STAFF
Aida Amirul (she/they) is joining WEC/WCV as the Digital Communications Associate. She is coming from Kalamazoo Michigan, where she completed her Bachelors in Environmental and Sustainability Studies at Western Michigan University. Aida has a background in digital organizing and communications working with local climate organizations in Kalamazoo, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and the national League of Conservation Voters. In her free time, she enjoys nature trails, thrift-shopping, and trying out new recipes!
Rein focuses on engaging our members, activists, and public on all things Puget Sound. Previously, Rein was the Advocacy Manager at People For Puget Sound, where he did the following: organized the annual lobby day for the environmental community, generating grassroots support during the legislative session; built a diverse stakeholder coalition building on oil spill issues; managed activists, interns and volunteers; and helped garner public support for a strong Action Agenda for the health of Puget Sound. Two factors drew Rein to the Sound in 2004: being a Pisces and his childhood spent on the beaches and salt marshes of Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. San Juan Island’s beauty and its archipelago landscape bring solace, calm, and appreciation to him. Plus, he loves picking his own oysters at the Westcott Bay Oyster Farm. When not at work, Rein loves to travel, bike, hike, sail, cook, and sauna in his back yard, all the time with his wife Marcy.
Rachel believes forests are central to solving many global challenges, including halting climate change and building resilient communities. Her career has focused on strategies to promote forest conservation and sustainable development internationally. Prior to joining WEC, Rachel worked for Earthworm Foundation, where she partnered with the private sector to eliminate deforestation and social exploitation in commodity supply chains. Rachel previously managed the forest campaign at the Bank Information Center, collaborating with civil society to advocate for forests and forest peoples in multilateral development finance. She has also carried out field research on community forest use in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Darién, Panama. Rachel holds a Master of Forestry and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Outside of the office, Rachel enjoys backpacking and biking with her partner, gardening, and playing ukulele.
Paul is the Donor Relations Director for WCV. He has been working in the Northwest environmental movement for over eighteen years, and began his nonprofit career fundraising for the groundbreaking Cascades Conservation Partnership campaign for Conservation Northwest. His prior nonprofit experience includes positions with National Parks Conservation Association and Woodland Park Zoo. Earlier in his career, Paul worked in software technical sales and product marketing for Microsoft, and “way back when” he even spent several years in the exciting world of public accounting (which included passing the CPA exam). When he’s not at work, Paul likes to spend time with his dog, volunteer for wildlife surveys, hike, cross country ski, paddleboard, and play guitar. Trivia: his favorite Northwest animal is the wolverine!
Lennon is the Vice President of Campaigns for Washington Conservation Voters. Lennon is from Sumas, WA and graduated from St. Martin’s University with a B.A. in Political Science. After college he spent time raising funds for the DNC in Denver and then moved to San Francisco to work with MoveOn.org to win back the Senate in 2006. Lennon then worked for the John Edwards presidential campaign in Iowa and Nevada before moving back to Washington. Most recently Lennon served as the Finance Director for Washington United for Marriage and Yes on 522. In his free time you’ll find Lennon with his wife Marissa and friends, skiing, running, or spending time near the water.
Tanya Eison (she/her) is a citizen of Quinault Indian Nation and the Executive Assistant & Board Liaison for Washington Environmental Council and Washington Conservation Voters. Prior to joining WEC, she worked for her tribe as Legislative Aide for the Vice President and within their environmental protection department during her time as an undergraduate student. Tanya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington Tacoma and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington. Her graduate research studied Tribal equity within a Washington floodplain management program. In her spare time, Tanya likes to try out new recipes, go camping, play Pokemon Go, and take long walks with her partner and their beloved dog, Callie.
