Standard and has been named one of the world’s 28 “Climate Heroes” by Rolling Stone magazine and Salon.com. Dan is a graduate of Northeastern University Law School and Hamilton College.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.494.5577, email Dan
Malia Becker, Population and Sustainability Associate Organizer
Malia (she/her) works in the Population and Sustainability program leading creative outreach and organizing campaigns at the intersection of human population pressure, overconsumption, and the wildlife extinction crisis. She manages two campaigns focused on alternative economies and reproductive rights: Simplify the Holidays and Endangered Species Condoms. Before joining the Center, Malia worked in healthcare patient access and administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College in geography and public health.
Contact: Portland, OR, 971.717.6415, email Malia
Lisa (she/they) works on protecting rare and endangered species and their habitats under state and federal law. Lisa holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a bachelor's in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Before joining the Center in 2005, she was in private practice focusing on environmental law and employee-benefits litigation.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 307, email Lisa
Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean Director, Senior Attorney
Elise (she/her) advocates for endangered species and wild places in Florida and the Caribbean. Born and raised in Florida, she holds a law degree and a certificate of concentration in environmental law from Stetson University College of Law and a bachelor's degree in environmental science and policy from the University of South Florida. Before joining the Center’s Florida and Caribbean program, Elise focused on protecting rare amphibians and reptiles in the eastern United States.
Contact: St. Petersburg, FL, 727.755.6950, email Elise
Kate Bermúdez-Goldman, Chief People Services Officer, Chair for the Center's JEDAI Committee
Kate (she/they) works on all matters related to the employee life cycle at the Center. Prior to joining us, she worked as director of human resources for national companies such as Buffalo Exchange and Tetakawi. She is the past president of the Society of Human Resource Management of Greater Tucson’s executive board and served as director of advocacy for the LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Kate holds a bachelor of science in environmental economics and a master's in international business.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 327, email Kate
Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, Staff Attorney
Victoria (she/her) works as part of the Climate Law Institute to fight false climate solutions such as carbon capture and storage, as well as polluting industries such as petrochemicals and biomass energy. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as an associate attorney with Earthjustice, where her role included litigating toxic chemical regulations and assisting overburdened communities in advancing environmental justice. She holds a law degree from U.C. Davis School of Law.
Contact:
Oakland, CA,
510.844.7103 ext. 303,
email Victoria
Twitter: @v_bogg
Ellie Bowen, Lawyers for America Legal Fellow
Ellie (she/her) works as a legal fellow in the Environmental Health program. She is a third-year law student at UC Law San Francisco. Ellie previously clerked with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and has worked on environmental enforcement matters in both public and private practice. Prior to law school, she served with AmeriCorps in positions dedicated to advancing equity and justice in marginalized communities.
Contact: email Ellie
Curt Bradley, Senior Scientist, GIS Specialist
Curt (he/him) assists Center campaigns with Geographic Information Systems analyses and cartography. He holds a master's in watershed hydrology and a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona. He was a GIS specialist at the Sky Island Alliance before joining the Center.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 410, email Curt
Brady Bradshaw, Senior Oceans Campaigner
Brady (he/him) builds and executes campaigns to phase out offshore oil and gas drilling and fracking. Prior to joining the Center, Brady worked for Oceana defending against Trump’s drill-everywhere campaign, phasing out driftnets and longlines off California’s coast, and building support for a federal ban on the sale of shark fins. He graduated from UNC Wilmington with honors in marine biology and has coauthored work in the Global Atlas of Marine Fisheries.
Contact: email Brady
Peter Broderick, Urban Wildlands Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Peter (he/him) works in the Center’s Urban Wildlands program to oppose sprawl development and protect habitat and species in the wildland-urban interface. Peter also has experience advising community groups on local land-use initiatives; opposing oil and gas development; and defending protective land-use, public-health, and safety regulations. Peter received his law degree from Stanford Law School and his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 503.283.5474 ext. 421, email Peter
Ann Brown, Open Government Coordinator
Ann (she/her) works with all the Center’s programs to mandate government transparency by submitting and facilitating records requests to state and federal agencies. Ann holds a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor’s in women’s studies from Denison University. Before joining the Center, she worked with a civil litigator in Boston, wrote grants for numerous reproductive-rights organizations, and was a safety-planning advocate for people impacted by domestic violence.
Contact: Portland, OR, 971.717.6412, email Ann
Sarah Brown, Northern Rockies Staff Attorney
Sarah (she/her) works in the Northern Rockies program to protect and restore the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the region’s iconic landscapes. Prior to joining the Center, Sarah worked as a trial attorney for the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Wyoming in Yellowstone National Park. She earned her law degree in 2018 from the University of Montana School of Law and received a bachelor’s in political science from West Virginia University in 2014.
Contact: Missoula, MT, email Sarah
Chris Bugbee, Southwest Conservation Advocate
Chris (he/him) is a field ecologist who specializes in wildlife conservation. He has worked with a diversity of taxa across a wide range of ecosystems, from crocodilians and pythons in the Everglades to mammalian predators like bears and wild cats. Prior to joining the Center, where he works on protecting habitat for imperiled native species, Chris conducted research on borderlands wildlife, including endangered jaguars and ocelots. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary ecology, with a focus on wildlife conservation, from the University of Florida.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 305.498.9112, email Chris
Lori Ann Burd, Environmental Health Program Director, Senior Attorney
Lori Ann (she/her) directs the Center's efforts to protect all species, including humans, from the harmful effects of toxic substances. She earned her bachelor's at Colorado College and her law degree at Lewis and Clark. Before joining the Center she worked as a staff attorney and campaign manager for Bark, defenders of Mt. Hood National Forest, as well as the National Wildlife Federation, focusing on mountaintop-removal coal mining and tar sands pipelines, and the Center for Food Safety, focusing on pesticides and industrial agriculture. She serves on the board of the Crag Law Center.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
971.717.6405,
email Lori Ann
Twitter: @loriannburd
John Buse, General Counsel, Legal Director
John (he/him) coordinates the Center's legal work and handles cases involving endangered species conservation and land use. Before joining the Center in 2005, John worked for the Environmental Defense Center in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. John received a law degree from the University of California Davis School of Law, a master's in biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a bachelor's degree in the history, philosophy, and social studies of science and medicine from the University of Chicago.
Contact: John, 323.533.4416, email John
Shay Cameron Mar, Development Operations Associate
Shay (he/him) works on data management, analysis, and reporting for the Center's development team. Prior to joining the Center, Shay provided operations and data support for Youth On Their Own (a Tucson-based organization helping youth who are experiencing homelessness), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Shay holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, a bachelor's degree in linguistics from the University of Arizona, and a BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Design.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 474, email Shay
Kara (she/her) works on GIS analyses, cartography and web mapping to assist various Center campaigns. She holds a Master of Science in geographic information systems technology and Bachelor of Science in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 317, email Kara
Scout Coberg, Lawyers for America Legal Fellow
Scout (she/her) works as a legal fellow in the Urban Wildlands program and the Climate Law Institute. She's a third-year law student at UC Law San Francisco and has previously clerked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, working on Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement actions.
Contact: email Scout
Lia Comerford, Senior Attorney
Lia (she/her) uses the law to protect imperiled species and their habitats as part of the Center's Endangered Species program. Prior to joining the Center, Lia worked as an attorney and adjunct professor at Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School, where she litigated cases on behalf of nonprofit environmental organizations under many of the major federal environmental laws. She holds a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School and a bachelor's degree in history from American University.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Lia
Hannah Connor, Environmental Health Deputy Director and Senior Attorney
Hannah (she/her) works in the Center's Environmental Health program to protect endangered species, waterways, workers and communities from toxic threats like pesticides, factory farms and destructive mining operations. Before joining the Center, she worked as a staff attorney in the Animal Protection Litigation section of the Humane Society of the United States; before that she worked as a staff attorney for the Waterkeeper Alliance. She holds a law degree from Vermont Law School and a bachelor of science from Boston College.
Contact: Richmond, VA, 202.681.1676, email Hannah
Camila (she/her) works in the Center’s Endangered Species program. She was formerly a farmworker attorney at the Oregon Law Center’s Farmworker Program. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, an LL.M in animal law from Lewis & Clark Law School and a bachelor's in creative writing from the University of Houston.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Camila
Maggie Coulter, Senior Attorney
Maggie (she/her) works at the Center’s Climate Law Institute on federal oil and gas issues. Before joining the Center, she worked as an environmental advocate for various nonprofit organizations, including American Forests, Defenders of Wildlife, Hudson Riverkeeper, and the public interest environmental law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLC. Maggie also worked as a senior fellow at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Obama and holds a law degree and master’s degree in global environmental policy from American University, as well as bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and political science from the University of California Irvine.
Contact: Washington, DC, email Maggie
Colin (he/him) works with the Climate Law Institute combating oil and gas pollution in New Mexico. Prior to joining the Center, Colin worked as a staff attorney at Environmental Integrity Project and Lone Star Legal Aid, where he fought air pollution and environmental injustice created by oil and gas companies from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast. He holds a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Rice University.
Contact: Santa Fe, NM, 832.316.0580, email Colin
Howard Crystal, Energy Justice Program Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Howard (he/him) oversees the Energy Justice program’s litigation promoting a clean energy transition, including fighting against both utility obstacles to distributed energy and centralized control of energy resources. He has spent his career in private and public-interest practice litigating environmental and wildlife protection, public health, safe energy and open government cases. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993 and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.849.8401 ext. 102, email Howard
Brendan Cummings, Conservation Director
Brendan (he/him) joined the Center in 1998. A graduate of Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, Brendan has litigated dozens of Endangered Species Act cases, as well as cases under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Clean Water Act and numerous other state and federal statutes. Prior to working for the Center, Brendan was in private practice specializing in environmental and civil-rights litigation.
