Our Team

Working to protect our environment for both people and wildlife requires many different skills and talents. Above all, it requires a passion for the planet and everyone who calls it home. Our staff are all advocates for our planet and they bring with them a complex mix of skills and experience to help Friends of the Earth achieve its mission.

Staff | Board | Consultants

Senior Team

Erich Pica, president

Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica is a nationally recognized expert on energy subsidies who for more than a decade has worked to reform U.S. tax and budget policy in ways that reduce pollution and spark a transition to clean energy.

Read an extended bio. Follow Erich on Twitter: @erichpica

Michelle Chan, vice president of programs

Michelle Chan is the Vice President of Programs at Friends of the Earth. Previously, she led the Economic Policy team at Friends of the Earth, which works to reform international trade rules, get money out of politics, green U.S. tax and budget policy, and promote sustainable finance policies at public and private financial institutions. She is the founder of BankTrack, and currently is the Vice President of the Board of Amazon Watch. She has served on the boards of Ceres, the Council for Responsible Public Investment, the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment; and was a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Advisory Committee. In 2002 received the Social Investment Forum’s Service Award for outstanding contributions to the field of socially responsible investing. She graduated from the Division of Honors with degrees in Economics, Development Studies, and Geography from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Peter Stocker, vice president of membership and development

Peter Stocker directs our membership and development program and has a wide range of development experience in Europe, Central America and the U.S. His experience includes delivering humanitarian aid to Bosnia, fundraising for women’s rights in Nicaragua, and managing the membership and institutional giving programs at Youth Radio in Berkeley and the Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco. His development background includes in-depth experience with direct mail, online fundraising, grant writing, and data management. Peter is a graduate of U.C. San Diego and received his Master’s in Rural Development from Sussex University in the United Kingdom.

Julie Dyer, operations director

Julie serves two key roles: one, as the director of the day-to-day operations of the organization and two, as the key link between the senior management of the organization and the board of directors. Previously Julie served as executive assistant to the president. Julie has a background in mediation and conflict resolution and has worked previously in higher education and as a judicial assistant. She has experience in project management, administrative support and event planning. She uses her previous experience to help increase efficiency at an organization that helps to defend the environment. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children at their home in western Loudoun County.

Staff

Lisa Archer, food and technology program director

Lisa has developed and led successful science-based corporate accountability, markets, policy, public education and organizing campaigns focused on environmental health and justice for nearly two decades. Most recently, she co-founded and directed The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Prior to this, she led Friends of the Earth’s Health and Environment Program, developing and running hard-hitting campaigns to prevent the environmental causes of cancer; challenge the introduction of untested, unregulated genetically engineered food and nanotechnology into the marketplace; and promote environmentally sound farming practices. Lisa has appeared in numerous media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, AP, Time Magazine, CNN, CBS, ABC and NPR. Lisa is a graduate of Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing, and holds a dual degree in International Relations and Economics.

Jenny Bock, northeast regional organizer

Jenny is the Northeast regional organizer at Friends of the Earth. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Jenny was the Field Director for the 23rd Congressional district of Texas which spans from San Antonio to El Paso and includes Texas’s magnificent national park, Big Bend National Park. Also while in Texas Jenny worked on an Affordable Care Act Latino Outreach campaign with Planned Parenthood in San Antonio, Texas. Jenny has also interned for Sierra Club’s Beyond Natural Gas campaign in Washington D.C. and as a volunteer helped launch Sierra Club’s New York City Beyond Coal campaign. Jenny cares deeply about the underlying economic and political root causes of environmental issues and believes we can only solve environmental issues by simultaneously achieving economic, social and racial justice. Jenny is from Brooklyn, NY and has been organizing her community and building people power to create solutions to environmental and social issues since she first learned about the dangers of climate change in high school. Jenny is fluent in Spanish after 12 dedicated years of study and completing an independent research study in Peru that focused on the development of anti-extraction protest movements in the Peruvian Amazon and Andean highlands. Jenny has a B.A in Sociology with a concentration in Environmental Studies from Kenyon College.

