Ladi Asgill, Senior Project Manager

Ladi joins our Sustainable Agriculture program with over 15 years of agribusiness finance and product management experience. As a financial consultant and economist, Ladi helped renewable energy and other Central Valley-based agribusinesses solve startup and business continuation challenges. Most recently he managed the permitting and financing of biogas generation facilities located at municipal landfills in California. As product manager with Harris Moran, an international vegetable seed company, he successfully managed the introduction and commercialization of numerous vegetable varieties.

Ladi received a BS in tropical agriculture from the University of Sierra Leone, an MS in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He also studied computer technology at UC Santa Cruz, and is a licensed instructor.

Lisa Capirchio, Government Grant Manager/Project Associate

Lisa helps manage Sustainable Conservation's government grants and contracts - as well as provides a wide variety of program support. Lisa comes to Sustainable Conservation with extensive administrative experience in a variety of settings, and most recently served as Operations Manager of a prominent steamship agency. Lisa holds a BS in Earth Science from the University of South Dakota.

Robyn Carliss, Development Associate

Robyn contributes to Sustainable Conservation's fundraising efforts by organizing special events; writing, designing and editing communication and solicitation materials; and overseeing stewardship activities. She also leads selected in-house graphic design projects, manages the organization's image library and supports the Executive Director.

Robyn comes to Sustainable Conservation from the Bard College Office of Alumni/ae Affairs in New York, where she served as a vital member of the development department. An avid photographer, Robyn's images have been published on GQ.com, and in Capital Press, West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy and University of California's California Agriculture. Robyn received her BA in fiction and poetry writing from Bard College.

Joseph Choperena, Project Manager

Joe coordinates Sustainable Conservation's dairy water quality project, a state-funded effort to improve manure management infrastructure on dairies and evaluate environmental benefits of innovative manure management practices. Joe is also involved with the organization's efforts to develop a biofuels industry and encourage renewable fuel use in California.

Growing up on a farm in California's San Joaquin Valley, Joe is deeply rooted in agriculture. The majority of his work experience has involved agricultural production and processing - throughout the state and overseas. He worked for a winery in the Arroyo Grande Valley on the Central Coast of California, and most recently he spent five years with the US Department of Agriculture as California Renewable Energy Coordinator for Rural Development. In his position, he managed the agency's renewable energy and energy efficiency grant, and guaranteed loan program. He represented the agency in the San Joaquin Valley Dairy Manure Collaborative, partnering with dairy producers, government agencies, milk processors and non-profit organizations. Joe has also worked on various international development projects both in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Joe holds an MS in International Agricultural Development with a specialization in Sustainable Forestry from University of California, Davis and a BS in Agribusiness from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Christiana Conser, Project Manager

Christiana manages PlantRight, which brings together the horticultural industry with environmental groups, public gardens and arboreta, scientists, and government agencies to halt the introduction of invasive plants in California.

Christiana brings more than 10 years of experience in invasive species management and ecological restoration to Sustainable Conservation. Prior to PlantRight, Christiana worked on large-scale riparian habitat restoration and invasive species removal projects in the Sacramento Valley for River Partners. She also served as Invasive Species Chair for the Mt. Lassen Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and helped to create a Central Valley version of CNPS's "Don't Plant a Pest" brochure. Christiana has also worked on restoration projects for the Insituto de Ecologia in Mexico and Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the Presidio.

Christiana received both her BS in Biology and MA in Ecology and Systematics from San Francisco State University. She recently published her thesis research, which looked at restoring coastal habitats invaded by iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis), in the journal Biological Invasions.

Susan Corlett, Director of Development and Communications

Susan joined Sustainable Conservation in 2004 and oversees fundraising and communications. During Susan's tenure, Sustainable Conservation's individual giving and foundation revenue, and number of donors have all nearly tripled.

In 2005, Susan oversaw the creation of a comprehensive communications outreach plan, and in 2007 Sustainable Conservation received more than 120 media hits - more than in the organization's first 13 years combined. KQED public television and radio, ABC-TV News, Today Show (NBC), Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle are among the many news organizations that have showcased Sustainable Conservation's work.

Susan began raising money for the environment during her 10 years at Sierra Club headquarters, where she managed the direct marketing programs. She then worked with the East Bay Agency for Children for eight years, serving first as Director of Development and then as Executive Director for the last three years. Under Susan's leadership, the agency's budget increased from $2.1 million to $5.2 million. Susan holds a MA in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and a BA in Business Administration from Lewis & Clark College.