Contact: Joshua Tree, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 341, email Brendan
Tierra Curry, Endangered Species Codirector, Senior Scientist
Tierra (she/her) focuses on building a movement to end extinction. She leads our Saving Life on Earth campaign, working nationally with individuals and groups in support of celebrating and protecting biodiversity. Prior to joining the Center in 2007 she worked as an amphibian field biologist, environmental educator and community organizer. She holds a bachelor's in English from Berea College and a master's in biology from Portland State University.
Contact:
Somerset, KY,
928.522.3681,
email Tierra
Twitter: @TierraMussel
Miranda Daviduk, Social Media Strategist
Miranda (she/her) oversees the Center's social media strategy and content. Previously she worked on the Center's development team focusing on digital fundraising and acquisition. She holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from the University of Delaware and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.
Contact: Corvallis, OR, email Miranda
Georgia Davis, Paralegal and Research Specialist
Georgia (she/her) works in the Center's Environmental Health program. Prior to joining the Center, she worked with Earthrise Law Center, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a summer ranger, and as a lab technician in an insect cryobiology lab. Georgia holds a bachelor's degree in natural resource management from North Dakota State University and a master's from the Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program at Lewis & Clark.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Georgia
Danica Davison, Membership Associate
Danica (she/her) provides support by answering emails, processing donations and helping with the Center's membership databases. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as a museum curator/project archivist at Western Archaeological Conservation Center, National Park Service through the University of Arizona. She holds a master’s in library and information science from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s in political science from Arizona State University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Danica
Fabiola Delgado, Digital Production Associate
Fabiola (she/her) works in the Digital program supporting actions, SMS campaigns and webinars. She received a bachelor's degree in anthropology, with a focus in archaeology, at the University of Arizona. Before joining the Center, Fabiola worked as an intern at Saguaro National Park.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252, email Fabiola
Kelley Dennings, Senior Campaigner
Kelley (she/her) works in the Population and Sustainability program developing and executing advocacy and outreach initiatives addressing the connections between reproductive health, gender equity, endless growth, inequitable consumption, and the climate and extinction crises. Prior to the Center, she worked in waste management and forest conservation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resources from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of South Florida. She is a family-planning counselor and certified in public health, social marketing and project management. She is a board member of the National Women's Health Network and a co-chair of the American Public Health Association, Sexual and Reproductive Health Section, Contraception Task Force.
Contact: Jacksonville, FL, 919.355.8102, email Kelley
David (he/him) is an attorney in the Oceans program, working to protect marine life and ecosystems. David started his legal career as a litigator at a global law firm, and he joins the Center after stints at Marine Conservation Institute and Advocates for the West. David received his JD from the University of California at Berkeley and his LLM in environmental law from UCLA. He has undergraduate degrees in economics and environmental sciences.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7135, email David
Aidan DeWitt, Senior Content Producer
Aidan (he/they) works as a video producer, graphic designer, and copywriter for the development team to tell the captivating stories of the Center's hard work. Prior to joining the Center, Aidan worked as a freelance video editor. They hold a B.S. in multidisciplinary studies from the University of Oklahoma.
Contact: Texas, 520.867.6745 ext. 558, email Aidan
Emily Diaz-Loar, Staff Scientist, Staff Scientist
Emily (she/her) works with the Center's Climate Law Institute. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the University of North Carolina Asheville and is about to complete her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her graduate work focuses on the political economy of plastics production and policy and has contributed to the United Nations plastics treaty negotiations and other environmental policy efforts in the United States and globally.
Contact: Northampton, MA, 828.230.9471, email Emily
Tala DiBenedetto, Staff Attorney
Tala (she/her) works in the Center's Carnivore Conservation program with a focus on carnivore protection. Prior to joining the Center, she served as litigation counsel at the PETA Foundation, where she worked on Endangered Species Act cases against roadside zoos. Tala received her J.D. and advanced certificate in environmental law from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
Contact: Brooklyn, NY, 718.874.6734 ext. 555, email Tala
Kim Dinan, Senior Media Specialist
Kim (she/her) works on communications for the Center’s Population and Sustainability program. Before joining us she worked as a freelance journalist for nearly a decade and in recycling, waste reduction and sustainability for Marion County, Oregon and the city of Portland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Ohio University.
Ivan Ditmars, Associate Attorney
Ivan (he/him) works as an associate attorney with the Government Affairs Program. He studied law at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, where he also served as co-editor-in-chief of the UC Law Environmental Journal. Ivan has previously clerked for California Rural Legal Assistance, for the California Air Resources Board, for the San Francisco City Attorney’s office, and for the Center as a Lawyers for America Legal Fellow.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100, email Ivan
Nathan Donley, Environmental Health Science Director
Nathan (he/him) works with the Environmental Health program on issues surrounding the increasing exposure of both people and wildlife to toxins. Before joining the Center, he worked as a scientific researcher in the Oregon Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology, studying the links between exposure to environmental toxicants and cancer. He holds a doctoral degree in cell and developmental biology from Oregon Health and Sciences University.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
971.717.6406,
email Nathan
Twitter: @Nathan_Donley
Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin Director
Patrick (he/him) works to defend the wildlife and wild places of Nevada and surrounding desert regions, with a focus on endemic species and groundwater resources. Patrick spent over a decade leading young people in hands-on conservation work and on extended outdoor education trips. He has led campaigns to protect national monuments, stop inappropriate energy development, and prevent overappropriation of scarce desert water. Patrick has a bachelor's in environmental science and policy from the University of California Berkeley.
Contact:
Las Vegas, NV,
702.483.0449,
email Patrick
Twitter: @bitterwaterblue
Dianne DuBois, Staff Scientist
Dianne (she/her) works to protect wildlife and wildlands outside U.S. borders in the International program. She holds a bachelor’s in biology from Westfield State University and a master’s in environmental studies, with a concentration in conservation biology, from Antioch University. Before joining the Center she studied reforestation in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica and worked as an environmental educator in western Massachusetts.
Contact: email Dianne
Cynthia Elkins, Senior Paralegal
Cynthia (she/her) received her paralegal certificate from Humboldt State University in 2012 and a bachelor of arts in communication from the University of Alabama in 1993. She co-directed the news department at public radio station KMUD, was a staff reporter for a Northern California newspaper, and worked as the litigation and program director for the Environmental Protection Information Center. She joined the Center's staff in 2015 after working as a contracting paralegal.
Contact: email Cynthia
Laura Enriquez, Development Associate
Laura (she/her) provides support to the donor relations team doing research and communication with Leadership Circle members. A Tucson native, she worked in Democratic politics for nine years prior to joining the Center. Her career politics included field work, fundraising and campaign management. After serving as statewide field director for the pro-choice democratic committee Arizona List, she led outreach efforts for the successful re-elections of Tucson City Council Member Regina Romero and managed the campaigns of several state representatives.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.358.3331, email Laura
Gail Evans, New Mexico Climate Director, Senior Attorney
Gail (she/they) works in the Climate Law Institute addressing oil and gas extraction and pollution in New Mexico. Before joining the Center, she worked with frontline communities, Indigenous peoples and youth to develop legal strategies to hold the state of New Mexico accountable for the impacts of oil and gas pollution. For 14 years, Gail served as the legal director of the NM Center on Law and Poverty. She holds a law degree from the University of New Mexico and an LLM from Georgetown University.
Contact: Albuquerque, NM, email Gail
Jonathan Evans, Environmental Health Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Jonathan (he/him) works to protect imperiled wildlife from the threats of environmental contamination and reduce the toxic threats of pesticides, heavy metals and chemical pollution in our environment. Jonathan received his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law and a bachelor's degree in conservation and resource studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining the Center, Jonathan worked at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation managing ecosystem restoration grants. He also brings to the Center a background in the field of outdoor education as a naturalist and guide throughout California.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 318, email Jonathan
Mark Evans, Senior Database Administrator and Developer
Mark (he/him) develops and supports the Center’s databases to empower staff to accomplish data-intensive tasks. Before joining the Center, he worked for Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse as their sole IT staff and database developer. Mark came to us with more than 20 years of experience developing databases for small and medium-sized companies, engineering and managing IT infrastructure, server administration, and development and management of virtualized data centers. He has called Tucson home for nearly 30 years.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252, email Mark
Donald (he/him) works in the Center’s Great Basin program. He graduated from Boston College Law School, where he reached the finals of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition and taught an undergraduate course in environmental law and policy. He also completed externships at the Offices of the United States Attorneys and the International Legal Foundation.
Contact: Las Vegas, NV, email Donald
Keenan Falk, Endpoint and Security Administrator
Keenan (he/him) works on the Center’s Information Technology team. Keenan came to the Center from the Tucson Unified School District, where he worked as an IT field technician. Keenan has experience in network and server administration, as well as virtual machine management. His former positions range from pyrotechnician for a local stunt show to fire-equipment inspector.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.867.6656, email Keenan
Stephanie Feldstein, Population and Sustainability Director
Stephanie (she/her) leads the Center's work to highlight and address threats to endangered species and wild places from human population pressure, unsustainable food systems, and overconsumption. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and has more than 20 years of experience in organizing, outreach, and communications, with a focus on animals and the environment. Stephanie is the author of The Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World and more than a dozen books for children on wildlife, the extinction crisis, and how humans impact the planet.