Katie centers her work as the Forests and Communities Program Manager around the principle that developing strong, trusting relationships is fundamental to achieving enduring forest health. Prior to joining WCV, Katie worked with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative engaging with agency partners and rural stakeholders on forest restoration, recreation, and economic development projects. She holds dual master’s degrees in Public Administration and Conflict and Dispute Resolution with concentrations in environmental policy and collaborative governance from the University of Oregon. In her free time, she is an avid hiker, an occasional kayaker, and an amateur painter.
Julie relishes the variety of providing human resources and administrative support for WCV. From an early age, her family of seven lived up and down the West Coast, instilling a love for outdoor adventure wherever they landed. She has fond memories of growing up in Oregon, California, Alaska, and eventually Washington. Julie’s Seattle-based career choices are a veritable box of chocolates: social media strategist, small business owner, school registrar, and legal assistant. A life-long learner, Julie holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Washington, and certificates in Human Resources Management, Nonprofit Fundraising Management, and Social Media Strategy and Implementation. Julie is happiest meandering anywhere on a Northwest hiking trail.
For more than 15 years, David has worked as a fundraiser for regional and national conservation and environmental policy organizations. He spent the Obama Administration years at Washington Environmental Council, developing our membership program and securing support from institutional donors. Most recently, he led The Trust for Public Land’s corporate and foundation fundraising efforts in the Northwest. He feels very fortunate to have spent the vast majority of his career working with organization’s whose missions he truly believes in. In his free time you’ll find David with his wife enjoying the Cascades or Washington’s many lakes and beaches. David is from the Great Lakes State of Michigan and graduated from Eastern Michigan with a B.A. in History.
Adri Hennessey’s biggest dream since she was a senior in high school has been to work in the environmental field. In pursuit of this dream, she received a BS in Environmental Science from Seattle University. Following graduation, she became interested in nonprofit work and joined CascadiaNow! as their Communications Intern. She then went on to become an official staff member, managing their online store for several years before becoming CascadiaNow!’s Operations Director in 2019. Through this role, she built a skillset in fiscal sponsorship and grassroots administration, development, and management. During this time she also received a Master’s in Public Administration from the Evan’s school at the University of Washington, where she focused her coursework on environmental policy and nonprofit management. But Adri’s passion for the environment doesn’t end with her career pursuits – she also considers it a pillar to living her life. She enjoys riding her bike everywhere she can, eating plant-based foods, and is always trying to figure out new ways to lessen her negative impact on the natural world. Adri is also a Whiskey-enthusiast, animal rescue advocate (she has three rescue animals of her own!), and loves nothing more than adventuring with her partner Adam and their two dogs, Odin and Ember.
Sonia Hitchcock (she/her) is joining as a Digital Field Organizer. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a B.S. in Plant Sciences and a Minor in Sustainability Studies, she became passionate about community-based education focused on creating tangible and equitable environmental progress. Sonia has a background in organizing as a Resident Assistant, member of the Sunrise Movement, and Field Intern with Washington Conservation Voters. In her spare time, she likes cooking, listening to music, and spending time outdoors with her dog!
Katherine (Kat) Holmes serves as Field Director for Washington Conservation Voters. She fell in love with field work as an Organizing Fellow with Fuse Washington and is excited to develop grassroots power for the environment and work for climate justice throughout Washington state. Kat grew up in Kent, Washington, explored tide pools at Salt Water State Park as a kid and graduated with a degree in Biology/Ecology from Western Washington University. An educator and community builder at heart, she spent 15 years teaching martial arts and leading volunteer projects with Starbucks in Bellingham. She moved back to Kent to be closer to her mother, became active with 350 Seattle and WEC and is ready bring a racial justice lens to environmental advocacy. Kat loves coffee, food, farmers, poetry and can be found training and playing outside in her free time.
Tony Ivey (he/him) is the Political & Civic Engagement Manager. After graduating with a B.A. in Political Science from Howard University Tony moved to the PNW to further develop his skills in political action and advocacy. Since then, he has worked as a field organizer and a legislative assistant in the House legislature. Tony is never one to shy away from a conversation on political news, the best local parks, or DC Comics.
