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.
Senior Staff
-
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 MORE
-
Michelle Chan
Vice President of Programs
Michelle Chan is the Vice President of Programs for Friends of the Earth and oversees its campaigns, communications, organizing and political work.
READ MORE
-
Julie Dyer
Chief Operating Officer
Julie is the Chief Operating Officer and oversees the organization’s compliance, finance, human resources and operations work.
READ MORE
-
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.
READ MORE
Staff
-
Luisa Abbott Galvao
Senior International Policy Campaigner
Luisa Abbott Galvao is a Senior International Policy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she works to reform climate and energy policies at the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other international financial institutions and to increase local and democratic control of financial systems and institutions.
READ MORE
-
Marta Alvarez
Board Executive Assistant
Marta Alvarez is the Board Executive Assistant at Friends of the Earth; Marta has dedicated several years to serving as administrative support in the non-profit sector.
READ MORE
-
Lisa Archer
Food And Agriculture Program Director
Lisa leads our work to rapidly transition the food system to one that is regenerative, resilient, healthy and equitable
READ MORE
-
Darlene Azarmi
Democracy Campaigner
Darlene Azarmi is the Democracy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where they are working to build momentum for an Independent Redistricting Commission in North Carolina while forging deeper ties between environmental and voting rights communities.
READ MORE
-
Anna Babcock
Senior Manager of Philanthropy
Anna Babcock is the Senior Manager of Philanthropy at Friends of the Earth, where she works with donors to fund our vital mission.
READ MORE
-
Caroline Bruder
Planned Giving Officer
She works with donors who are interested in making planned gifts, including bequests, IRA gifts, and charitable gift annuities and is passionate about helping donors meet their philanthropic goals.
READ MORE
-
Adriane Busby
Senior Food and Climate Policy Analyst
Adriane Busby serves as the Sr. Food and Climate Policy Analyst for Friends of the Earth where she advances federal policy advocacy at the intersection of climate and food through coalition building, grassroots organizing, and lobbying Congress and relevant federal agencies to support climate-friendly food procurement and a just transition to…
READ MORE
-
Danielle Carrico
Operations and Compliance Director
Danielle oversees the organization’s lobby and electoral compliance with federal, state, and local entities, and ensures the organization is in compliance with state charitable solicitation registrations, trademarks and copyrights, and liability and health insurance requirements.
READ MORE
-
Anne Chamberlain
Senior Grant Writer
Anne works closely with the senior grants coordinator and rest of the team to produce high-quality, compelling written content and raise funds to support our mission.
READ MORE
-
Donna Chavis
Climate & Energy Justice Program Manager
Donna Chavis has over 40 years of service in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors on the local, state, and national level and currently serves as Climate & Energy Justice Program Manager with Friends of the Earth U.S.
READ MORE
-
Britten Cleveland
Senior Regional Organizer
Britten Cleveland is a Senior Regional Organizer with Friends of the Earth working to grow and engage our activist base across the country to build long-term people power.
READ MORE
-
Jeff Conant
Senior International Forests Program Manager
Jeff Conant directs Friends of the Earth’s international forests program, which protects forests and the rights of forest-dependent peoples by addressing the economic drivers of forest destruction.
READ MORE
-
Stacey Conn
Executive Assistant
Stacey Conn is the executive assistant to Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, where she manages all requests for his time.
READ MORE
-
Daisy Cortez
Senior Digital Fundraising Specialist
She leads our email fundraising efforts, working to garner support from members to further important programmatic work that makes a difference for the planet.
READ MORE
-
Denise Cummings
Data Systems Administrator
Denise is Friends of the Earth’s data systems administrator. She manages our donor database of record and supports FOE’s mission by ensuring the integrity of our supporter data.
READ MORE
-
Jason Davidson
Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner
Jason is a Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. He supports the Bee Action Campaign.
READ MORE
-
Kate DeAngelis
International Finance Program Manager
Kate DeAngelis is an International Finance Program Manager, working to end public financing for fossil fuels and give a voice to affected communities.
READ MORE
-
Malaika Elias
Food and Agriculture Campaigner
Malaika Elias is a Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she assists the Food and Agriculture team's national regulatory and market campaigns on biotechnology and genetic engineering.
READ MORE
-
Emma Finn
Climate-Friendly School Food Program Coordinator
Emma Finn currently serves as Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly School Food Program Coordinator, where she works to engage students and school community members in advocating for healthier, more climate-friendly and equitable school food.
READ MORE
-
Audrey Fox
Digital Communications Manager
Audrey Fox is the digital communications manager at Friends of the Earth. She produces social content for the organization, tracks and analyzes metrics, coordinates between the communications and campaign teams, and manages the website.