Author: Medium, How the People’s Climate Movement Day of Action connected the TPP, COP21 and justice-related issues, Dec. 10, 2015; Medium, 80,000+ people demand Flint debate focus on justice, Mar. 4, 2016

Jeff Conant, senior international forests program manager

Jeff Conant directs Friends of the Earth’s international forests program, which seeks to protect forests and the rights of forest-dependent peoples by addressing the root causes of forest destruction. Jeff comes to Friends of the Earth with nearly two decades of experience working on international environment and development issues. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, he was communications director of Global Justice Ecology Project, where he advocated for climate justice at the United Nations and other global arenas. As an author and popular educator he developed educational materials on a wide range of issues related to ecological and social justice, from basic sanitation to multilateral development bank policies and from forestry to food sovereignty. He co-authored A Community Guide to Environmental Health (Hesperian Health Guides, 2008), a comprehensive community education manual which is being translated into numerous languages. As an independent journalist, Jeff has written frequently for outlets such as Alternet, Corpwatch, Earth Island Journal, Yes!, Race, Poverty and the Environment and Z Magazine. He is also the founding editor of synbiowatch.org.

Report: Exploitation and empty promises: Wilmar’s Nigerian landgrab, Jul. 8, 2015
Up in Smoke: Failures in Wilmar’s promise to clean up the palm oil business, Dec. 8, 2016
Press: Huffington Post, Palm Oil is in Everything—And It’s Destroying Southeast Asia’s Forests, Sep.  9, 2015
TIME,  The Surprising Link Between Trans Fat and Deforestation,  Jun. 19, 2015
Author: Truthout, Palm Oil and Extreme Violence in Honduras: The Inexorable Rise and Dubious Reform of Grupo Dinant, Dec. 8, 2014
Inter Press Service, To Defend the Environment, Support Social Movements Like Berta Caceres and COPINH, April 25, 2015
Foreign Policy In Focus, The Obama Administration Just Blew Off Human Trafficking Concerns to Pass the TPP, Aug. 6, 2015
Medium, Indonesia’s palm oil fires: Interview with Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Nov. 3, 2015
Medium, Where there’s palm oil, there’s fire (Parts 1, II and III), Nov. 5, 2015
Medium, Berta Cáceres, ¡presente!, Mar. 3, 2016

Blog posts: Indonesia’s palm oil fires: Responding to the Crisis, Nov. 3, 2015
Palm oil fires rage in Indonesian Borneo, Oct. 1, 2015
Read more blog posts from Jeff.

Stacey Conn, administrative assistant

Stacey Conn is the administrative assistant to Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. Previously, she served as a general manager of a Vermont non-profit organization with the mission of promoting local farms and connecting people with healthy farm-fresh food. She has a background in executive level administrative support, event planning and education (school counseling). She holds an MBA from Babson College, where she studied Social Entrepreneurship, served as a Babson Board Fellow and traveled to Ghana to teach business entrepreneurship skills to high school students. Stacey also has an M.S. in Applied Educational Psychology from Northeastern University and a B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland.

Denise Cummings, data systems administrator

Denise is Friends of the Earth’s data systems administrator. She manages our donor database and supports the Development team providing accurate data for their analysis. Previously Denise worked for Africare for eight years in a similar role and spent the last 20 years dedicating her career to nonprofits. In her spare time, she sings R&B and jazz in the Washington, D.C. area’s local music scene. She enjoys reading biographies of music greats and watching documentaries.

Jason Davidson, food and technology campaign associate

Jason is the Food and Technology Campaign Associate at Friends of the Earth. He supports the Bee Action Campaign. Jason worked on the campaign as an intern before joining Friends of the Earth as staff. Prior to Friends of the Earth, he interned at Climate Reality Project and served as a research assistant in the Geography Department at George Washington University. He holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Geographic Information Systems and American Studies from George Washington University.

Patrick Davis, press officer

Patrick Davis is a Press Officer at Friends of the Earth, where he manages external communications and rapid response for the organization’s campaign teams. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Patrick served as a Press Secretary on Capitol Hill and worked on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s presidential bid. He has lived and worked in Turkey, Republic of Georgia, and across the United States. Patrick holds a MGPS from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and a BA from Lawrence University.