Caitlin Krenn joins WCV as the Climate and Clean Energy Campaign Manager. She’s passionate about building people power and has organized with grassroots community groups, ballot initiatives, and candidate campaigns – most recently, she directed the field program for Beth Doglio’s campaign for Congress in WA’s 10th congressional district. During the 2020 legislative session, she worked for the WA State House of Representatives, assisting the Environment & Energy Committee. Before that, she had the privilege of working for the Nisqually Indian Tribe for nearly a decade, collaborating to develop programs addressing community-defined needs and partnering with Native-led food sovereignty efforts across the region. She earned her B.A. from The Evergreen State College. In her free time, Caitlin can be found hiking with her partner and dog, weeding the garden, learning piano chords to pop songs, and trying to do one more pushup.
Alyssa Macy is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon and was raised on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She is of the Wasco, Navajo, and Hopi descent. Most recently, she served her Nation as the Chief Operations Officer where she was responsible for $33 million in tribal programming and services. Her previous experiences include working transportation, campaign management, communications and international advocacy within United Nations bodies. She is a published writer and co-authored the first ever national report on Native American voting in 2005. Alyssa has been a foster parent to 6 children and her oldest daughter is in her second year of college. In her spare time, she spends time reading, traveling, and spending time outdoors. She is a graduate of Arizona State University where she received her B.S. in Justice Studies and did her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis.
Heather Millar (she/her) grew up in San Francisco, hiking, skiing, backpacking, camping and canoeing in the redwoods and the Sierras. She joins WEC/WCV after three decades as an independent journalist covering science and the environment for publications like Orion, Smithsonian, The Atlantic Monthly, Environment Yale 360 and Sierra. She’s had many adventures as a reporter: spending the night with tree-sitters in an old growth Douglas fir forest, tramping through Panama’s cloud forests looking for endangered frogs, following crews eradicating invasive species in the Grand Canyon. She’s excited to begin a new adventure fighting for the environment in the Pacific Northwest. She graduated from Stanford University with a double degree in history and Asian languages and lived in Beijing and Hong Kong for two years. She now lives in Seattle with her daughter, a golden retriever, and a spoiled tabby cat who must have been a pirate in a previous life. She loves giving dinner parties, fussing in her garden, skiing, hiking, and cycling. She started playing piano several years ago and should be much better at it by now.
Sam Montell (she/her) has had a passion for environmental work since a young age. She recently completed her BA in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on sustainability and social justice from San Francisco State University. Sam is also a recipient of the Climate Change: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions certificate from SFSU. During her studies in the Bay Area, she worked at an environmental education nonprofit that taught about the native California honeybee. Now in Seattle, Sam is often found hiking, cooking, or (learning to) kayak.
Tina has spent most of her career creating, launching and leading programs, community initiatives and events for a variety of clients. She founded and managed Surfin’ Seafood, a first-of-its-kind sustainable seafood home delivery service. After selling her business, Tina became involved with Smart Catch, a restaurant seafood sustainability program, with Paul G. Allen/Vulcan. She hopes that her passion for connecting ideas, people, teams and community will contribute to WEC’s efforts to protect Washington’s environment. Tina has a bachelor’s degree in Communications & Political Science from University of Washington, spent time teaching English in Japan and, in her free time, loves to spend time with her two children, travel, hike, bike, ski and paddle.
Darcy oversees WCV’s Government Affairs program and works to pass important environmental protections, implement and defend our laws, and secure public funding for essential environmental programs and projects. Darcy has more than a decade of experience in lobbying, law, and working with a wide range of partners to shape and advance strategies for positive change. She also has experience managing high-profile election campaigns in several states and worked with the AFL-CIO to create an affiliate organization for non-union households. Darcy has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law. When she is not in the office, Darcy is usually having fun with her family by gardening, whitewater rafting, hiking, camping, and cheering on the Sounders and the Green Bay Packers.