READ MORE
-
Raena Garcia
Fossil Fuels and Lands Campaigner
Raena is the Fossil Fuels and Lands Campaigner at Friends of the Earth where she works to phase out oil and gas leasing on public lands.
READ MORE
-
Nicole Ghio
Fossil Fuels Program Manager
As the Friends of the Earth Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Nicole works to protect the public from dangerous big oil and coal money grabs, land giveaways, and the rollback of critical safeguards by exposing conflicts of interest and ethics violations at government agencies.
READ MORE
-
Kirandeep Gill
Digital Advocacy Manager
Kirandeep works as a Digital Advocacy Manager at FOE to promote leads our state and local digital advocacy.
READ MORE
-
Sarah Hacker
Senior Grants Coordinator
Sarah is the Senior Grants Coordinator working with Friends of the Earth’s development team. She works directly with the grant writer and all team members to orchestrate grant applications, reporting, foundation outreach, and more.
READ MORE
-
Marco Hall
Senior Financial Analyst
As senior financial analyst, Marco primarily helps with various analysis, budgeting, payroll allocation, financial closing, advance excel and integration projects.
READ MORE
-
Kari Hamerschlag
Deputy Director of Food and Agriculture
Kari leads the organization’s animal agriculture work, including a climate-friendly food service initiative that aims to leverage state, municipal, K-12 and university food purchasing dollars to support local farmers and ranchers and drive market shifts and consumption towards healthier, plant-forward, sustainable food.
READ MORE
-
Drew Hudson
Senior National Organizer
Whether it’s showing up at your member of Congress’ office, protesting at a hearing on Capitol Hill, or texting and calling you before an event, Drew and the Organizing team help you take the actions that protect our planet when it matters most.
READ MORE
-
Tracy Huynh
Operations Coordinator
Tracy Huynh is the Operations Coordinator at Friends of the Earth, where she supports both the staff and structure of the organization through office management, systems access, travel assistance, and the current reopening plan.
READ MORE
-
Caroline James
Digital Production and Analytics Specialist
Caroline is the Digital Production and Analytics Specialist at Friends of the Earth. As a part of the Membership and Development team, she ensures the digital program runs smoothly and analyzes and reports on the data surrounding the program.
READ MORE
-
Erin Jensen
Communications Director
Erin Jensen is the Communications Director for Friends of the Earth, where she helps manage the day to day operations of the communications department and generate media coverage for the organization’s various campaigns.
READ MORE
-
Miles Johnson
Graphic Designer
His main duty is using his design expertise to maintain and improve Friends of the Earth’s social media accounts.
READ MORE
-
John Kaltenstein
Deputy Director of Oceans and Vessels
His work at FOE primarily concerns reducing pollution from shipping, and he has worked to help establish the U.S. & Canada’s Emission Control Area and the Polar Code – a suite of regulations pertaining to Arctic and Antarctic shipping.
READ MORE
-
Marcie Keever
Oceans and Vessels Program Director
Marcie works as a director of the oceans & vessels program and has championed bans on ship sewage discharge in CA, WA & National Marine Sanctuaries.
READ MORE
-
Kendra Klein
Deputy Director for Science
Kendra Klein, PhD is Deputy Director for Science at Friends of the Earth where she leads work on food and farming solutions.
READ MORE
-
Maryah Lauer
Grassroots Organizer
Maryah Lauer is a Grassroots Organizer with Friends of the Earth working to grow and engage our activist base on the ground in Colorado. Her work is centered around environmental justice and fighting the Suncor Energy tar sands refinery.
READ MORE
-
Katharine Lu
Senior International Finance Program Manager
Katharine Lu is the Senior International Finance Program Manager at Friends of the Earth US. She leads the organization’s research on new models of sustainable finance and development, primarily those from China and other emerging markets.
READ MORE
-
Adam Lugg
Senior Membership Manager
Adam is responsible for Friends of the Earth’s direct mail fundraising program and quarterly member newsmagazine, and has over ten years of fundraising experience.
READ MORE
-
Sarah Lutz
Climate Campaigner
Sarah is a Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she works to decarbonize our energy sector.
READ MORE
-
Gaurav Madan
Senior Forests and Lands Campaigner
Gaurav serves as the Senior Forests and Lands Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. He advocates for private financial institutions to stop financing deforestation and human rights violations.
READ MORE
-
Carrie Mann
Director of Digital Membership and Advocacy
Carrie works to grow our digital base and gives people ways to take online action on the issues they care about.
READ MORE
-
Brittany is a Press Officer at Friends of the Earth, where she works to generate media coverage for the organization’s programs.
READ MORE
-
Ariel Moger
Government and Political Affairs Manager
Ariel collaborates closely with campaigns to develop materials and policy recommendations for activists, journalists and key decision-makers, as well as monitors, researches and analyzes legislative and regulatory attacks on the environment and public health.