Kate DeAngelis, international policy analyst

Kate DeAngelis works in ending public financing for fossil fuels and giving a voice to affected communities. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, she was a research analyst at the World Resources Institute, where she focused on international climate change issues, including the creation of a new climate agreement. In addition, she lived in China teaching English and volunteering for an environmental non-profit. Kate received a B.A. in psychology and political science from the George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Maryland.
Reports: Talk is Cheap: How G20 Governments Are Financing Climate Disaster, July 5, 2017

Andrew Fandino, international forests campaigner

Andrew Fandino works on stopping land grabbing and deforestation internationally with a special focus on palm oil. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, he was the acting director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission in Washington, D.C., where he led the organization’s work to change U.S. policy towards Guatemala. He has over 18 years of advocacy and campaigning experience working with such organizations as Amazon Watch, the Burma Border Projects, Human Rights Watch, Peace Brigades International and the U.S. Office on Colombia. He also spent five years living and working in Southeast Asia, creating his own NGO called the Committee for the Protection for Human Rights, which focused on capacity building, research and advocacy work in Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Andrew received a B.A. in government and politics from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in international affairs from American University.

Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner

Tiffany is the food futures campaigner at Friends of the Earth. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, she worked as a community health organizer at Many Languages One Voice, running campaigns to improve equitable access to affordable, culturally and linguistically appropriate health-related information, services, and care. She has also led labor solidarity and environmental stewardship campaigns and completed an independent research study in Bolivia focused on the impacts of climate change on bee populations and implications of pollinator declines for the food systems and global ecosystems. Tiffany hails from a seventh-generation organic family farm in Vermont which taught her the importance of protecting our local family farms and need to build a sustainable and just food system. She holds a B.A. in International Affairs with a Concentration in Contemporary Cultures and Societies from George Washington University.

Reports:Growing Bee-Friendly Garden Plants: Profiles In Innovation, Jun. 1, 2015
Gardeners Beware 2014, Jun. 25, 2014
Press: Chicago Tribune, Ace and Hardware and True Value feel the sting of the bee-loving protestors, Nov. 4, 2015
The News & Observer, Bee supporters press to curb use of pesticides, Sep. 19, 2015
Discovery News, Bumblebees Decimated by Climate Change: Study Jul. 13, 2015
Author: Green Biz, 5 ways companies are defending bees, Jul. 10, 2015
Medium, Busy as bees, Dec. 3, 2016

Audrey Fox, communications associate

Audrey is the communications associate at Friends of the Earth. She produces social content for the organization, tracks and analyzes social metrics, and assists with editing and posting of blogs, news releases, and web pages. She additionally manages the organizational facets of the communications department and helps with the production of multimedia content, including photos and videos. Audrey holds a B.A. in Political Science and Communications with a specialization in Environmental Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Jonathan Fox, senior democracy campaigner

Jon Fox is the senior democracy campaigner with Friends of the Earth. Jon has spent over a decade promoting positive social change through advocacy, campaigning and community engagement in the United States, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Jon’s work is focused on leading the development and implementation of efforts limiting the corrupting influence of Big Money in politics directed at legislators, regulators, civil society partners and private sector leaders. Jon received his master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs, where his studies focused on Human Rights and International Affairs.
Follow Jon on Twitter: @JonKitsuneAuthor: Medium, Maine votes money out, people in, Nov. 5, 2015
Medium, Why democracy matters to the environment, Dec. 3, 2015
Medium, The long struggle for democracy, Jan. 21, 2016
Blog post:Court upholds ban on contractor pay-to-play donations, Jul. 10, 2015

Kari Hamerschlag, deputy director of food & technology

Kari Hamerschlag is the deputy director of the food and technology program, based in Berkeley, California. Kari carries out research and implements market and policy campaigns aimed at reforming animal agriculture, protecting pollinators and promoting sustainable, fair, healthy and resilient food and farming systems. Prior to Friends of the Earth, Kari worked for five years as a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group where she focused on wide range of food and ag issues including the U.S. farm bill, GMOs, climate change, organic agriculture, food security and conservation policy. Kari has done extensive research on the links between food production and climate change and was the lead author of a comprehensive web-based Meateater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, and numerous other blog posts, op-eds and reports. Prior to EWG, Kari worked for many years as a sustainable food policy and fair trade consultant. Kari began her career more than twenty years ago as an organizer, researcher and advocate for socially and environmentally sound development policy, focused in Latin America. Kari has a Masters from UC Berkeley in Latin American Studies and City and Regional Planning. She speaks Spanish, French and some Portuguese.