Jody Olney (she/her) is a citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation and grew up spending summers and her high school years on the homelands of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. She is of Karuk, Nez Perce, and Yakama descent. Capacity building through education about the importance of upholding tribal sovereignty, advocacy, and civic engagement map the way to stronger and more responsive policy, which is the focus of her work as the Tribal Government Liaison and as we build out the Tribal Nations Program.
Before joining WCV, Jody worked as a legislative assistant to Senator John McCoy (LD 38) for several legislative sessions. More recently she’s worked with urban Indian organizations in Seattle on affordable housing and providing oversight for direct service programs. Jody has a bachelor’s degree and JD from the University of Washington, where her focus was federal Indian law and environmental law.
When she is not in the office, Jody is with her family, reading, playing board games, hiking in local parks, and aspiring to be a more attentive gardener.
Sean has almost 20 years of experience working for nonprofits, starting back in 1997 when he first worked for Washington Environmental Council as the Office Manager/Development Associate. Starting in 2001, he worked at an organization that provided technology consulting services to nonprofit conservation groups. Over the course of nearly a dozen years there, he mostly did administrative, bookkeeping, and HR tasks, with healthy dollops of IT support, fundraising support, Salesforce administration, and proofreading thrown in. He started working for WCV (and WEC) in January 2013 as the Administrative Director where he oversees the finances, office administration, and human resources.
Sean has a degree in Political Science from Western Washington University and in his spare time he enjoys riding his bikes, reading non-fiction, and spending time with his daughter.
Rebecca joined WCV in 2013 and has more than a decade of experience in environmental policy and advocacy. Rebecca directs the climate and fossil fuel program at WCV, building and sustaining coalitions taking action for a healthier and more equitable Washington. She brings policy, advocacy, and strategic direction skills to pass climate laws and galvanize regional action against the fossil fuel industry. Rebecca has a background in climate policy, salmon recovery, environmental permitting and compliance and a dual master’s degree from the University of Washington in Urban Planning and in Public Administration. When she isn’t fighting the oil industry, Rebecca enjoys exploring Washington’s unique waterways and mountains with her daughter and husband.
Zachary Pullin (he/him) is a citizen of the Chippewa Cree Nation of Rocky Boy, Montana and is currently finishing a term as the first-out LGBTQ Director elected to serve on the Seattle School Board. He takes great pride in his annual project to plant a tree in honor of Seattle Public Schools graduates as he believes protecting the environment is a sacred purpose. Most recently, Zachary led homelessness diversion efforts at King County. Prior to that, he served as Director of Communications and Education for Pride Foundation, the largest LGBTQ foundation in the Pacific Northwest, including successfully defeating anti-trans bills in the legislature. After graduating from Western Washington University, Zachary served in the US Peace Corps in Belize. In addition to being a published writer in the Advocate, Native Peoples Magazine, Oxford University Press, and local publications, Zachary has served with various organizations, including Gender Justice League, South Seattle Emerald Advisory Board, and Seattle Housing Authority. He was honored to represent his community as a Grand Marshal in the 2014 Seattle Pride parade and enjoys spending time with his dog Maya, hiking, reading, and drinking cold brew year-round.
In 2022, Zachary was awarded the Young Alumnus of the Year award from Western Washington University’s Alumni Association. You can read more about the award here
Mindy joined WCV in 2016 to lead the People For Puget Sound program, where she dedicates time to improving and maintaining the health of our unique ecosystem. Her previous work focused on identifying sources of contamination to Washington’s waters – streams, rivers, lakes, and Puget Sound – and designing management plans for the Department of Ecology. She has a serious nerd background, with environmental engineering degrees from Berkeley (BS), MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MS), and UW (Ph.D.). Mindy’s specialties are tackling complex problems and communicating solutions with decisionmakers. In her spare time, she can usually be found teaching mountaineering, climbing the high peaks of the Cascades and Olympics, kayaking Puget Sound, managing a forest preserve on the Kitsap Peninsula, or traveling and diving around the world with her husband Jim. Mindy is a proud Tacoma resident.