Contact: Portland, OR, 971.717.6423, email Stephanie
Elise (she/her) works in the Public Lands program helping to protect species and habitat. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography from California State University Stanislaus, with a minor in environmental and resource studies, and received a law degree from John F. Kennedy University. Before joining the Center, Elise was involved in public-interest work and volunteered with nonprofit organizations dedicated to social justice, the fair treatment of animals, and protecting the environment.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 306, email Elise
Marc Fink, Public Lands Law Center Director, Senior Attorney
Marc (he/him) oversees litigation in the Center's Public Lands program. His docket includes a variety of endangered species and public-lands cases across the country. Marc graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law, and received a bachelor's in political science from Florida Atlantic University. Before joining the Center in 2007, he worked as a staff attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center.
Contact:
Duluth, MN,
218.464.0539,
email Marc
Twitter: @Marcdf
John Fleming, Senior Scientist
John (he/him) works with the Center's Climate Law Institute. He graduated with a bachelor's in geosciences and a certificate in environmental studies from Princeton University and received a PhD in geological sciences from the University of Southern California. During his time at USC, John conducted research exploring the links between aspects of climate change and biological oxygen demand in marine waters off the Los Angeles coast.
Contact:
Los Angeles, CA,
213.785.5403,
email John
Twitter: @CFlemingJohn
Grace Foulds, Senior Development Operations Associate
Grace (she/her) works in the Center's development program, supporting systems and managing data in our planned-giving and grants work. Prior to joining the Center, Grace worked on the membership and development team at the British Ecological Society. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Cardiff University and a master's in ecology and evolutionary biology from Queen Mary University of London.
Contact: Chicago, IL, 520.867.6746, email Grace
Cooper Freeman, Alaska Director
Cooper (he/him) works to protect Alaska’s wildlife, lands and oceans. Before joining the Center, he worked with Alaskan Native Tribes and Tribal organizations as a strategic planning facilitator and policy advisor, was program manager and development director at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Northern California, and professionally guided class V river expeditions around the globe. Cooper holds a master’s in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School and a bachelor's in environmental history from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Contact: Homer, AK, 907.531.0703, email Cooper
Peter Galvin, Director of Programs
Peter (he/him) is a founder of the Center. He holds a bachelor's from Prescott College and a master's degree from Norwich University. Peter helps coordinate the Center's legal actions and campaigns, assists in the formulation of organizational policy and strategy, and serves on the Center's leadership team. Before working for the Center, he worked as a contract wildlife researcher for the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department. A longtime environmental activist, Peter is a member of the Science Oversight Team for the Global Owl Project and serves on the board of directors of the Mattole Restoration Council.
Contact: Shelter Cove, CA, 707.986.2600, email Peter
Scott Gilman, Membership Director
Scott (he/him) works on our development team focusing on email and digital fundraising. Before joining us he helped other nonprofits with online strategy development; served as director of online communications at the National Center for Learning Disabilities; and was assistant director for Internet initiatives at what is now the Jewish Federations of North America. He holds a master's in media studies from The New School, a bachelor's in literature from Columbia University and a bachelor's in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Contact: Louisville, KY, 917.886.2770, email Scott
J.W. Glass, EPA Policy Specialist
J.W. (he/him) works with our Government Affairs and Environmental Health programs. Prior to joining the Center, J.W. worked as a law clerk at the Environmental Protection Agency and a research assistant at the University of Florida’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a juris doctor from the University of Florida with a certificate in environmental and land-use law.
Contact: Washington, DC, 813.833.5301, email J.W.
Eric Glitzenstein, Director of Litigation
Eric (he/him) oversees and coordinates litigation strategy for the Center. Before joining us he was the cofounder and managing partner of the public-interest law firm Meyer & Glitzenstein in Washington, D.C. Before that he worked for the Public Citizen Litigation Group. He holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.849.8401 ext. 109, email Eric
Maya Golden-Krasner, Climate Deputy Director, Senior Attorney
Maya (she/her) helps operate the Center's Climate Law Institute. Before joining the Center, Maya was a staff attorney for Communities for a Better Environment, where she advocated for environmental justice in California's low-income communities of color. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the UCLA School of Law, where she has taught environmental justice law and California environmental law. Maya has a law degree from the UCLA School of Law, a master's degree in U.S. environmental and legal history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Washington.
Contact: Los Angeles, CA, 213.785.5402, email Maya
Ben Goloff, Senior Climate Campaigner
Ben (he/him) works with the Climate Law Institute supporting communities and organizations across the country organizing for transformative action to end the era of fossil fuels, address the climate emergency, and advance environmental justice. He earned a master’s degree in environmental governance from the University of Oxford and studied biology, environmental justice and climate politics at Swarthmore College.
Contact: Washington, DC, email Ben
Marlee Goska, Alaska Staff Attorney
Marlee (she/her) works to protect Alaska’s wildlife, lands, and oceans. Prior to joining the Center, she was an attorney in the Western Environmental Law Center’s wildlands and wildlife program and a subsistence law and policy fellow with the Alaska Federation of Natives. Marlee also worked on climate resilience with remote Alaska Native villages; she holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.S. from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Contact: Anchorage, AK, 907.931.4775, email Marlee
Zeynep Graves, Senior Attorney
Zeynep (she/her) works in the Center's Public Lands program with a focus on protecting California's desert region and adjacent areas. Prior to joining the Center, Zeynep worked as the associate director of litigation at the PETA Foundation. She holds a law degree with a certificate in environmental law from Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law and a bachelor's in political science from Brock University.
Contact: Yucca Valley, CA, 510.844.7160, email Zeynep
Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Codirector
Noah (he/him) directs the Center's efforts to protect new species under the Endangered Species Act, to ensure that imperiled species receive effective protections and that we have the strongest Endangered Species Act possible. He also works to educate the public about the importance of protecting biodiversity and about the multitude of threats to the survival of North American wildlife. He holds a bachelor of science in ecology from the Evergreen State College and a master's in forest ecology and conservation from the University of Washington. Before he joined the Center in 1997, Noah worked as a field biologist, surveying northern spotted owls and marbled murrelets and banding Hawaiian songbirds.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
503.484.7495,
email Noah
Twitter: @Noah_Ark_757
Rey Grivois, Social Media Associate
Rey (they/them) supports the curation of the Center's social media platforms and oversees community moderation. Before joining the Digital team, they worked with the Development team on fundraising to support our programs. And prior to joining the Center, Rey worked in marketing at the Providence Animal Rescue League and The Providence Journal. They hold a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Johnson & Wales University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.345.5714, email Rey
Ben Grundy, Associate Oceans Campaigner
Ben (he/him) works in the Center's Oceans program to protect whales and other marine species from fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes. Prior to joining the Center, Ben worked as a conservation associate at Environment California, where he campaigned to expand California's network of marine protected areas and eliminate the use of toxic pesticides that harm bees and other pollinators. He holds bachelor's degrees in environmental science and political science from Santa Clara University.
Contact:
Oakland, CA,
email Ben
Twitter: @AdvocateBG
Will Harlan, Southeast Director, Senior Scientist
Will (he/him) works in the Endangered Species program. Prior to joining the Center, Will worked for Sierra Club protecting forests and indigenous lands. He also wrote a national bestselling book Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island, and his work has appeared in The New York Times and National Geographic. He holds a master’s in biology from Clemson University and a master’s in English from Emory University.
Contact:
Asheville, NC,
828.230.6818,
email Will
Twitter: @WillHarlanHuman
Brett Hartl, Government Affairs Director
Brett (he/him) coordinates the Center's work on federal legislative issues that affect endangered species, public lands, oceans, climate and energy. He holds a bachelor's from Prescott College in conservation biology and a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. Before law school, Brett spent five years as a field biologist working with endangered species in the northwest Hawaiian Islands, Kauai and Southern California. Prior to joining the Center, Brett worked in the House Natural Resources Committee for the Democratic staff and was the senior policy fellow at the Society for Conservation Biology.
Contact:
Washington,
202.817.8121,
email Brett
Twitter: @brett_hartl
Allison Henderson, Southern Rockies Director, Senior Attorney
Allison (she/her) focuses on resisting attacks on public lands. She worked for High Country Conservation Advocates before joining the Center, safeguarding Gunnison County public lands from mining, fracking, logging and unsustainable off-road vehicle use. She has also worked in energy and conservation law representing clients in Freedom of Information Act and National Environmental Policy Act cases; she holds a law degree from the University of Colorado.
Contact: Crested Butte, CO, 970.309.2008, email Allison
Beth Hickey, Donor Relations Director
Beth (she/her) is part of the Center’s development team, managing donor-relations efforts and supporting Leadership Circle outreach. Previously she worked as the director of annual giving at Northern Arizona University and the senior manager of philanthropy at the Grand Canyon Conservancy; before going into development she was an archaeologist specializing in paleoethnobotany and held various museum positions. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology from Northern Arizona University, where she studied Southwest archaeology.
Contact: Flagstaff, AZ, 520.345.5703, email Beth
Makennah Horn, People Services Compliance Specialist
Makennah (she/her) helps ensure the Center is in compliance with all city, state, and federal employment laws and supports the Center’s human resources staff. Prior to joining the Center, Makennah worked as an HR specialist at Buffalo Exchange. She holds a bachelor of science in liberal arts from Northern Arizona University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252, email Makennah
Karuna Jaggar, Climate Campaign Director
Karuna (she/they) wages strategic, grassroots public-pressure campaigns to win the structural changes needed to advance climate and energy justice. Prior to joining the Center, Karuna served for a decade as the executive director for the independent health justice watchdog Breast Cancer Action. She spent the first half of her career working for economic and racial justice, including as the East Bay executive director for Women’s Initiative for Self Employment. She holds a master’s in economic and political geography from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor's degree from Smith College. Karuna is also an alumna of LeaderSpring and The Dr. Beatriz Maria Soliz Policy Institute.
