Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Staff

Community Engagement Associate, Claire Fuller:
As a third-generation Jackson Hole resident, community engagement associate Claire Fuller has always called the valley home, although she’s had her fair share of forays elsewhere.
After graduating in 2002 from Jackson Hole High School, she spent a year at Vassar College before deciding that the East Coast wasn’t the best fit. She then transferred to Northern Arizona University to participate in the Grand Canyon Semester, a special program in which students spend a term studying environmental and management issues in Grand Canyon National Park. She continued her undergraduate education there, doing research in fire ecology and forest health, while earning a degree in geology. Upon returning to Jackson, Claire took odd jobs around the valley that varied from baking to splitting firewood to shoveling roofs in the winter. In 2008, she began a bold campaign as the youngest person ever to run for the Teton Board of County Commissioners, and only narrowly missed getting elected.
Claire returned to school in early 2010, earning a master’s degree in public administration through the University of Wyoming Outreach School in 2011, all the while working for the international cultural nonprofit Vista 360 and engaging in political organizing. Now that she is done with school, she says she is “greatly looking forward to dedicating her time to furthering the mission of the Alliance.”

Finance Manager, Gail Fustos:
A Wyoming resident for more than 50 years, Gail moved to Jackson in 1987 after first falling for the area as a teen while working for the Youth Conservation Corps in 1973. An avid lake kayaker, hiker and environmentalist, Gail literally walks her talk by commuting to work and running errands on foot or by bicycle all year round.
“I became a genuine environmentalist for the same reason I became a vegetarian at age 15, when my falconer brother said to me, ‘Someone is killing the meat you eat’ after I told him how cruel he was to kill animals to train his birds of prey,” Gail said. “For the environmental movement to work, environmentalists need to live what they preach.”
In her spare time, Gail often helps the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation remove unused barbed wire fencing and maintains trails on and around Snow King during hikes to contribute to her community karma. Gail has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Wyoming.

Communications Director, Dorothy Jankowsky:
Born and raised in Delaware, Dorothy became beguiled by the Tetons early on because her grandparents had a great old photo of the Grand in back of the woodstove at their farm. There aren’t a lot of mountains in Delaware...
After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Northeastern University, and a varied career as reporter, editor and graphic artist, Dorothy finally arrived in Jackson Hole in 1995, the same week wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone, to take a design job at the Jackson Hole News. Since then, she worked in both the editorial and advertising departments there, with a three-year hiatus designing magazines for Powder Mountain Press in Driggs.
Volunteer activities have included stints at Habitat for Humanity, Teton Valley Humane Society, the Teton Literacy Program and the Center for Resolution, but she was glad to have finally found meaningful paid work at the Alliance in 2006.
Dorothy and her husband, Dave, live in a fixer-upper in Victor, where her grandparents' Teton photo hangs above the door.

Program Director, Louise Lasley:
Louise joined the Conservation Alliance in June 2007 to take on the role of lead staff person for public lands and wildlife management issues within the Jackson Hole region.
She is responsible for monitoring and commenting on environmental policy issues; developing and coordinating campaigns; and building collaborative relationships with officials, agencies, organizations and members. In 2011, she took on the additional responsibilities of overseeing the Alliance's community planning work, while remaining our key wildlands staffer.
Louise has lived in Jackson Hole for more than 24 years and has a bachelor’s degree in geology. Her conservation advocacy experience includes work for the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, and Africa Rainforest and River Conservation. She has consulted on wildlife biology issues, worked as a naturalist for the Bridger-Teton National Forest and has experience in other roles at organizations such as the Teton County School District, Teton Literacy Program, Gonnella & Sullivan, and the Teton County Library.
“Louise has a wide breadth of knowledge and experience about the land and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” said Franz Camenzind, then Alliance executive director. “She has long been an asset to the community, and we are thrilled to now have her as part of our team.”