Report:Spinning Food: How Food Industry Front Groups and Covert Communications are Shaping the Story of Food, Jun. 30, 2015
Press: Associated Press, Subway Is Transitioning To Antibiotic-Free Meat, Oct. 20, 2015
CNN, USDA doesn’t care if our diets are climate friendly — but Americans do, Oct. 7, 2015
Reuters, U.S. fast-food meat still mostly  raised on antibiotics, Sep. 14, 2015
Author: The Food Revolution Network, Redefining Good Food at the Nation’s Largest Casual Restaurant Company, Nov. 5, 2015
Food Tank, Advocates Urge Dietary Guidelines that are Good for Public Health and the Environment, Apr. 5, 2015
Blog posts:Antibiotic Resistance—with a  side order of fries?, Sep. 15, 2015
Truth or Deception?, Jun. 30, 2015
Keep food industry influence out of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines, Feb. 26, 2016

Emily Hendrick, grant writer

Emily is Friends of the Earth’s grant writer based in Berkeley, CA. Previously she worked in nonprofit development for diverse organizations in Colorado, Guatemala, and most recently Peru, where she raised funds to create protected conservation areas for the habitat of critically endangered birds throughout the country in coordination with indigenous rural communities and local governments. She holds an M.P.A. from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Middlebury College. Emily is a San Francisco native, speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and in her free time enjoys traveling the world, running, reading, live music, and climbing mountains.

Gary Graham Hughes, senior California advocacy campaigner

Gary Graham Hughes works to strengthen Friends of the Earth’s involvement in climate, energy, forest and water issues in California, the seventh largest economy in the world. Gary has extensive domestic experience in the Western states of the U.S. and has also worked throughout Latin America. Gary has worked with the Environmental Protection Information Center in the Redwood temperate rain forests of Northern California, and as the Patagonia Campaign Coordinator with International Rivers. He has also worked as a wilderness and mountain instructor with Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School. Gary earned a B.Sc. in Sociology from the University of Oregon, and an M.Sc. in the interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana.

Author: Medium, California plays fast and loose with climate science and environmental justice, Feb. 24, 2016

Erin Jensen, press officer

Erin Jensen is a Press Officer with Friends of the Earth, where she helps generate media coverage for FOE’s various campaigns. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Erin served as a Press Assistant in Florida with For Our Future, a 2016 political action committee funded by Tom Steyer and labor unions. She brings a strong background in progressive advocacy and has done communications and media relations work on various critical issues including reproductive justice, abortion access, voting rights, civil liberties and more. Erin was the Communications Coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, and worked for the League of Women Voters of Florida as their Communications Manager prior to that. Erin received a B.A. in English from the University of South Florida. As a recent D.C. transplant, Erin enjoys exploring the city’s neighborhoods in her free time.

John Kaltenstein, senior marine policy analyst

John Kaltenstein combines an environmental/natural resources law background with a passionate commitment to advocacy on behalf of the environment and social justice. He has done legal work and analyzed compliance requirements for smelting and metallurgy operations in Peru, written amicus briefs on impacts of a proposed mariculture operation in Costa Rica as well as a shrimp aquaculture project in Belize, research Endangered Species Act issues and developed conservation recommendations on groundfish bycatch. He has also worked for the SEIU Health Care Workers Union, conducting training and education work, and managed litigation involving complex antitrust, securities and health care issues. While in law school, he co-chaired his law school’s environmental justice advocacy group. He holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, OR and a B.A. from Swarthmore in Political Science.

Blog post: Arctic shipping policy: What’s wrong with this picture, Mar. 1, 2016

Marcie Keever, oceans and vessels program director

Marcie Keever has a strong background in campaign implementation, expertise on air issues, and experience in dealing with agency relations and legislative initiatives. Previously, Marcie served as program director for San Francisco Beautiful where she implemented a campaign to stop the proliferation of digital billboards in California and prevented the placement of advertising on the Golden Gate Bridge. Before that she was a staff attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow for Our Children’s Earth Foundation, conducting air pollution case work, including lawsuits against the Tennessee Valley Authority for its dirty coal-fired power plants. She has also done work for a number of environmental justice organizations including as a staff attorney at the Golden Gate University Environmental Law and Justice Clinic. Marcie holds a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco with a certificate in Environmental Law and a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara with a double major in Environmental Studies and Law and Society.

