Alumni Alumni Council Council Bios
Council Bios |
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Allison Kean was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and, against all odds, managed to fall in love with the outdoors anyway. In high school, Allison served on crews in Kentucky and Hawaii, and has been enamored with bluegrass and passion fruit ever since. She attended the University of Chicago, where she studied Sociology and worked extensively in admissions, alumni relations, and development. While in Chicago, Allison also worked in the Public Policy Department of the Mayor's office, where she had the opportunity to research and write about urban environmental initiatives in Chicago and elsewhere. After graduating, Allison came full circle by co-leading a high school crew in the very beautiful but very wet Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now back in New York City, Allison currently works as a management consultant for Katzenbach Partners, where she is focused on understanding and mapping social networks, employee pride and motivation, and the similarities and differences between public, private, and non-profit organizations. She is looking forward to continuing her service with SCA!
Angela was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. As the daughter of a former U.S. Park Service ranger, she grew up playing in creeks, hiking and camping in national parks. In 2001, she received a B.S. in Environmental Studies & Ecology from Appalachian State University. She was an SCA Intern stationed with the U.S. Geological Survey in the Everglades National Park during the summers of 2000 and 2001. During these internships she analyzed alligator diet and nesting parameters, investigated fish colonization patterns in karst wetlands, and performed amphibian surveys. She also assisted SCA in the creation of an international exchange program, the International Conservation Leadership Initiative, between the Everglades National Park and the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park in Brazil. The exposure to several aspects of human impact on water resources in the Everglades National Park led her to pursue a M.S. in Biology, with a focus in applied aquatic ecology, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has experience working with aquatic ecosystems in Alaska, the Venezuelan Andean Piedmont region, and southeastern Brazil. Recently, she left her job as a lecturer in the Department of Biology at University of North Carolina at Greensboro for California.
Cashea was born in California, then picked up and moved to South Carolina where she has lived for the past 19 years. She did her first high school trail crew in Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia. The following year, she served on another conservation crew in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For much of her life and after working both summers with SCA, she was certain that she was going to choose an environmental career. She finished high school in just 3 years, spent a year at Maryville College in Tennessee, and now attends Sterling College in Vermont. She will be graduating, again a year early, in May of 2009 with a BA in Outdoor Education & Leadership. She loves traveling and has been across country, from California to Canada and all in between. Her list of future goals includes leading an SCA crew, becoming a Park Ranger with the National Park Service, joining a wild land fire crew, traveling to every national park in the United States, sky diving, hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, and staying active with SCA in all aspects. Until then, she enjoys snowboarding, cross country skiing, hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing and all aspects of the great outdoors.
Christopher spent his formative years in the northern Sacramento Valley of California. An abundance of open space allowed him to roam at will and he became comfortable outside at a young age. He began a formal study of natural history in high school while volunteering as an interpretive intern at Lassen Volcanic National Park. At Lassen his appreciating for nature blossomed and his conservation ethic began to take shape. After high school he got a taste for foreign culture, adventure travel, and global biodiversity while spending three months in South East Asia and Nepal. He returned to attend college and major in biology. In 2000, the summer before his senior year, he was an SCA volunteer at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Hiking and maintaining trails resulted in times of deep reflection. His SCA experience helped solidify his everlasting commitment to the environment. In 2001 he earned his biology degree from Humboldt State University. A world of possibilities led him to Seattle where he works as an environmental scientist for King County. Christopher is passionate about natural history and conservation and strives to live each day to the fullest. He appreciates good food, drink, and walks, especially when combined in wilderness.
Clare started working with SCA in 2005 as a national high school crew leader and has since led five crews, at Isle Royale NP, Sleeping BearDunes NP, Olympic NP, Bear Mountain SP, and Pecos NHP. Before that, she received her B.A. in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and currently, she is pursuing a Masters degree in Environmental Policy with Columbia University's Earth Institute and School of International and Public Affairs. Her interests include tropical agriculture, community-managed conservation areas, and strengthening the links between policymakers, science and grassroots environmental movements. She spends about half of my time at school studying environmental science, and the other half calculating economic externalities (there are too many) and public goods (not enough), subjects familiar to anyone who has ever mined a bag of trail mix. Growing up in Woodstock, Illinois, she attended a Montessori school through eighth grade. SCA's emphasis on service learning strikes her as very similar to the Montessori Method of learning by doing. Whether watching rain flow down a trail or planning a day of work around the tides, SCA projects provide unique opportunities for learning. Her favorite tool is a Pulaski; she loves fresh-baked biscuits, strong coffee, peeling logs, and moving big rocks.