READ MORE
-
Kayla Mohammed
Federal Policy Advocate
Kayla Mohammed serves as the Federal Policy Advocate for Friends of the Earth, where she supports the organizations federal advocacy with Congress and the Executive Branch.
READ MORE
-
Nabeelah Muhammad
Social Media Coordinator
Nabeelah Muhammad is the Social Media Coordinator at Friends of the Earth, where she creates digital content for FOE’s social media platforms and website.
READ MORE
-
Paolo Mutia
Food and Agriculture Campaigner
Paolo serves as the Food and Agriculture Campaigner for Friends of the Earth where he continually elevates the market and policy campaigns to the eliminate the use of toxic pesticides and create a sustainable and just food system.
READ MORE
-
Dao Nguyen
Staff Accountant
Dao Nguyen is the Staff Accountant at Friends of the Earth. As a part of the Finance team, she primarily helps with revenue activities.
READ MORE
-
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.
READ MORE
-
Keiko Okisada
Design and Multimedia Manager
Keiko Okisada is the design and multimedia manager at Friends of the Earth. She is a hybrid creative with diverse work experience as a video director/producer, post-production supervisor, graphic designer, and motion graphic artist
READ MORE
-
Karen Orenstein
Climate and Energy Justice Program Director
Karen Orenstein is Director of the Climate and Energy Justice Program at Friends of the Earth U.S, where she oversees efforts to ensure science-based, equitable, and just responses to the climate crisis.
READ MORE
-
Michelle Perez
People and Culture Director
Michelle Perez is the People and Culture Director at Friends of the Earth where she oversees the Talent Management functions that include recruitment, performance, benefits, and employee engagement.
READ MORE
-
Dana Perls
Senior Food & Agriculture Program Manager
Dana Perls is a Senior Food & Agriculture Program Manager with Friends of the Earth, and leads the Food and Agriculture team’s international and national regulatory and market campaigns on biotechnology and genetic engineering.
READ MORE
-
Bryan Pomeroy
Senior Member Relations Specialist
Bryan Pomeroy is the Senior Member Relations Specialist at Friends of the Earth. He processes gifts, assists with our direct mail fundraising program, and works to provide an excellent member experience for our donors.
READ MORE
-
Lukas Ross
Climate and Energy Program Manager
Lukas Ross is a program manager at Friends of the Earth. He works on greening the federal budget and ending subsidies for polluting industries.
READ MORE
-
Meg Sabatino
Senior Digital Innovation Specialist
She utilizes her marketing and content development skills to help with Friends of the Earth’s digital strategies.
READ MORE
-
Erika Seiber
Communications Associate
She broadly supports the Communications team through administrative work, press tracking, journalist research, media drafting, copyediting and more.
READ MORE
-
Kerry Skiff
Press Officer
Kerry Skiff is a Press Officer at Friends of the Earth, where she manages external communications and rapid response for the organization’s campaign teams.
READ MORE
-
Amanda Sky
Philanthropy and Donor Services Associate
Amanda Sky is the Philanthropy and Donor Services Associate at Friends of the Earth. She fosters relationships with donors and connects them with the organization.
READ MORE
-
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.
READ MORE
-
Elizabeth Sprout
Banks and Biodiversity Policy Campaigner
Liza Sprout is a Policy Campaigner for the Banks and Biodiversity campaign at Friends of the Earth, where she is working to end financing to harmful projects located in highly biodiverse and critical ecosystems.
READ MORE
-
Nora Stewart
California Climate-Friendly School Food Program Manager
Nora Stewart is the Manager of the California Climate-Friendly School Food Program and is passionate about leading innovative initiatives to offer healthy, climate-friendly, plant-based and plant-forward food in schools
READ MORE
-
Hallie Templeton
Legal Director; Senior Campaigner
Hallie Templeton is Friends of the Earth’s legal director and senior campaigner, where she manages and advances the organization’s legal portfolio and fights to stop the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
READ MORE
-
Jahnavi Trivedi
Finance Director
Jahnavi is the finance director at Friends of the Earth. She comes to us with more than 15 years of accounting management experience with various non-profit organizations.
READ MORE
-
Preston VanAlstine
Digital Advocacy Associate
Preston VanAlstine is a Digital Advocacy Associate at Friends of the Earth where he delivers high impact digital content to engage our members on the issues that keep them up at night.
READ MORE
-
Chloë Waterman
Climate-Friendly Food Senior Program Manager
Chloë Waterman currently serves as the senior program manager for Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly Food Program where she leads Friends of the Earth’s policy and markets campaigns to advance a healthy and climate-friendly food system.
READ MORE
-
Verner Wilson III
Senior Oceans Campaigner
Verner focuses on protecting the marine environment from shipping pollution and disturbance in the Pacific Northwest and Arctic.
READ MORE