Author: Medium, Aircraft on the hot seat, Dec. 3, 2015

Kendra Klein, Ph.D., staff scientist, agroecology and environmental health

Kendra is the Food and Technology campaign’s staff scientist and leads agroecology work. She has over 14 years of experience as a writer, researcher and environmental advocate. Her areas of expertise are in environmental sustainability, environmental health and food and agriculture. She is also a lecturer at UC Berkeley and at San Francisco State University. She is a 2011 Switzer Environmental Fellow and has written for The Nation, Gastronomica, Civil Eats, GoodFoodWeb.org as well as peer-reviewed academic journals. Before joining Friends of the Earth, she coordinated the California Healthy Food in Health Care campaign at Physicians for Social Responsibility and worked as a program associate at Breast Cancer Action on chemical policy reform, corporate accountability related to pink ribbon fundraising, and precautionary principle implementation. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Miami University in Ohio.

Adam Lugg, membership and donor services manager

Adam is our membership and donor services manager at Friends of the Earth and has worked in nonprofit fundraising since 2007. In addition to donor services, Adam is also responsible for Friends of the Earth’s direct mail program. He holds a B.S. in International Business and German from the University of Warwick, England, and has also studied in Germany and worked in Spain.

Carrie Mann, senior manager for digital advocacy and membership

Carrie is the senior manager for digital advocacy and membership at Friends of the Earth. Previously, she worked for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, where she supported sustainable development and green building projects. Carrie graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BA in Political Science and International Studies. She has studied and lived in China and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia.

Josette Matoto, graphic designer and video producer

Josette Matoto is one of Friends of the Earth’s in-house graphic designer and video producer. She manages all visual aspects of the brand, including the design and layout of the organization’s quarterly newsmagazine as well as graphics for social media and the foe.org website. Josette has a long history of promoting the advancement of progressive causes, including Equality Virginia, Girls Rock! RVA and the DC Women’s Initiative. When she’s not busy advocating for change, Josette plays the drums, shoots photography at local events and reads comics. Josette attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia where she received her BFA in Filmmaking.

Justice Mirzakhani, digital organizing associate

Justice is our part-time Digital Organizing Associate in the Development team. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Justice was a Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. She also interned for PBS KIDS Marketing and Communications Department in Arlington, VA and MTV’s Publicity department in Los Angeles, CA.  She holds a B.A. in Public Communication from American University in Washington, D.C. Justice has always had a passion for progressive issues and digital communications. In her spare time, Justice likes to create contemporary digital illustrations and do freelance graphic design work.

Damon Moglen, senior strategic advisor

As Friends of the Earth’s Senior Strategic Advisor, Damon coordinates the organizations work on nuclear power and provides strategic advice on climate and energy issues.  He lead the organization’s effort to close the damaged San Onofre nuclear reactors in Southern California in 2013 and is currently focused on closing the Diablo Canyon (CA) and Indian Point (NY) nuclear power reactors and replacing them with clean, safe, GHG free renewable energy.  Moglen has over thirty years of directing campaigns at the local, national and international level. He came to Friends of the Earth in 2010 from Greenpeace USA where he was the Global Warming Campaign Director. Damon started his work on environmental issues with Friends of the Earth in Washington, D.C. in 1984 — since then he has worked on climate, energy and nuclear issues for over three decades with Greenpeace International, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has also worked for the ACLU as a national Field Director and for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as their International Advocacy Director.

Doug Norlen, economic policy program director

For 18 years, Doug Norlen has conducted successful advocacy to achieve environmental, developmental and accountability policy reform of multilateral trade and finance institutions, export credit agencies and private banks. His work has been instrumental in successful efforts to achieve improvements in U.S. bilateral financing policies, beginning with reforms at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation announced in 1997 by President Clinton. More recently, his efforts have helped establish and implement climate change and accountability reforms at OPIC and the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Mr. Norlen is also a leader in international NGO coalition efforts to reform export credit agencies. His work has helped lead these agencies to adopt environmental and social policies that, since 2002, have been applied to over $130 billion in financing for environmentally risky projects worldwide. Mr. Norlen has also worked extensively with local communities to address environmental and developmental impacts of extractive and energy projects funded by public and private finance institutions. Mr. Norlen received a master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Oregon.

Author: Medium, Report reveals deadly U.S. government-funded coal project, Dec. 2, 2015

Keiko Okisada, graphic designer and video producer

Keiko is a hybrid creative with 15 years of non-profit/corporate experience at leading film and digital media companies including Anonymous Content, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Arnowitz Creative Agency and KCETLink TV. She is a producer, art director and post-production supervisor of narrative, non-fiction, music videos and corporate video and print campaigns for new media, advertising, features and television. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Film and Television, and her short film work has won awards from the MPAA, Peter Stark Award. She holds a strong passion and aspiration to express herself creatively through making art, and she believes it’s the best fuel for life.