Allen Dusault, Program Director, Sustainable Agriculture

Allen manages the organization's Sustainable Agriculture program, overseeing the implementation of several projects — including a renewable fuels initiative, and development of sustainably produced biodiesel, biomethane and bioethanol in California. He is a partner in the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program, a voluntary environmental stewardship program that reaches more than a thousand of the state's dairies. Allen also manages Sustainable Conservation's methane digester program — which promotes the conversion of cow manure into electricity and biomethane — and has been instrumental in more than a dozen new digesters being built throughout California.

Additionally, Allen helped launched a conservation tillage initiative to transform how crops are grown in California, and is currently developing carbon credit programs (anticipating implementation of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill 32) for both row crop agriculture and dairies. Allen has more than 20 years' experience in water quality issues, waste management, transportation, agriculture and energy generation that spans the public, private and non-profit sectors. He began his career as a soil scientist in Virginia. Allen moved on to senior positions with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, where he managed solid waste programs, Laidlaw Waste Systems, where he was East Coast Director of Recycling, and International Technology Corporation. His experience also includes managing a waste-to-energy plant in New England and operating one of the first short-haul, natural-gas-powered heavy duty truck fleets in California.

Prior to joining Sustainable Conservation, Allen was a consultant to companies and government agencies focusing on cost-effective pollution prevention. Allen received an MBA from the University of Redlands, an MS in resource management from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and a BS in soil science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has completed additional coursework at the University of California and University of Maryland.

Pam Igelsrud, Office Coordinator and Administrative Assistant

Pam supports the daily needs of the office with front desk and project support. She enjoys the variety of her job, which includes everything from logging donations to troubleshooting equipment failure. In addition to working for Sustainable Conservation, she sings with the American Bach Soloists and Volti, cantors at St. Agnes church, and teaches private voice lessons. She holds degrees in voice performance from the Eastman School of Music and New England Conservatory.

Alex Karolyi, Associate Director of Communications

Alex manages the organization's communications and public relations activities, including the development of a range of media and public outreach materials. He comes to the organization from a leading Bay Area environmental remediation firm, where he worked for more than four years as Proposal and Communication Specialist. Alex has more than 15 years' experience in research, writing and communications - having served as News Producer for WashingtonPost.com and Newsweek.com, and receiving the California Press Association Award and Pacemaker Award for excellence in journalism. He earned an MA in language studies from Georgetown University and BA in English Literature from California State University, Chico.

Leah Katz, Grants Manager

Leah oversees all of Sustainable Conservation's foundation and corporate fundraising activities. She brings more than eight years of collaborative land management experience in the western United States to the position. Leah comes to Sustainable Conservation from a leading Bay Area environmental consulting firm, where she worked with a variety of public agencies from the local to federal level to address natural resource conflicts, identify land management priorities and conduct environmental reviews of watershed-scale plans. Leah holds a BA in urban studies and planning from the University of California, San Diego and completed her MS in natural resource management at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Kelli McCune, Project Manager

Kelli manages Sustainable Conservation's ecosystem services program, overseeing its integration across the organization's many other efforts to address climate change, and promote clean water, clean air and biodiversity. Ecosystem services are those benefits provided by nature - like drinking water purified by wetlands - that would otherwise require costly investments such as water treatment facilities. A key aspect of Kelli's work involves quantifying these services so they can be registered as credits, and provide financial rewards for California farmers and other landowners for sound environmental stewardship that enhances the natural benefits that their land provides.

Prior to joining Sustainable Conservation, Kelli worked for the Bureau of Land Management in California's Central Valley and southeast Arizona, assisting with the management of a variety of large-scale species conservation and habitat restoration projects. Kelli received her master's degree from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara where she specialized in conservation planning. She holds a BA in environmental science and Spanish (magna cum laude) from Northern Michigan University.

Cristina Reis de Araujo, Controller

Cristina plays a key role in overseeing Sustainable Conservation's finances, having worked in the finance area for many years. For the past 12 years, she dedicated her professional career to the non-profit sector, where she feels she can contribute to social and environmental change. She served as Director of Finance and Administration for San Francisco Women Against Rape, Inc. and Youth Together, Inc.

Cristina holds a BA in Tourism from the Catholic University of Petropolis, Brazil, and a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UC, Santa Cruz and Accounting from City College of San Francisco.

Erik Schmidt, Project Manager

Erik manages the development of Sustainable Conservation's Partners in Restoration (PIR) program in the Upper Pajaro River watershed, and works on a variety of other projects in the Restoration on Private Lands Program . Erik comes to Sustainable Conservation with extensive regulatory and writing experience. In a consulting role, he wrote fisheries biological assessments for PIR projects in Mendocino, Marin and Humboldt counties; previously, Erik spent four years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, where he worked on Endangered Species Act consultations for listed salmonids and their habitat in the San Francisco Bay region. He also managed a $3 million salmonid habitat restoration grant fund in cooperation with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Prior to his federal service, Erik worked with several conservation-related organizations in Santa Cruz. Erik maintains his writing interests with occasional freelance pieces, which have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and other publications.