Contact:
Oakland, CA,
email Karuna
Twitter: @karunajaggar
Emily Jeffers, Senior Attorney
Emily (she/her) works in the Center's Oceans program. Emily graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and received her bachelor's degree in biology from Yale University. Before joining the Center, Emily served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr. of the Colorado Supreme Court and worked as a wildlife biologist in California and Idaho.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 309, email Emily
Lavran Johnson, Staff Attorney
Lavran (he/him) works with the Climate Law Institute combating oil and gas pollution in New Mexico. Prior to joining the Center, he clerked for the Honorable Laura Fashing in the District of New Mexico and worked as a law clerk for the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center and U.S. Department of Justice. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in philosophy and outdoor education from the University of Redlands.
Contact: New Mexico, email Lavran
Natalie Jones, Media Specialist
Natalie (she/her) works on media relations and communications for the Center’s Oceans and International programs. Previously she worked for many years as a freelance reporter and audio producer. She has a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Scripps College in Claremont, CA.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.418.0179, email Natalie
Laiken Jordahl, Southwest Conservation Advocate
Laiken (he/him) works to protect wildlife, ecosystems, and public lands throughout the desert Southwest and U.S-Mexico borderlands. Before joining the Center, Laiken worked with the National Park Service studying threats to wilderness character at five different national parks and monuments and with the Bureau of Land Management on recreation planning for the San Juan River. He has also worked as a natural resource legislative fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Contact:
Tucson, AZ,
928.525.4433,
email Laiken
Twitter: @LaikenJordahl
Dipika Kadaba, Senior Environmental Scientist and Communicator
Dipika (she/her) is an ecologist who works through data visualization to communicate on environmental science issues for the Center's programs. She began her career as a veterinarian researching environmental epidemiology, studied conservation in Duke's Master of Environmental Management program, and now uses technology and design for interdisciplinary communication.
Contact:
Tucson, AZ,
512.217.1681,
email Dipika
Twitter: @DipikaKadaba
Cooper (he/him) works at the Center's Climate Law Institute on oil and gas issues in California. Before joining the Center, Cooper was an associate attorney at Angel Law, a boutique public-interest environmental and land-use law firm. He holds a law degree, with an environmental law specialization, from the UCLA School of Law. He also holds a bachelor's degree in biology from UCLA.
Contact: Los Angeles, CA, 805.624.0835, email Cooper
John Kawaky, Network and Security Engineer
John (he/him) works on the Information Technology team as a network and security engineer. Prior to joining the Center, John held IT positions for various organizations, including the U.S. Navy, the Girl Scouts of America, Intel, and most recently as the network administrator and HIPAA security officer for the Cedarcrest Center in Keene, New Hampshire.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.867.6643, email John
Leah Kelly, Food and Agriculture Policy Specialist
Leah (she/her) works in the Population and Sustainability program to develop and implement policies that will foster a just, healthy, sustainable, and plant-forward food system. Prior to joining the Center, Leah worked as a development associate at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and she interned in the policy departments at Mercy For Animals and the Good Food Institute. She holds a master's in public policy and administration from Northwestern University and a bachelor's in sociology with international and intercultural studies from Pitzer College.
Contact: Los Angeles, CA, email Leah
Krista Kemppinen, Senior Scientist
Krista (she/her) works to protect species and ecosystems in the U.S. Southwest. Prior to joining the Center, she held postdoctoral research associate positions at Arizona State University, where she worked in close partnership with the IUCN and Conservation International. She received her doctoral and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Cambridge.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Krista
Catherine Kilduff, Senior Attorney
Catherine (she/her) works in the Center's Oceans program to protect marine species and ecosystems. Catherine received her law degree from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science from the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and her bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from Dartmouth College. Before becoming an attorney, Catherine worked as legislative staff for the U.S. House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans.
Contact: Norfolk, VA, 202.780.8862, email Catherine
Beccy Kirk, Chief Information Officer
Beccy (she/her) leads the Center's Information Technology team making sure that software tools, data, reporting, and technology infrastructure are stable and secure and meet the Center's needs. She holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Arizona and a masters's degree in computer science from Arizona State University. Before joining the Center, she worked for both high-tech companies and public agencies. She also volunteered with several nonprofit organizations, focusing primarily on animal and environmental issues.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252, email Beccy
KrisAnn Kokes, Development Operations Associate
KrisAnn (she/her) supports the chief development officer and membership director and provides administrative support for grants. Prior to joining the Center, KrisAnn was an assistant to the executive director at Tucson Wildlife Center and worked at a local portrait photography studio. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.237.2129, email KrisAnn
Hollin Kretzmann, Senior Attorney
Hollin (he/him) helps the advocate for action that will mitigate the effects of climate change. Before joining the Center, Hollin worked with Pennsylvania's Clean Air Council, advocating for maintaining clean air through litigation and government oversight. Hollin holds a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 333, email Hollin
Guy Kuawu, Director of Administration and Finance
Guy (he/him) works with the accounting department to ensure the accuracy of the Center’s books and full compliance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Guy joined the Center with years of domestic and international experience in finance and operations, primarily with other nonprofit organizations. He holds a master’s in business administration (finance) and an MBA in global management.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 309, email Guy
Aaron Kunkler, Media Specialist
Aaron (he/him) works on the Media team to help highlight the work of the and programs. Before joining the Center, Aaron spent seven years as a reporter writing for several newspapers in Washington state. He holds a bachelor’s in journalism and political science from Central Washington University.
Contact:
Seattle, WA,
206.949.5353,
email Aaron
Twitter: @aaronkunkler1
Stephanie Kurose, Deputy Director of Government Affairs
Stephanie (she/her) analyzes and responds to congressional legislation and federal-agency efforts seeking to weaken the Endangered Species Act and wildlife protections. She received her law degree from the American University Washington College of Law, with a focus on environmental law, and a master's in global environmental policy at American University School of International Service. Prior to her current role as a policy specialist, she was a legal fellow with the Center. She was also a law clerk for Western Resource Advocates in Boulder and a research assistant for the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and Hazardous Substances.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.849.8401 ext. 103, email Stephanie
Scott Lake, Nevada Staff Attorney
Scott (he/him) works in the Endangered Species and Public Lands programs, focusing on issues affecting Nevada. Prior to joining the Center, Scott worked as Idaho director at Western Watersheds Project and as a law clerk for the Alaska Supreme Court. He holds a bachelor’s in English from the College of Idaho, a master’s in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School and a law degree from Vermont Law School.
Contact: Reno, NV, 802.299.7495, email Scott
Allison LaPlante, Senior Attorney
Allison (she/her) works in the Center's Environmental Health program. Prior to joining the Center, Allison worked at Lewis & Clark Law School's environmental litigation clinic, Earthrise Law Center, for almost 20 years and was the clinic director for seven. Before that, Allison held an extended federal judicial clerkship with the Honorable Garr M. King in the District of Oregon. Allison has spent most of her legal career working to protect water quality and aquatic species. She holds a B.S. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Contact: Portland, OR, 503.980.3408, email Allison
Theo LeQuesne, Climate Organizer
Theo (he/him) works in the Climate Law Institute to support frontline community efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground and advance a just transition to clean energy. Prior to joining the Center, he worked as a campus campaigner on two successful fossil fuel divestment campaigns (Fossil Free UC and Fossil Free Warwick), and more recently worked with 350 Santa Barbara to develop just transition strategies and halt the expansion of oil drilling in Santa Barbara County. He holds a PhD in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara.
Contact:
Oakland, CA,
510.844.7100,
email Theo
Twitter: @theolequesne
Wendy Leung, Senior Media Specialist
Wendy (she/her) helps coordinate media relations and strategy for the Urban Wildlands and Government Affairs programs. Prior to joining the Center, Wendy spent two decades as a reporter for Southern California newspapers. She holds a bachelor's degree in literature from University of California Santa Cruz and a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Contact:
Los Angeles, CA,
818.625.3128,
email Wendy
Twitter: @Leung__Wendy
Evan (he/him) works in the Urban Wildlands program to protect habitat for California's flora and fauna and prevent harmful land-use decisions. He holds a J.D. from Berkeley Law and a B.A. from Colorado College. Before attending law school, Evan worked as a biologist on projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alaska, and the San Juan mountains in Colorado.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7156, email Evan
Roger (he/him) works in the Center’s Energy Justice program advocating for an equitable clean energy future. Prior to joining the Center, he worked with environmental justice organizations throughout California and has litigated environmental justice and civil rights cases. He is an author of and serves on California’s Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group. Roger received his law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.
Contact: Oakland, CA, email Roger
Melissa Lundholm, Facilities and Operations Manager
Melissa (she/they) is an administrative resource for the Tucson headquarters office. Prior to joining the Center, Melissa worked as an executive assistant for Unitek Learning. Melissa has a background in human resources and administration; she studied anthropology and women’s studies at the University of Arizona.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.668.9901, email Melissa
Michelle MacDonald, Membership Associate
Michelle (she/her) works with the membership team to help members engage in and financially support the Center’s vital work. Prior to joining the Center, Michelle worked on several nonprofit development teams, most recently at the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation managing a meal preparation and delivery program for homebound and medically fragile clients. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's in political science.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Michelle
Ryan (he/him) fights to reduce air pollution as part of the Center’s Environmental Health program. Before joining the Center, Ryan worked to cut methane emissions from landfills and the natural gas industry as part of the Environmental Integrity Project. He also served as a law clerk in the Environmental Division of the Vermont judiciary. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Vermont and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
Contact: Washington, DC, 781.325.6303, email Ryan
Gretchen Mais, Deputy Development Director
Gretchen (she/her) leads membership campaigns, manages the Center's donor relations efforts and supports the Leadership Circle. Before joining us she served as senior director of development at American Farmland Trust, where she managed the development operations and membership divisions overseeing revenue and expense budgeting, database administration, direct response, donor research and stewardship. She holds a bachelor's from Prescott College as well as a master's in humanities, with an emphasis on social and environmental ethics of food consumption.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 333, email Gretchen
Jared Margolis, Senior Attorney
Jared (he/him) works on the Center's Energy and Endangered Species campaign. He earned his B.A. in geography from Colgate University and completed a master's in environmental studies at Brown University before attending Vermont Law School. Jared has represented nonprofit and citizen groups working to protect the environment; he has challenged large-scale developments including nuclear power plants and taught environmental law at the University of Vermont. He continues to teach in an adjunct capacity at the University of Oregon.