There is a line in Greg Brown's song, "Two Little Feet," that resonates with me. He sings, "tumble us like scree let us holler out our freedom like a wolf across a valley like a kid lost in a game." For me, this short phrase evokes a strong image of nature and of children. It makes me yearn to be immersed in the moment. My name is Daniella Drader and even though I am a busy Washington State University graduate student, I know I need my time outside to keep me balanced. It has been my pleasure to work with numerous local, national, and international groups. From Groundworks and PCEI to Roots & Shoots and SCA, my experiences have stretched me into the person I am today. I am an engaged human being with glory scars to prove my years of service learning, and that makes me a passionate proponent of sharing the benefits of nature. I'm honored to be on the council again this year and look forward to engaging our alumni in service. Please feel free to contact me if you're anywhere near Pullman, WA.
An avid explorer of national parks, Jeff Bransford joined the Alumni Council in April 2008 as a way to reciprocate the benefits he received as a SCA Business Plan Consultant in 2005 at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Jeff's professional experience includes multiple positions with the National Park Service, including Park Ranger, Volunteer Coordinator, and Management Assistant. Also, his experience includes working as a Program Coordinator at the Supreme Court of the United States and as a Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Active in several professional organizations, he served as President of the National Recreation and Park Association Student Branch in 2000-01 and has received an Award of Excellence from the National Society for Park Resources. A graduate of Texas A&M University and Clemson University, Jeff now works for the National Parks Conservation Association's Center for Park Management in Washington, DC.
Jesse Stanley is originally from rural Ohio where he spent his childhood playing in the woods and fields surrounding his home and going on yearly family roadtrips to National Parks and public lands across the country. He graduated from Earlham College with a degree in History. Jesse served as an SCA Intern from 2002 to 2004 with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada and California, the National Park Service in Nebraska and the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Idaho. In late 2004 he joined the Admissions Department staff at SCA's New Hampshire Headquarters. Jesse now lives in Seattle, WA and works for the NW Energy Coalition, an alliance of environmental, civic, and human service organizations, progressive utilities, and businesses that promotes development of renewable energy and energy conservation, consumer protection, low-income energy assistance, and fish and wildlife restoration on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Jesse provides outreach and support to member organizations, plans Coalition events, maintains the website and is the primary graphic designer for Coalition publications. When not at work, Jesse can be found traveling, hiking, skiing, practicing his photography or volunteering about town.
Katie Kovach’s SCA service was as a conservation intern for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy January to March 2006. As an intern she fought the fight against invasive plants and spent a lot of time hiking around Catalina Island, off the coast of California. This further rooted plans to pursue a path in natural resources and she entered the Forestry Department of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the fall of 2006. Katie finished a Master of Science degree in Forest Biology from Virginia Tech in the Fall of 2008. Her project emphasizes the importance of exploring genetic variation of native and commercially valuable tree populations in the Southeastern United States. Katie previously earned a Bachelors of Science in Botany and Biological Sciences from North Carolina State University in 2005. Katie has worked in various research capacities spanning different aspects of plant biology. Katie is eager to continue contributing to the SCA, an organization that has made a positive impact on her life.
My name is Keith Mars and I am a SCA-Yellowstone National Park alumnus of 2003. I currently live in Austin, TX, and work for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as an air quality specialist. My academic background is varied with a B.A. in Biology and Political Science and a M.S. in Forestry and Environmental Policy. I have also studied tropical ecology and reforestation in Australia and transatlantic relations in Germany. On the employment side of life, I have worked for a U.S. House Representative, the University of Tennessee, and a small conservation and sustainability non-profit organization. Despite my current day job, my true interests are in sustainable forest management, conservation and land use planning, ecosystem management, ecosystem services, and international and domestic environmental policy, and I intend on going back for my Ph.D. in the coming years. In my free time I enjoy traveling, hiking, playing disc golf, seeing movies, cooking, reading, or taking in with friends the great city of Austin.
After growing up in New York City and attending college at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Lillian developed a passion for the ocean and its inhabitants. She never imagined she could also love the desert until she spent nine months in the hottest and driest one in the US. Through SCA’s Corps program, she escaped the urban jungle and spent nine months in the Yuha desert of Southern California. It was an inspirational experience after which she returned to the ocean and led a SCA-CORE high school crew in Olympic National Park. Along with six feisty marine-loving high school students and her co-leader she spent a month backpacking pristine coastline, helping the park scientists establish a marine monitoring program. After re-confirming a love of the ocean and a desire to protect marine resources, she returned to Philadelphia and earned a Master of Science degree in biology at Villanova University – studying the ecology and evolution of a unique clam species. Both SCA experiences exposed Lillian to the beautiful landscapes of the West coast and she currently lives in San Francisco, working as a research associate in a lab that investigates aspects of Mad Cow and Creutzfeldt-Jacobs disease. She is grateful for her experiences with SCA. "I would never have believed that there are so many of you out there who care about our environment and I would have never understood the magic that is hot sauce."