Karen Orenstein, deputy director of economic policy

Karen Orenstein is the deputy director of the economic policy program at Friends of the Earth, where she oversees work on international public finance. Karen specializes in climate finance – to ensure the provision and effective use of funds from countries in the Global North for those in the Global South to take climate action rooted in science, justice and fairness. Prior to joining the organization, Karen spent seven years at the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, where she led Washington efforts to support self-determination, justice and human rights protections  for the peoples of East Timor, Indonesia and West Papua; she continues to serve on ETAN’s board. Karen has also done research and volunteer work for the Maasai Education, Research, and Conservation Institute, and lived in Tanzania.

Press: Christian Science Monitor, Could finance derail Paris climate talks?, Nov. 25, 2015
Reuters, U.S. climate finance in limbo, risking ‘trust gap’ before Paris, Sep. 26, 2015
Huffington Post, Activists Hope Pope Can Change Climate Conversation In Washington, Sep. 22, 2015
Author: Medium, Paying the high cost of climate chaos, Oct. 15, 2015
Environmental Finance, COP Blog: Paris’s $100bn question, Dec. 1, 2015
Blog post: 5 simple reasons to oppose HSBC and Credit Agricole at the Green Climate Fund, Mar. 8, 2016
100 groups call for Climate Investment Funds to sunset, June 14, 2016

Read Karen’s blog.

Dana Perls, senior food and technology campaigner

Dana Perls is the senior food and technology campaigner with Friends of the Earth. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, she was the Northern California community organizer with Pesticide Watch, where she ran regional campaigns in agricultural counties to ban cancer-causing, unregulated strawberry pesticides from the market, to label GMOs in California, and to help reform the corporate control of our food systems with non-toxic, localized, and regulated practices. Victories included mobilizing agricultural regions to pressure international agribusiness, Arysta Lifesciences, to remove a carcinogenic pesticide from the national market. Dana brings a strong background in grassroots campaign organizing and environmental policy and combines them with her commitment to environmental justice. She has also worked on water contamination issues throughout California’s agricultural valleys, and on campaigns focused on issues ranging from human rights to water in Panama where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer. She holds a Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley in CA, and a B.A. from Cornell University.

Report:Extreme Genetic Engineering and the Human Future: Reclaiming Emerging Biotechnologies for the Common Good, Nov. 30, 2015
Press: NPR, Genetically Modified Salmon Is Safe To Eat, FDA Says, Nov. 20, 2015
Reuters,  GMO salmon approval turns up the heat in U.S. labeling battle, Nov. 19, 2015
Washington Post, The FDA just approved the nation’s first genetically engineered animal: A salmon that grows twice as fast, Nov. 19, 2015

Louisa Phillips, planned giving officer

Louisa is Friends of the Earth’s planned giving officer. She focuses on helping supporters craft a legacy that meets their philanthropic and financial goals through gift and estate planning. Previously, she worked for five years in planned giving at The Nature Conservancy and spent her weekends giving tours to children at The National Zoo. She holds degrees in Zoology and Environmental Science from Miami University in Ohio. Louisa is passionate about wildlife conservation, animal rescue and environmental sustainability. She loves to travel the world, explore the outdoors, exercise, read and ride horses.

Lukas Ross, climate and energy campaigner

Lukas Ross is a climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth. He works on greening the federal budget and ending subsidies for polluters. Previously he was a research fellow at the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank specializing in land investment and sustainable agriculture. There he worked on biofuel policy and financial sector investment in U.S. farmland. He has a masters in Politics from Cambridge University, England, and a joint degree in international relations and film studies from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Report: A Flaring Shame: North Dakota & the hidden fracking subsidy, Sep. 30, 2015
Press: Inside Climate News, Natural Gas Flaring: Critics and Industry Square, Oct. 5, 2015
Author: Ecowatch, Why Would 46 Senators Support Burning Trees for Electricity When It Contributes More to Climate Change Than Coal? Jul 10, 2015
Daily Kos, The People’s Budget is the Greenest Option in Washington, Mar. 9, 2016
Blog posts:Does Obama’s EPA rule mean welfare for wood?, Mar. 3, 2015
Citizen co-sponsors support the People’s Budget,Mar. 24, 2015

Danielle San Miguel, operations coordinator

Danielle is the operations coordinator at Friends of the Earth. She provides technical support to the staff, coordinates logistics for staff events, acts as the primary liaison with vendors and as the first point of contact with incoming correspondence, and assists in overall everyday operations. She utilizes her administrative experience from working in varying fields, such as academia and New York real estate. Danielle holds a B.A. in Broadcasting, with a concentration in station operations from Western Kentucky University, and is continuing her education in Nonprofit Administration at her alma mater. In her free time, she’s a recreational weightlifter, an avid reader, a modest home cook and enjoys exploring her neighborhood in Alexandria with her husband and two dogs.