Contact: Portland, OR, 802.310.4054, email Jared
Eric Matchett, Senior SQL Developer
Eric (he/him) specializes in data analytics and visualizations in the Center’s IT department. Before coming to the Center, Eric worked on databases and reporting in the realm of higher education, including at Pima Community College in Arizona and at Clackamas Community College and Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. He received his bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College and also studied music at Towson State University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.867.6635, email Eric
Rachel Mathews, Senior Attorney
Rachel (she/her) works in the Center’s Oceans program to protect marine life and ecosystems. Prior to joining the Center, Rachel was a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic and director of captive animal law enforcement at the PETA Foundation. She earned a law degree with a certificate in environmental law from Tulane University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary.
Contact: Richmond, VA, 828.774.5636, email Rachel
Taylor McKinnon, Southwest Director
Taylor (he/him) oversees the Center’s work to protect wildlands and endangered species in the Southwest. A veteran campaigner, he works on a variety of fronts and has helped spearhead campaigns to end federal fossil fuel leasing and ban uranium mining around the Grand Canyon. Taylor began at the Center in 2007 and pursues nature photography alongside his advocacy.
Contact:
Flagstaff, AZ,
801.300.2414,
email Taylor
Twitter: @publiccarbon
Gwendolyn McManus, Associate Scientist
Gwendolyn (she/her) works in the Endangered Species program, where she focuses on gaining new protections for imperiled and declining species. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in marine biology, through Northeastern University’s Three Seas Program. Prior to joining the Center, Gwendolyn studied population genetics in nearshore marine ecosystems and built an educational video game about seagrass meadows.
Contact: Seattle, WA, 520.867.6725, email Gwendolyn
Russ McSpadden, Southwest Conservation Advocate
Russ (he/him) works to protect public lands — and the wildlife who call them home — in Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. Before joining the Center in 2012, Russ engaged in grassroots environmental activism. He holds a master’s degree in environmental history from Florida Atlantic University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 329, email Russ
Gwyneth Merner, Senior Development Associate
Gwyneth (she/her) works with the membership and donor relations teams to encourage philanthropic acts. Prior to joining the Center, Gwyneth served as the assistant director of donor relations and stewardship at Mount Holyoke College. She has also taught creative writing to college students, young parents completing high-school equivalency exams and incarcerated women. She holds an MFA in fiction writing from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor's degree from Hampshire College.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.345.5712, email Gwyneth
Jeff Miller, Senior Conservation Advocate
Jeff writes press and outreach materials on endangered species issues, works on endangered species listing petitions, and does community organizing and media work for numerous Center wildlife-protection campaigns in California and Oregon. Jeff has been the director of the Alameda Creek Alliance since 1997.
Contact: Portland, OR, 510.499.9185, email Jeff
Samantha Miller, Senior Carnivore Campaigner
Samantha (she/her) works with the Center’s Carnivore Conservation program. She handles carnivore issues nationwide with a focus on state-level progress. Samantha's career has included wildlife commission reform, political advocacy, and coalition building to advance carnivore policy across the U.S. West. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from University California Riverside and a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine University.
Contact: Grand Lake, CO, 970.531.6720, email Samantha
Lydia Millet, Deputy Creative Director
Lydia writes and edits a range of outreach materials for the Center and helps oversee our messaging. She holds a master's in environmental policy from Duke University and worked for NRDC in New York before joining the Center in 1999. She's also a fiction and nonfiction writer whose work concerns human-animal relations, extinction, and climate change. Her most recent book is We Loved It All: A Memory of Life (2024).
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Lydia
Anna Mirocha, Senior Digital Communications Editor
Anna (she/her) edits the Center's e-newsletters; works to maintain and drive traffic to the Center's websites; and helps write, proofread, and edit other communications. Anna is a Tucson native and holds a bachelor's in English from Reed College; before joining the Center in 2007 she worked for a nonprofit that helped authors teach creative writing to Southern Arizona Native youth.
Jennifer Molidor, Senior Food Campaigner
Jennifer (she/her) helps lead the Center's sustainable food initiatives, including the Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign. She drives the Population and Sustainability program's Earth-Friendly Diet initiatives related to industrial animal agriculture, overpopulation and overconsumption, and the impact of our food systems on wildlife and the planet. Before joining the Center in 2015, she worked on a number of food, wildlife and environmental campaigns as the staff writer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund; she holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and taught for many years as a professor at Kansas State University and San Francisco State University.
Contact: Mount Shasta, CA, email Jennifer
Kristen Monsell, Oceans Program Litigation Director, Senior Attorney
Kristen (she/her) works with the Center's Oceans program to protect marine species and their habitat. Before joining the Center, Kristen worked as an assistant attorney general in the Natural Resources Section of the Oregon Department of Justice and as a staff attorney at The Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C. She earned her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and her bachelor's degree from Saint Lawrence University.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 337, email Kristen
Molly Morabito, Climate Organizer
Molly (she/her) works with the Climate Law Institute to support communities mobilizing for a just transition off fossil fuels. Prior to joining the Center, she worked in environmental justice advocacy and clean energy research. She holds a Master of Science in environmental policy and regulation from the London School of Economics and a bachelor's in communications, law, economics and government from American University.
Contact: email Molly
Jeremy Nichols, Senior Advocate
Jeremy (he/him) works in the Center's Environmental Health, Southwest, and Southern Rockies programs to protect clean air, safeguard communities, and enforce pollution prevention laws. Prior to joining the Center, Jeremy directed the Climate and Energy program for WildEarth Guardians; before that, he founded and directed another nonprofit, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action. Originally from Idaho, Jeremy attended the University of Wyoming and now lives in Colorado.
Contact:
Denver, CO,
303.437.7663,
email Jeremy
Twitter: @JNicholsCBD
Talia (she/her) works in the Climate Law Institute on litigation and policy to help reduce fossil fuels and advance clean air. Prior to joining the Center, Talia worked at Mitchell M. Tsai Law Firm representing public-interest environmental nonprofits and organizations. She has a law degree and environmental law certificate from Tulane University Law School.
Contact: Los Angeles, CA, email Talia
Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Senior Attorney
Rebecca Noblin (she/they) works to protect Alaska's communities, ecosystems, and species from destructive resource extraction. After a clerkship with the Alaska Supreme Court and a fellowship at Pacific Environment, Rebecca worked in the Center's Alaska program from 2008 to 2015. Before returning to the Center, she was a senior attorney in the Anchorage office of Earthjustice and the policy justice director at the Alaska-based Indigenous-led nonprofit Native Movement. Rebecca holds a law degree from Harvard and a bachelor's in English from the University of Texas.
Contact: Anchorage, AK, email Rebecca
Brian Nowicki, Southwest Deputy Director, Senior Public Lands Advocate
Brian (he/him) works in the Center's Environmental Health, Southwest, and Southern Rockies programs on the protection of forest ecosystems and wildlife habitat in the Southwest. Brian received his Master of Science degree in forestry at Northern Arizona University before joining the Center in 2001, where he first worked in Tucson, Arizona, as a conservation biologist for our campaigns on national forest and federal endangered species policy, and then in Sacramento, California, working on climate-related issues including fossil fuels, carbon emissions, climate resilience, forests and fire.
Contact: Albuquerque, NM, 505.917.5611, email Brian
Ashley C. Nunes, Public Lands Policy Specialist
Ashley (she/her) advocates for the protection of federal lands as a safe harbor for species and ecosystems. She holds a master’s in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law and Graduate School and a bachelor’s in sociology and psychology. Prior to joining the Center, Ashley was on staff at the University of Virginia for three years and in sales and marketing with Hilton for seven years. She was also a legislative intern at the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.849.8398, email Ashley C.
Alex Olivera, Senior Mexico Representative
Alex (he/him) works to conserve Mexican wildlife, including highly endangered vaquita porpoises and loggerhead sea turtles. He is a marine biologist from the University of Baja California Sur and has a master's degree in use, management and preservation of natural resources as well as a diploma in environmental law. He comes to the Center after years of work at the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda) and Greenpeace México.
Contact: La Paz, Mexico, email Alex
Megan (she/her) is an attorney with the Great Basin program based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She primarily works on litigation regarding public land use and water rights. Prior to joining the Center, Megan worked as a civil litigator in private practice and as a public defender. Megan has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English literature from the University of Nevada, Reno, and graduated from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Contact:
Las Vegas, NV,
email Megan
Twitter: @@Nevadamegan
Stephanie Parent, Senior Counsel
Stephanie (she/her) works in the Center's Environmental Health program. Before joining us she was a senior assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, and prior to that she worked as managing attorney and clinical professor with the environmental litigation clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School. She has also worked as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division and as an honors attorney with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She holds a law degree from Lewis & Clark and a bachelor of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Contact: Portland, OR, 971.717.6404, email Stephanie
Wendy (she/her) works to curb fossil fuel extraction on America's public lands. Before joining the Center, Wendy was an attorney in Earthjustice's San Francisco office, where she litigated a wide range of state and federal cases, including cases to stop urbanization of Lake Tahoe, protect endangered coho salmon, and limit air pollution from oil refineries. Wendy was also a legal fellow at the ACLU of Illinois where she worked on police accountability and national security issues. She clerked for the Honorable George P. Kazen in the Southern District of Texas and earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 338, email Wendy
Andy Parker, Senior Media Specialist
Andy helps coordinate, produce and oversee the Center's media and communications work on environmental health. During a 20-year journalism career, he worked as a reporter, editor and columnist and has taught writing and journalism classes at several colleges. Prior to joining the Center, he was a columnist at in Portland. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from the College of William & Mary.