Matt Young is a junior at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, majoring in Environmental Studies and English. He is originally from Shaftsbury, VT. Currently, he is studying abroad at Massey University-Palmerston North in New Zealand. He has worked with SCA for the past three summers. He spent the summer of 2005 on a backcountry trail crew in Glacier National Park, MT, rerouting trails through alpine meadows and constructing stone staircases. During the summer of 2006, he served on the Yakama Indian Reservation on a Fire Education Corps teaching fire safety & prevention, and even was a certified wildfire fighter for a couple months. Last summer, he worked as an environmental interpretation assistant in the Lake Alpine-Calaveras Ranger District of Stanislaus National Forest. He had the incredible fortune of leading day hikes and interpreting cultural and natural history through vistas, mountain lakes, and the pine forests of the High Sierra. SCA has proven to be a gateway agency of personal & professional growth & humility of self, and always a remarkable experience. After graduation, he wants go to graduate school and study American & Documentary Studies, doing documentary writing/photography/radio/film work of Americana stories. He is doing his senior project on on Aldo Leopold's "Round River Essay," in a documentary fashion and using more than a fair share of my SCA experiences along the way. He is also hoping to start a documentary radio show on his college radio station, KSLU.
At the moment, I am making the most of living the big city life in Chicago as the head manager for LUSH, a small wine shop. Although tasting wine, talking about wine, and being encompassed by all wine all the time may seem the ideal situation, I am itching to dig my bare toes into deep, dark, moist earth again. After frolicking in the woods with SCA, I was enticed to complete a Masters Degree in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. Previously, I received my undergraduate in Anthropology at the Univ. of Arkansas. During the interlude between my academic endeavors, I participated in SCA's Massachusetts Parks Corps 10-month residential program, working as an environmental educator and trail worker in Hawley, MA and then again as a high school Crew Leader in Virginia and Tennessee. I am drawn to nature, as my roots reach back to being born within the Ozark National Forest. I grew up in the midst of mountains and forests of Arkansas, where I gained an affinity for the outdoors. I continue to engage in outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing, and playing ultimate frisbee and soccer. I am thrilled to be a part of the Alumni Council, pulling those very important strings of connection to people and the land that the SCA creates.
My name is Sarah Stocco, and I’m thrilled to be participating in SCA’s Alumni Council. I was born and raised in Minnesota, but I currently reside in Oakland, California where I live with my husband, Andrew. During my days, I teach Kindergarten to a fantastic group of twenty kids who love to sing along with me on my guitar. Some of my favorite things include twilight, the smell of jasmine, out of control tail wagging, morning coffee, and looking at maps. Some not so favorite things include eating pretty much anything from the sea, and those teacher vests and sweaters that have apples, schoolhouses, and cutesy things on them. I first served with SCA as a high school volunteer in 1995, and since that time have worked with SCA as an AmeriCorps member in New Hampshire, as a crew leader for the Oakland CLC program, and as a summer crew leader five times. Obviously, SCA has had a big impact on my life and continues to be of great importance to me! I am honored to be serving SCA as a member of the Alumni Council, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of looking forward to the next 50 years of SCA.
Sharlissa served as the Program Manager of Student Pugwash USA, which raises college students’ awareness of ethics and social responsibility in science and technology. She is deeply committed to sharing the importance of the ethical role of science in society with students. Before coming to SPUSA, Sharlissa worked for the Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Prior to that, she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in the Appalachian Mountains. She interned for the SCA in 2002 as a Transportation Interpreter at Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska and is excited to be a part of the 50-year anniversary. Sharlissa graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with a degree in astronomy. She grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where she still loves to kayak, hike, and ski. She now resides in Tempe, AZ.
Tom has worked in the fields of Parks, Recreation and the Environment ever since his days as a summer camp counselor in Coconut Creek, Florida. After a part-time job with the City of Coconut Creek maintaining city parks during high school, Tom went off to college at the University of Florida in Gainesville to earn a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. Along with taking classes, he worked full-time for the City of Gainesville managing recreation centers, after school programs and summer camps. In 2005, Tom was awarded the Unilever Environmental Policy Internship through SCA and worked a summer at Channel Islands National Park. After some initial research and interviews with park employees, he formulated a new vision and mission for the Southern California Research Learning Center. Then in the fall as part of his internship, Tom went on to do some environmental policy work for US Representative Ron Kind (WI-03) on Capitol Hill. While he fell in love with the DC work and lifestyle, in 2006 this true Florida Gator went back to his alma mater to get a Masters of Science in Ecology at UF. For the past few years, Tom has been studying the relationship between multinational corporations and the environments they work in, especially in the field of agriculture. During graduate school, he was awarded a fellowship funded by a National Science Foundation GK-12 program to teach science in a middle school classroom for two years. Educating teens about the environment and how they can help make a change in the world are values he picked up while working with SCA and central to his instructional philosophy. In his free time, Tom likes to hike, bike, ski and kayak. He is excited to be a part of the Alumni Council.