Kathy Sawyer, grants manager

Kathy has more than 15 years experience raising funds for community-level, national and international nonprofits based in the D.C. metropolitan area focusing on peace, social justice, conservation and green building. She has extensive editing experience in a variety of print media. Kathy has a B.A. in French from Illinois State University and an M.A. in International Development from American University. She has lived and traveled extensively in Japan, Europe and Africa, as well as the Kyrgyz Republic. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering for local organizations, reading, writing, traveling and attending film festivals and live music.

Benjamin Schreiber, senior political strategist

Benjamin Schreiber is the senior political strategist at Friends of the Earth, having previously headed the climate and energy team and served as the climate and energy tax analyst at Friends of the Earth.  Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, he was a staff attorney at Environment America where he focused on energy issues.  Ben received a B.A. in sociology from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Sharon Smith, senior accountant

Sharon Smith is Friends of the Earth’s senior accountant. She brings with her more than 20 years of accounting experience. Her tremendous organization and commitment to producing results above and beyond expectations are an asset to the organization. In her spare time, she enjoys creating personal calendars, all occasions’ cards and photo collages. Sharon also has an interest in computers and electronic gadgets.

Hallie Templeton, senior oceans campaigner

Hallie Templeton leads Friends of the Earth’s strategic campaign to highlight the dangers of open water aquaculture and expand support for sustainable recirculating aquaculture systems. Previously, Hallie was a staff attorney and Barker Litigation Fellow in the Animal Protection Litigation group of The Humane Society of the United States, where she litigated against the United States Department of Agriculture for its resumption of domestic horse slaughter without environmental review, and the Environmental Protection Agency for its inaction on a rulemmaking petition requesting the regulation of air pollution from factory farms. Hallie has also done work in the Goergetown Institute for Public Representation legal clinic, where she focused on civil rights casework. She holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and a B.S. in political science from the University of Central Arkansas. Hallie enoys spending spare time with her two cats, tending her indoor garden, riding her motorcycle, and has a passion for B-grade horror and action movies.

Jahnavi Trivedi, finance manager

Jahnavi is the finance manager at Friends of the Earth. She comes to us with more than 15 years of accounting management experience with various non-profit organizations. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, she was an accounting manager at Holy Cross Hospital overseeing the hospital’s financial portfolio. Jahnavi also worked for Women for Women International as a grant accounting officer where she managed various United Nations Grants and traveled to Africa to conduct internal audits and staff training. She is an avid traveler who never misses a chance for impromptu weekend getaways. Jahnavi holds her Master’s degree in Public Health, MPH, and considers herself a passionate environmentalist and a human rights activist. She lives in Silver Spring, MD with her husband and two kids.

William Waren, senior trade analyst

Bill Waren is our senior trade analyst at Friends of the Earth. He works to protect the environment from the negative impact of international trade and investment agreements.  Bill contributes to the policy discussion about trade and environment issues as they arise in community forums, the U.S. congressional debate, the federal agency process, international negotiations, and litigation before international trade and investment tribunals. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Bill worked at the Forum on Democracy & Trade and its sister organization, the Harrison Institute for Public Law at Georgetown University. Earlier in his career, Bill served as federal affairs counsel for the National Conference of State Legislatures and as a staffer for the Illinois General Assembly.  A native of rural, downstate Illinois, Bill is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Duke Law School.

Press: Truthdig, Will Liberals and Conservatives Unite to Defeat Fast Track and the TPP?, Mar. 8, 2015
Author: Medium, President Obama dodges Pacific Trad Deal thread to the environment, Jan. 21, 2016
Medium, Rally Tally: TPP signing inspires action, Feb. 9, 2016
Blog post: TPP in trouble: Why we can win this fight!, Aug. 19, 2015