Contact: Portland, OR, 503.310.5569, email Andy
Lauren A. Parker, Staff Attorney
Lauren (she/her) works in the Climate Law Institute. Prior to joining the Center she was a paralegal specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture education from North Carolina A&T State University and a law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Contact: Washington, DC, email Lauren A.
Mark Patronella, Staff Attorney
Mark (he/him) works in the Oceans program. Prior to joining the Center, Mark worked as a consumer-protection attorney at Migliaccio & Rathod LLP. He holds a law degree from Duke University.
Contact: Washington, DC, 771.474.1018, email Mark
Zachary Pavlik, Associate Attorney
Zach (he/him) works in the Climate Law Institute combatting oil and gas pollution and pursuing environmental justice goals in New Mexico. He grew up in Farmington, N.M., and has long advocated for a just transition for the region away from its dependence on fossil fuels. He holds a law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School, with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law. He attended the University of New Mexico for his undergraduate studies, majoring in foreign languages and evolutionary anthropology.
Contact: Palmer, AK, 907.891.8528, email Zachary
Nyshie Perkinson, Senior Media Specialist
Nyshie (she/her) helps to promote the Center’s Climate Law Institute. Prior to joining the Center, she was a broadcast news producer at MSNBC, CNN and other outlets. She has also worked doing social media in Mexico City and editing the English-language Viet Nam News in Hanoi. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s degree in creative writing from the City College of New York.
Contact:
Nyshie,
718.928.5148,
email Nyshie
Twitter: @thatnyshie
David (he/him) works in the Climate Law Institute. David spent 17 years at NRDC before joining the Center, and prior to that tried and argued cases in private practice and the nonprofit world. He holds a law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
Contact: Santa Monica, CA, email David
Jason Pfeifle, Senior Climate Campaigner
Jason (he/him) works with the to fight pollution from oil and gas extraction. Prior to joining the Center, he led CALPIRG’s advocacy and policy work on public health issues like getting lead out of school drinking water and stopping antibiotic overuse on factory farms. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 313, email Jason
Maxx Phillips, Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Director, Staff Attorney
Maxx (she/her) runs the Center's Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands program. Before joining the Center, Maxx was policy advisor and legislative attorney in the Hawai'i State Senate and managing director for Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea, a volunteer-based nonprofit created to replenish, sustain, and protect the natural and cultural resources of the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District on the North Shore of Oahu. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law, where she graduated cum laude with certificates in environmental and native Hawaiian law.
Contact: Honolulu, HI, 808.284.0007, email Maxx
John Platt, Editor, The Revelator
John (he/him) has more than a decade of experience as an environmental journalist covering topics like endangered species, climate change and renewable energy. He brings that history and perspective to the Center's news-and-ideas site, The Revelator. His writing received IFAW's Animal Action Award in 2012 and has been nominated for several other awards. In addition to his journalism, John's fiction, poetry, essays and comics have been published in magazines and anthologies around the world.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
971.717.6411,
email John
Twitter: @johnrplatt
Amy Plopper, Director of Development Operations
Amy (she/her) provides support on operational and analytical tasks related to membership as well as supporting our Leadership Circle members. She has a master's degree in classical archaeology from the University of Arizona, and before joining the Center worked as an AmeriCorps service volunteer at an educational farm and on the development team at a children's museum.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 311, email Amy
Bea (she/her) works in the Center's Climate Law Institute on state and federal litigation combating oil and gas extraction and false climate solutions. Prior to joining the Center, Bea worked as a farmworker-outreach paralegal with Southern Migrant Legal Services and produced audio stories on rural issues with the Daily Yonder. Bea holds a bachelor's in environmental studies from Yale University.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100, email Bea
Aruna Prabhala, Urban Wildlands Director, Senior Attorney
Aruna (she/her) works to protect habitat for endangered species and limit sprawl. For her work against Newhall Ranch, a proposed megadevelopment in Southern California, Aruna won the “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year” award, along with other Center attorneys. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and double-majored in biology and journalism as an undergraduate at Boston University. Before becoming an attorney, she worked in Washington, D.C., on science-policy issues.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 322, email Aruna
Sofia Prado-Irwin, Staff Scientist
Sofia (she/her) works in the Urban Wildlands program protecting species and habitats in the wildland-urban interface. Prior to joining the Center, Sofia worked at the Denver Zoo to help graduate students create ecological and social change. She holds a bachelor’s in biology from Barnard College, a master’s in biology from San Francisco State University, and a Ph.D. in organismal and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. During her graduate studies, Sofia’s research focused on the evolution and ecology of reptiles and amphibians.
Contact: Denver, CO, 510.844.7100 ext. 548, email Sofia
Benjamin Rankin, Associate Attorney
Ben (he/him) works in the Center's Environmental Health program addressing problems caused by pesticides, air pollution, and industrial animal agriculture. Prior to his current role, Ben worked as a legal fellow and a law clerk at the Center and advocated for wildlife legal protections as a student attorney at the Harvard Animal Law and Policy Clinic. He earned his juris doctor from Harvard in 2023 and holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.849.8402, email Benjamin
Heather (she/her) works in the Tucson office to support the executive director. Heather has a background managing conservation and electoral campaigns, primarily in Alaska. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wittenberg University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.433.1091, email Heather
Chris Teutimez Rawlings, Facilities and Administration Manager
Chris (he/him) is an administrative resource for the Portland office. Chris has a background in technology and office administration and holds a bachelor's degree in English from Southern Oregon University.
Contact: Portland, OR, 503.283.5474 ext. 408, email Chris Teutimez
Lindsay Reeves, Senior Attorney
Lindsay (she/her) litigates cases for the Center's Endangered Species program, securing protections for species and habitat under the Endangered Species Act and other laws. Prior to joining the Center, Lindsay litigated pollution and wetlands loss cases at the firm of Jones Swanson Huddell LLC. She earned her law degree from Tulane University, with a certificate in environmental law, and her bachelor's degree from Florida State University.
Contact: New Orleans, LA, email Lindsay
Elizabeth Reid-Wainscoat, Campaigner
Elizabeth (she/her) works in the Center's Urban Wildlands program to protect natural resources for endangered species and community members by limiting sprawl development. Her work includes campaigns on wildlife connectivity, water resources and destructive land-use policies. Before joining the Center, Elizabeth worked as a senior research and policy analyst at UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge and was also a fellow with the Mayor of Los Angeles Sustainability Office. She holds a bachelor’s in environmental systems from the University of California, San Diego as well as a masters in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Contact: Los Angeles, CA, 831.428.3312, email Elizabeth
Mary K. Reinhart, Deputy Director of the Media Program
Mary K (she/her) helps produce and coordinate the Center's media and communications work on public lands, including the borderlands. During a 25-year journalism career, she worked as a reporter, editor and columnist in Arizona and was cofounder of an online news service that covered state politics and policy. Before joining us she was communications director for a nonprofit behavioral-health organization. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University.
Contact:
Phoenix, AZ,
602.320.7309,
email Mary K.
Twitter: @marykreinhart
Theresa Rettinghouse, Paralegal
Theresa (she/her) works in the Urban Wildlands program to preserve habitat for special-status species. She obtained her paralegal certificate from Cal State University East Bay and a bachelor’s degree in zoology at Sonoma State University. She also volunteers, helping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conserve a California least tern colony in Alameda.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 320, email Theresa
Graham Rex, Staff Attorney, Southwest
Graham (he/him) works on endangered species and public lands issues in the Center’s Southwest program. Prior to joining the Center, Graham clerked for the Honorable Daphne A. Oberg in the District of Utah. Graham studied philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington before earning his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
Contact: Flagstaff, AZ, email Graham
Linda Rico, Communications Staff
Linda (she/her) handles the social media, website and graphic design needs of the Population and Sustainability program. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in visual communications from Hawaii Pacific University, with a minor in international studies. Before joining the Center, she worked in the nonprofit sector doing digital media, marketing and communications work, as well as freelance multimedia consulting.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 304, email Linda
Rachel Rilee, Oceans Policy Specialist
Rachel Rilee (she/her) works with the Government Affairs and Oceans teams to protect oceans from dangerous offshore drilling, damaging fishing-industry practices, and climate change. She earned her J.D. with a concentration in environmental law from George Washington University Law School. Rachel has previously clerked at the Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA, and Aquatic Animal Law Initiative at Lewis and Clark Law School. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as a regulatory policy specialist at the consulting firm ICF.
Contact: Washington, DC, email Rachel
Michael Robinson, Senior Conservation Advocate
Michael (he/him) focuses on the protection and recovery of top predators like Mexican gray wolves and jaguars. He has been associated with the Center since our founding and joined the staff in 1997. Michael holds a master's degree in literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor's from the University of Texas at Austin; he is also the author of a well-reviewed book on the history of wolves in the United States called Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West (University Press of Colorado, 2005).