Executive Director, Trevor Stevenson:
Trevor Stevenson, a conservationist with local roots and global experience, hit the ground running as the Alliance’s executive director in March 2011.
“It’s wonderful to finally be home,” Trevor says. “My family has lived in Wyoming for generations, and I was fortunate to grow up here exploring the beautiful forests and mountains and learning the way of life of the plants, animals and people who call this place home. I have traveled the world to visit some of the most beautiful places on Earth, but there is nowhere that I love more than Jackson Hole.”
Born in Lander, Wyo., Trevor moved with his family to this area shortly afterward, graduating from Jackson Hole High School as the salutatorian of his class in 1996. He went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in environmental studies and sociocultural psychology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and later received his master’s in international development, community and environment from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
During the past decade, Trevor’s career centered on the Amazon rainforest, where he worked in partnerships with government institutions, indigenous tribes and international non-governmental groups.
“Growing up in Jackson Hole inspired me to study sustainable community development issues,” Trevor says, “and I drew on my experiences in Jackson as I worked on similar issues all over the world. Working abroad was fascinating and rewarding, but I missed being home in Wyoming. After so many years of telling people in far away places about the development struggles Jackson was facing, I decided it was time to apply what I had learned to making a difference in my own hometown.”
Most recently, Trevor served in Washington, D.C., as executive director of the Amazon Alliance, a network of South American indigenous peoples and global organizations that work on environmental and social issues in the Amazon. Before that, he lived in Peru and managed Posada Amazonas, an award-winning, community-based ecotourism center in the Amazon rainforest. He is fluent in Spanish and hopes this skill will help the Alliance reach more members of the community.
“We were lucky to find Trevor,” says Nancy Taylor, Alliance board co-chair. “He’s a leader who believes in science-based conservation, and one who has plenty of hands-on experience working with diverse communities and groups for long-term solutions.”
An outdoors enthusiast, Trevor says he’s “passionate about the natural world, and with that comes a responsibility to help defend nature against the poor decisions people sometimes make. I’m honored to help the Alliance work toward a valley where people live in balance with the natural world that sustains us all.”

Wildlands & Community Planning Associate, Becky Tillson:
From camper to counselor to conservationist, Becky Tillson not only fell for the charms of Jackson Hole, she became committed to preserving them.
Becky first laid eyes on the Tetons “years ago, from the back of a minivan” on a family trip, and it was love at first sight. A guest for one season at Teton Valley Ranch Camp, Becky later spent four summers working there as a counselor, then trip leader.
“It was just an amazing thing to backpack here and get paid for it,” she recalls.
After graduating in 2007 from Brown University, where she majored in International Relations and Environmental Studies, the California native made her permanent move to Jackson in the throes of Winter 2008.
Becky started at the Alliance as an intern that August, pitching in on everything from selling raffle tickets to helping organize our Wild and Scenic film fest to putting together a Powerpoint presentation for our Don’t Poach the Powder campaign. Becky says she “loved learning about this incredible community in a very hands-on way, which has deepened my understanding of this place and of nonprofit work in general.”
In 2009, Becky came on board full time as our outreach/community planning associate and is a valued, integral part of the Alliance's work on the Comprehensive Plan revision and a plethora of other issues. She was promoted to wildlands and community planning associate in 2011.

Operations Manager, Lara Volovsek:
We welcomed Lara Volovsek to the fold in May 2011 as a development associate, and she has since been promoted to operations manager.
Lara brings 12 years of experience in resource development and program management, as well as a contagious enthusiasm for wildlife, the environment and nonprofit work. She recently finished a project management position for the National Science Foundation in Antarctica, where she spearheaded the installation of the first wind turbine on the Antarctic continent. However, Lara may be more recognizable in the Jackson Hole community for her prior work at Habitat for Humanity, where she excelled as a Global Village leader, business development manager and program coordinator. You might also remember Lara from her previous volunteer work in event-planning for the Alliance’s Party for Pronghorn.
In her new position, Lara will put her skills and energy to good use keeping the Alliance running and working on a broad range of projects.

 
 

 

 

 

Home | About Us | Take Action | Issues | Monthly Agenda | Events | Success Stories | Library | Maps | Join and Donate
Site Map | Contact Us