Erik earned a BA in anthropology from the University of California, San Diego, and an MA in environmental policy from the University of Colorado. Following his graduate studies, he was awarded a Knauss National Sea Grant Fellowship in Washington, DC. Prior to graduate school, Erik competed internationally as an elite cyclist.

Pamela Sergio, Director of HR and Administration

Pamela brings more than 18 years of management experience to Sustainable Conservation. Most of that time was spent developing and managing HR programs at Steinhart & Falconer, a San Francisco law firm. After seeing the firm through two back-to-back mergers, Pamela left the legal field to focus on consulting for small and mid-size businesses, including several nonprofits. While consulting for Sustainable Conservation, Pamela fell in love with the mission and passion of the people who work here, and officially joined the team.

As Sustainable Conservation's Director of HR and Administration, Pamela envisions drawing from the organization's spirit of partnership and collaboration while developing the human resource programs and administrative functions that will support its continued growth.

Pamela received a BA in Spanish from the University of Oregon, which she put to good use when living and teaching in Madrid, Spain for two years. She also has obtained certification as a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society of Human Resources Management.

J. Stacey Sullivan, Policy Director

Stacey directs Sustainable Conservation's growing involvement in public policy issues. He retired from the California State Assembly in November 2008 after a 12-year career as a consultant for the Natural Resources Committee and Budget Subcommittee #3 (Resources) and, for the last eight years, as Chief Consultant to the Local Government Committee. His work while with the Assembly included in-depth involvement in significant legislation and policy initiatives concerning the California Environmental Quality Act, water policy, sustainable agriculture, housing and land use planning.

Stacey is currently a Member of the Board of Directors of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and the Steering Committee of the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition. He was educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Oxford and King Hall School of Law at the University of California, Davis.

Lisa Thompson, Senior Project Manager

Lisa manages Sustainable Conservation's Partners in Restoration (PIR) efforts in San Luis Obispo County. Lisa brings over 10 years of experience in environmental conservation centered on ecological restoration and protection. Her prior work includes managing a county conservation program for The Nature Conservancy. She developed conservation strategies, provided planning for the conservation practices and coordinated the implementation of those conservation efforts. Lisa was also an instrumental member and advisor on a coalition dedicated to protecting a critical water basin. During her work for the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a Restoration Biologist, Lisa performed biological surveys for threatened and endangered species while restoring their habitat to help ensure their survival. Lisa also facilitated a conservation sustainability effort between conservationists and limestone miners. This endeavor resulted in the protection of endangered species endemic to limestone while allowing miners to continue their business activities. Lisa earned a BA in Environmental Studies (magna cum laude) from the University of Redlands and received the Environmental Studies Departmental honor for her thesis on Conservation Sustainability.

Tim Vendlinski, Program Director, Restoration on Private Lands

Tim directs Sustainable Conservation's permit coordination programs for voluntary habitat restoration on farmland, rangeland, and timberland.

From 2000-2006, he supervised the Wetlands Regulatory Office for the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regional office in San Francisco. He led a team of scientists and regulatory experts involved in planning, permitting, and enforcement actions to address activities affecting a diversity of aquatic ecosystems throughout Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Islands.

From 1995-2000, Tim helped lead a 13-agency consortium toward signing and implementing a Framework Agreement for the Interagency Vernal Pool Stewardship Initiative. He used the US EPA's grant and loan programs to catalyze partnerships with other agencies and non-governmental organizations to secure conservation for strategically important lands within California's Central Valley. These partnerships resulted in the protection of tens of thousands of acres encompassing vernal pool landscapes, grassland, oak woodland, farmland, and riparian corridors.

From 1989-1995, Tim served as the point-person for the San Francisco Estuary Project on freshwater flows and fisheries within the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. During this time, he organized and co-facilitated a series of scientific forums with internationally known scientists resulting in the formulation of estuarine salinity standards that provided a foundation for the historic 1994 Bay/Delta Accord.

Upon joining EPA in 1984, Tim helped establish the Community Involvement Program for the Superfund Division (hazardous waste). Later, he joined the Office of Federal Activities where he influenced a variety of projects involving flood control, water supply, timber harvesting, road construction, and the establishment of conservation areas in the West. Tim holds a BS in Environmental Policy and Planning from UC Davis.