Contact: Silver City, NM, 575.313.7017, email Michael
Jason Rylander, Climate Law Institute Legal Director
Jason works with the Center's Climate Law Institute on litigation and policy initiatives to limit fossil fuels and advance a clean energy future. He previously served as senior endangered species counsel for Defenders of Wildlife, counsel for Community Rights Counsel, an associate at Perkins Coie, LLP, and as managing editor of the Land Letter. He received a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University and a J.D. from the William & Mary School of Law.
Contact: Washington, DC, 202.744.2244, email Jason
Meya Saenz Zagar, Energy Justice Campaign Organizer
Meya (she/her) works to support the Energy Justice program as a campaigner to further propel California toward a just energy future. Prior to joining the Center, Meya interned with the Sustainable Communities team at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. She earned a bachelor of science in sustainable environmental design from the University of California, Davis.
Contact: Oakland, CA, (510) 585-9440 ext. 473, email Meya
Miyoko Sakashita, Oceans Director, Senior Counsel
Miyoko (she/her) works with the oceans team to secure protections for imperiled marine life and ecosystems from threats ranging from global warming and ocean acidification to fisheries and pollution. Miyoko holds a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also earned a bachelor of science degree in conservation and resource studies. Prior to joining the Center, Miyoko was a local currency activist and sustainable agriculture advocate.
Contact:
Oakland,
510.844.7100 ext. 308,
email Miyoko
Twitter: @endangeredocean
Tanya Sanerib, International Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Tanya (she/her) works in the Center's International Program to protect imperiled species and biological diversity worldwide. Before joining the Center, she was a staff attorney with the Crag Law Center in Portland, Ore., and a partner at the public-interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks in Washington, D.C. She earned her law degree and certificate in environmental and natural resources law in 2002 from Lewis & Clark Law School and received a bachelor's in environmental science from Colorado College.
Contact:
Portland, OR,
206.379.7363,
email Tanya
Twitter: @ts4biodiversity
Ric Santora, Assistant Membership Director
Ric (he/him) provides support by answering emails, processing donations and helping with the Center's membership databases. Prior to joining the Center, Ric worked in the car-sharing industry in Portland, Oregon. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University.
Contact: Tucson, 520.623.5252 ext. 323, email Ric
Christina Scaringe, California Climate Policy Director
Christina (she/her) works in the Climate Law Institute to address the climate and biodiversity crises, protect species, and eliminate fossil fuels. Before joining the Center, she served as general counsel for Animal Defenders International, supporting international wildlife rescues and advocating for protections against wildlife trade, trafficking and exploitation.
Contact: Sacramento, 213.544.8791, email Christina
Todd Schulke, Senior Staff, Cofounder
Todd oversees the Center's forest protection and restoration program. Todd holds a bachelor's in environmental studies from Evergreen State College and has a background in youth wilderness education. He is a board member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Gila WoodNet. He also sits on the Western Governors' Forest Health Advisory Committee, Arizona Governor's Forest Health Committee, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Advisory Committee, and New Mexico Forest and Watershed Health Planning Committee.
Contact: Pinos Altos, NM, 575.388.8799, email Todd
Deeda Seed, Senior Utah Campaigner
Deeda works with the Great Basin program. Before joining the Center, Deeda worked for 10 years for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, where she organized support for Utah’s redrock wilderness. Over her 30-year career as an activist and organizer in Utah she’s worked on a wide range of social-justice, civil-rights and environmental issues. She also served a four-year term on the Salt Lake City Council, and was chief of staff and communications director in the administration of Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.
Contact: Salt Lake City, UT, 801.803.9892, email Deeda
Brian Segee, Endangered Species Program Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Brian supervises and litigates cases for the Center's Endangered Species program, securing protections for species and habitat under the Endangered Species Act and other laws. Prior to rejoining the Center in 2017, Brian worked for the Environmental Defense Center in Ventura County and Santa Barbara, Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C., and the Center in Tucson. He received his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law and undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California at San Diego.
Contact: Ojai, CA, 805.750.8852, email Brian
Ryan (he/him) works to defend the Endangered Species Act and protect imperiled species by securing and enforcing safeguards. Before joining the Center in 2017, Ryan was a legal fellow with Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Ore. He earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and received a bachelor's in politics and philosophy from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Contact: Portland, OR, 503.283.5474 ext. 407, email Ryan
Trisha (she/her) works in the Center’s Endangered Species program. She graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she received a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and spent summers as a law clerk for the Center for Food Safety and Midwest Environmental Advocates. Prior to starting law school, she earned a bachelor's degree in conservation biology from the University of Minnesota and spent one year serving as an Americorps member with a sustainable farming organization in Minnesota.
Contact: email Trisha
Chris R. Shepherd, Senior Conservation Advocate
Chris (he/him) works in the Center's International program on illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade issues. Prior to joining the Center, Chris was the executive director of the Monitor Conservation Research Society, and prior to that he was the regional director for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia. He earned his Ph.D. from Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Contact: Big Lake Ranch, B.C., Canada, 1.250.243.0002, email Chris
Kassie Siegel, Climate Law Institute Director, Senior Counsel
Kassie (she/her) develops and implements campaigns for the reduction of greenhouse gases and other air pollution and for the protection of wildlife and communities threatened by climate disruption. She authored the petition and litigated the cases leading to Endangered Species Act protection for the polar bear, and she has been a leader in the fight to ban fracking and keep fossil fuels in the ground. She was named one of the ten most influential California lawyers of the decade by the in 2010 for her work on global warming and environmental law.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 310, email Kassie
Robin Silver, Senior Staff, Cofounder
Robin is one of the Center's founders. A retired emergency-room physician in Phoenix and a professional wildlife photographer, Robin works on conservation issues in the Southwest with a focus on the San Pedro River.
Contact: Flagstaff, AZ, 602.799.3275, email Robin
Julie Teel Simmonds, Senior Counsel, Senior Attorney
Julie (she/her) works in the Center's Oceans program to protect marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Julie received her law degree from New York University and her bachelor of science degree in conservation and resource studies (with a focus on marine ecology and pollution) from the University of California at Berkeley. Julie has also worked at the University of Colorado Law School, the Office of the San Diego City Attorney, Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office, and the Environmental Law Institute.
Contact: Boulder, CO, 510.844.7154, email Julie
Paula Simmonds, Chief Development Officer
Paula leads the Center's national development program, working to increase and diversify revenues. Prior to joining the Center, Paula served as chief development officer at the JCC in Manhattan. She has also led development programs and built capacity for nonprofits in higher education, social services, a historical society and a global news service. Paula holds a bachelor's from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, spent time at Cornell's Shoals Marine Lab, worked at Stony Brook's Flax Pond Marine Science Research Center, and has had a lifelong interest in marine science, sustainable alternative energy development and preserving ecosystems.
Contact: New York City, NY, 520.396.1141, email Paula
Anna Sofia, Senior Digital Campaign Strategist
Anna (they/she) creates and optimizes digital campaigns for the Center's core programs. Prior to joining the Center, Anna worked for Sky Island Alliance, where she educated people about the incredibly biodiverse Sky Island region. Anna holds a master's in science writing from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's in technical communication and professional writing from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minn.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Anna
Randi Spivak, Public Lands Policy Director
Randi oversees the Center's Public Lands program, working to ensure that the country's wild places are managed for the benefit of species and ecosystems in a warming climate. Before coming to the Center, she was vice president for policy and government affairs for the Geos Institute; she also served as executive director of the American Lands Alliance, where she helped unify the forest-protection community around specific conservation positions to educate U.S. policymakers. She has extensive experience in public lands policy and advocacy. Randi got her B.A. in advertising and marketing at Boston University.
Contact: Washington, DC, 310.779.4894, email Randi
Mike (he/him) helps generate and guide the Center’s creative work to highlight the extinction crisis and support other Center campaigns. Prior to coming to the Center, he was a journalist for newspapers and the Associated Press, often focusing on environmental issues around the West. He’s also the author of Chasing the Ghost Bear: On the Trail of America’s Lost Super Beast and Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 315, email Mike
Izzi (she/her) works in graphic design, where she focuses on creating visuals that educate the public on the Center's goals, from conservation to environmental justice. She received her bachelor's degree in graphic design and fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Before joining the Center, she worked for Deloitte in their Government and Public Services sector and designed for many small businesses and brands.
Contact: Chicago, IL, email Izzi
Meredith Stevenson, Staff Attorney
Meredith (she/her) works in the Urban Wildlands program to protect habitat and species from urban sprawl. Prior to joining the Center, Meredith worked as a staff attorney at Center for Food Safety, protecting public health and the environment from the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture. She holds a JD from UC Law San Francisco and a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Western Washington University.
Contact: Mammoth Lakes, CA, email Meredith
Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, Staff Attorney
Chelsea (she/her) works to protect imperiled species and their habitats. She graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she earned a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and she holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from Humboldt State University. While in law school, she clerked for Cascadia Wildlands and Earthrise Law Center, focusing on wildlife and public lands litigation in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Chelsea
Jodi Lynn Strait, Assistant Comptroller
Jodi (she/her) works in the Center's financial department helping with monthly reconciliations of balance-sheet accounts, providing daily general ledger support in the form of compiling and uploading journal entries, as well as assisting Human Resources with the processing of payroll. She earned her bachelor's degree from Elmira College in New York, where she majored in accounting, holds a master's of business administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and holds a Fundamental Payroll Certification from the American Payroll Association.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, 520.623.5252 ext. 307, email Jodi Lynn
Jean Su, Energy Justice Program Director, Senior Attorney
Jean oversees and develops the Energy Justice program’s campaigns, dedicated to hastening the clean, democratic energy future so urgently needed to protect wildlife, communities and the climate. Jean also works to challenge wall construction in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and serves on the boards of Climate Action Network International and SustainUS. Before joining the Center, she worked as a renewable energy project finance attorney and in the climate change and international development fields in Africa and Asia. She’s an inaugural class member of the UC Irvine School of Law and holds a master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor's degree from Princeton University.
