Member Bios

My name is Matt Leach. I was raised in Phoenix Arizona where I attended Franklin Police and Fire High School. While there I took a course in Fire Science and a course in Wildland Fire Fighting. I am very excited and very happy to be a part of this program. I hope to learn a great deal and to accomplish many things while making good friends in the process. I look forward to the challenges and achievements that lay ahead and I am anxious to find out what they may be.

My name is Jazmine Lakey, I’m 18 years old and in my second year of college at Phoenix College. I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Some qualities that I bring to this team are my analytical and problem-solving skills, my unique and amazing personality and my enthusiasm for this work. Our environment is my passion and I’m excited for the projects to come and the friends to be made here. The person who has made the most influence on me in my life is my mom, I think about her every day and we try to talk all the time. I enjoy reading and spending time with my pet bearded dragon, Sage.

Listen my children and you shall hear the story of Tony and the natural world he holds dear. Once an actor and broadcast tv director in good ole Missouri, I decided to leave it all behind in search of something more meaningful. In 2010, I packed up and headed out to the woods of Maine to work with the Maine Conservation Corps. The experience had such a profound impact on my life I continued to wander from Maine out to California, Oregon, and Washington exploring National Forests and National Parks all along the way. In 2011, the SCA came calling and I headed off to work on the Pacific Crest Trail in California. I spent the summer of 2012 leading a corps crew in the Umatilla National Forest of Washington and Oregon. I then rambled on to the Desolation Wilderness in California to lead a leader crew for the fall. A few things I enjoy: rock climbing, hiking, yoga, paddle boarding, cooking, nature, music,and learning. I'm geared up to share trail skills, outdoor living, and a whole bunch of laughter. I'm excited to lead the Field School with my super awesome co-lead, Mel.

My name is Stephani Kopfman. I am from Manhattan, Kansas but grew up in Southeast Kansas in the small town of Caney. I attended school at Kansas State University and graduated with a degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation. This will be my third SCA program. The previous two programs were in Idaho. The first was working in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness clearing trail. It was an awesome experience and got me hooked on the SCA. After I graduated I attended my second SCA program in Idaho in the Salmon Challis National Forest (adjacent to the Frank Church). I learned a tremendous amount from the variety of work we accomplished and the twenty two other SCA members and leaders. My last SCA introduced me to leading and I am hoping to further my skills so I may lead in future. I am also looking forward to learning what goes into creating a trail from beginning to end. Some of my hobbies include cooking, biking, horseback riding, swimming and I love trying new things.

Chris was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California (Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s a goofy name for a place. Yes, it’s a suburb of Los Angeles.) His varied interests led him to pursue the study of natural history at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. A few semesters in, he discovered a startling imbalance in the relationship between his continued interest in school and his ever-growing pile of loan debt. The remedy for this dilemma materialized in a position with the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC), where he worked for a year and a half on various salmon habitat restoration projects in Bellingham and throughout Washington State. Days off were spent backpacking in the Cascades, the Olympics, and climbing trees. He finished his service with WCC working on trail re-locations in Mt. Rainier National Park. Through this formative working experience, Chris’ interests are further diversified, leading him to look after acquiring a banjo (whose delicate twang had entranced him some fire-lit full moon night, months prior) He began work with SCA satisfying the desires to work outside and travel extensively, leading two high school crews and working on a leader crew in California’s Desolation Wilderness. Chris spent 2012 at Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire co-leading the Manchester Community high school program. He is looking forward to living with a great new group of people, and building some more trail.