Mariana graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a dual degree in Sociology & Anthropology and Environmental Policy. She joins WCV after working to elect environmental champions to our state legislature as one of our Community Engagement & Campaign Interns. She grew up in Mexico City and visits family often. During her time as a student, Mariana spent a summer conducting ethnographic research in Indigenous artisan communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, exploring the cultural and environmental sustainability of artisan livelihood. Outside of WEC, Mariana is also a politics leader with young activists at Sunrise Tacoma. She enjoys listening to podcasts, spending time outside biking or hiking, playing guitar and singing, and exploring the vegan food scene in Seattle.
Griffin joined Washington Conservation Voters as a Development and Events Intern in February 2014 and was lucky enough to continue as part of the Development team after his internship ended. Griffin grew up on the Olympic Peninsula and then traded one side of Puget Sound for the other when he moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where he received his degree in English and Political Science. You can find Griffin near the water, out on a hike, or enjoying a jog on any of Seattle’s many running trails.
Joy Stanford is WCV’s Political Director. Known as “Ms. Joy” by students in her community, she is a mother, housing and health care advocate, and, prior to joining WCV, a substitute teacher in the West Sound (Gig Harbor) region where she has lived for over twenty years. She is a fierce activist for women, children, education, homelessness, housing, health-care, equity and diversity. She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Administration and currently sits on a number of boards and advisory councils. Joy loves a good red wine, scrapbooking with friends and fly fishing in her spare time.
Growing up in Michigan near the Great Lakes fostered Lauren’s motivation to protect and defend natural resources. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from Michigan State University and focused her graduate research on environmental justice. Her background in strategic communications, community outreach, and project management focuses mostly on environmental and social justice issues. Lauren believes environmental progress is only effective when it centers on the perspectives of the people most impacted by pollution.
As the Foundations Manager, Lauren is thrilled to help support and fund meaningful environmental work at Washington Conservation Voters. Outside work you can find Lauren searching for a well-spiced chai latte or hiking with her dogs, Freyja and Juniper.
Kady Titus is Koyukon Athabascan and raised in Fairbanks, AK. She started her career working in social and behavioral health services with a Tribal health organization in Alaska. After moving to Eastern Washington in 2013 Kady began working with workforce development organizations providing services and on-the-job training opportunities in rural communities. Most recently, she worked with Tribes on a national level to identify, develop, and implement solar power projects that meet community needs, including education, hands-on training, and energy cost reductions for tribal members. Kady is also an artist, and her creativity and love for color can be seen in her indigenous beadwork.
Ana Baasaa’
(Thank you)
Clifford has been the full-time state lobbyist for both Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental Council since November 2002. He is responsible for the state lobbying programs for these two statewide environmental organizations. Clifford has over 20 years of public and private sector experience both in Washington state and Washington, D.C. During his 11-year tenure in D.C., Clifford held positions as a political consultant; a staff member and congressional investigator for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by John D. Dingell (D-Michigan); and a federal lobbyist in the private sector for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Since arriving in Seattle in 1995, Clifford has held senior level local government posts as a legislative assistant for Seattle City Council member Martha Choe and as the City of Seattle’s Director of Intergovernmental Relations under Mayor Paul Schell. He has also consulted on intergovernmental matters for the City of Seattle’s Department of Public Utilities. Campaign experience includes a role as Research Director on Patty Murray’s successful 1992 campaign for U.S. Senate. Clifford is a graduate of University of Kansas and lives in Seattle with his wife, three sons, one daughter, and two dogs.
Clifford spends much of his time in Olympia lobbying on behalf of the environmental community Priorities. He works with lobbyists in the community and other Washington Conservation Voters staff to produce the weekly Hot List for the House and Senate every Monday during the legislative session.