Contact:
Washington, DC,
202.849.8401 ext. 101,
email Jean
Twitter: @ajeansu
Kierán Suckling, Executive Director
Kierán (he/him) is a founder of the Center for Biological Diversity. He studied computer science and mathematics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University and Stanford University. He holds degrees in philosophy from the State University of New York at Stonybrook (a master's) and College of the Holy Cross (a bachelor's) focused on Greek, continental, linguistic and environmental thought. In addition to overseeing the Center's conservation, finance, fundraising and administration programs, he writes and lectures on the threats to, preservation of, and relationships between cultural and biological diversity. He also maintains the most comprehensive endangered species research and management database in the United States.
Contact:
Tucson, AZ,
520.623.5252 ext. 351,
email Kierán
Twitter: @kieransuckling
Patrick Sullivan, Media Director
Patrick oversees the Center’s media relations work. Before coming to the Center, Patrick spent more than 10 years writing for newspapers and magazines in Texas, New Mexico and California.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7116, email Patrick
Sebastian Takeshima, IT Support Technician and Account Administrator
Sebastian (they/them) works on the Center’s information technology team, supporting staff and maintaining systems that keep the organization running smoothly. Before coming on board, they worked in various IT roles, including at nonprofits. Sebastian holds an associate’s degree from Devry University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Sebastian
Frances Tinney, Staff Attorney
Frances works with Center attorneys in the Urban Wildlands program. She graduated from the City College of New York and from Stanford Law School. Before law school, Frances served in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua and in a conservation corps in Arizona.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 509.432.9256, email Frances
Kendra (she/her) provides education and support to staff for all benefit programs, works with benefit-plan vendors, and supports the Center's human resources staff. Prior to joining us she worked as the human resources manager at Buffalo Exchange. Kendra holds a bachelor's degree in social services from Arizona State University.
Contact: Tucson, AZ, email Kendra
Jason Totoiu, Florida Director of Policy, Senior Attorney
Jason works in the Center’s Florida and Caribbean region protecting endangered species, public lands, and water quality. He grew up along Florida’s Treasure Coast; he earned his bachelor’s degree from Emory and his law degree from Tulane. Before joining the Center he was executive director of the Everglades Law Center, where he worked to advance the restoration of America’s Everglades. He is a past co-chair of the Everglades Coalition.
Contact: Winter Haven, FL, email Jason
Margaret Townsend, Senior Attorney
Margaret works in the Endangered Species program protecting imperiled freshwater species and their habitats. Margaret spent five years as the Center’s open government attorney, specializing in transparency and Freedom of Information Act litigation. She holds a law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law — where she earned environmental and public-interest law certificates — and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Colorado. Before joining the Center she worked on wildlife and freshwater issues with numerous conservation organizations, including Cascadia Wildlands, the Western Environmental Law Center and WildEarth Guardians.
Contact: Portland, OR, 971.717.6409, email Margaret
Jess works in the Environmental Health program protecting insects and reducing pesticides' threat to wildlife and people. He has a background in agriculture and ecosystem restoration. Before joining the Center, he completed a master's degree in environmental science from Portland State University focusing on the ecology of urban pollinator communities.
Contact: Glenwood Springs, CO, 406.366.4872, email Jess
Sarah Uhlemann, International Program Director, Senior Attorney
Sarah joined the Center in 2010. Sarah leads the Center's international work including litigation, advocacy and international diplomacy to protect imperiled species outside U.S. borders. Before joining the Center, Sarah was a staff attorney with the Humane Society of the United States. She earned her law degree in 2005 from Lewis & Clark Law School and her bachelor's in environmental management from Indiana University.
Contact: Seattle, WA, 206.327.2344, email Sarah
Liz VanDenzen, Senior Digital Advocacy Manager
Liz (she/her) guides the Center’s digital advocacy strategy across communications platforms, helping program staff advance their campaigns to save life on Earth. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as national field director at Alaska Wilderness League and in various roles for the Endangered Species Coalition. She trained as a grassroots organizer through Green Corps and holds a bachelor’s degree in government and environmental studies from Lawrence University.
Contact: Santa Fe, NM, email Liz
Virginia Vu, Electronic Filing Clerk
Virginia (she/her) works with all the Center’s programs to ensure government transparency by facilitating record requests to state and federal agencies. She holds a bachelor's degree in community development from Portland State University.
Contact: Portland, OR, email Virginia
Andrea Weber, Staff Engagement and Belonging Director
As a former theater professional, adjunct professor and senior paralegal — and the long-time office manager for the Center’s Oakland office — Andrea (she/her) brings a broad range of skills and experiences to this position.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 311, email Andrea
Camden Weber, Climate and Energy Policy Specialist
Camden (she/her) works with our Climate Law Institute and Energy Justice program to advocate for a fast and fair transition away from a fossil-fueled energy grid to a system of distributed renewable energy. Prior to joining the Center, Camden worked as the state and federal policy manager at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. She holds a J.D. and a certificate in public policy from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College.
Contact: Washington, 771.203.0798, email Camden
Amaroq Weiss, Senior Wolf Advocate
Amaroq (she/her) works with the Center’s Carnivore Conservation program. She handles wolf issues on the West Coast, other regions and on the federal front. Amaroq has worked in wolf conservation for decades and was a stakeholder representative in the two separate state processes to draft wolf conservation and management plans in Oregon and California. She holds a bachelor of science from Iowa State University, a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings.
Contact: San Francisco, CA, 707.779.9613, email Amaroq
Heather Whitehead, Digital Director
Heather (she/her) leads the Center's Digital team. Prior to joining the Center, she was the digital director at Greenpeace USA and the digital engagement and advocacy director at Center for Food Safety, among other roles. She holds a master’s in public policy from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s in sociology with a minor in political science.
Contact: Richmond, CA, email Heather
Ragan Whitlock, Staff Attorney
Ragan works on protections for Florida’s endangered species and wild places. A Georgia native, Ragan holds a law degree and certificate of concentration in environmental law from Stetson University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in professional writing from Western Carolina University. Before joining the Center’s Florida program, he served as a staff attorney in Florida’s 6th Judicial Circuit, and prior to that was an editor and feature writer for several outdoor magazines.
Contact: St. Petersburg, FL, 727.426.3653, email Ragan
Libby Williams, Staff Paralegal
Libby (she/her) provides paralegal support to the Center’s regional programs. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as a legal intern at several government offices, including the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brandeis University and a J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law.
Contact: Boston, MA, 857.415.2934, ext. 225, email Libby
Shaye Wolf, Climate Science Director
Shaye (she/her) works with the Center's Climate Law Institute providing scientific support for our campaigns to protect people, wildlife, and ecosystems from the climate crisis and the fossil fuel industry. She holds a bachelor's in biology from Yale University and a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology and a master's in ocean sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she looked at how ocean climate change is harming seabird populations. Before joining the Center, Shaye worked as a conservation biologist with biodiversity protection groups in the United States and Mexico.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 415.385.5746, email Shaye
Lila Woloshin, Senior Paralegal
Lila (she/her) provides paralegal support for the Center’s Endangered Species and Carnivore Conservation programs. Before joining the Center, she worked as a legal assistant and nonprofit administrator. Lila holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Lewis & Clark College.
Contact: Portland, OR, 503.283.5474 ext. 426, email Lila
Tiffany Yap, Senior Scientist and Wildlife Corridor Advocate
Tiffany (she/her) works with the Urban Wildlands program to protect biodiversity and environmental health at the interface between humans and the natural environment. Before joining the Center she was a scientific researcher investigating global patterns of amphibian disease and the impacts of wildlife trade. She also worked as a field biologist, focusing mainly on amphibians, marine intertidal habitats and fisheries. She holds a bachelor’s in biology from UC Berkeley as well as a master’s in environmental health science and a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from UCLA.
Contact: Oakland, CA, 510.844.7100 ext. 339, email Tiffany
Andrea Zaccardi, Carnivore Conservation Legal Director, Senior Attorney
Andrea (she/her) works in the Center's Carnivore Conservation program with a focus on carnivore protection. Before joining the Center, Andrea worked on a variety of wildlife and public-lands issues with other environmental organizations, including Western Watersheds Project, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Earthjustice. She earned her law degree from Vermont Law School in 2005 and holds bachelor's degrees in both Spanish and sociology from Roanoke College.
Contact: Victor, ID, 303.854.7748, email Andrea
Tara (she/her) works on protecting endangered species and their habitats throughout North America as part of the Endangered Species program. Prior to joining the Center, Tara ran her own private law practice — with clients including Greenfire Law, PC, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, and local community foundations — on projects including endangered species and wildlife protection and the regulation of wildlife-friendly, wildfire-resilient housing initiatives. For seven years she was also an attorney for the Animal Welfare Institute, working on wildlife and endangered species campaigns like protecting the world’s last wild red wolves and fighting harmful wildlife-trapping practices. She holds degrees from Lewis & Clark Law School and the University of California at Berkeley.
Contact: Truckee, CA, 415.419.4210, email Tara
Ted (he/him) works on public-lands issues, including the protection of roadless forests. Prior to joining the Center in 2019, Ted worked for 15 years as a staff attorney in Earthjustice’s Denver office, where he litigated cases concerning attacks on wildlands and national parks from road construction, mining and development. Before that he served as a public-lands attorney at Land and Water Fund of the Rockies (now Western Resource Advocates) in Boulder, Colorado. Ted is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School and a member of the board of directors of Wilderness Workshop.
Contact: Denver, CO, 303.641.3149, email Ted
