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Jeremy Nichols Nov 23, 2021
Monumental step forward for protecting sacred landscape from fracking, but work remains to permanently save Greater Chaco region
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Born and raised in the foothills and arroyos of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, Leia is thrilled to bring her love and deep reverence for the high desert country of the Southwest to the Greater Gila campaign. Leia graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico’s cultural anthropology program, where she focused on the ways the more-than-human world can be reimagined through anthropological theory and practice. When she’s not endeavoring to understand the complexities of a successful conservation campaign, Leia can be found mountain-side or river-side, praising the feathered and four-legged ones, and planning her next epic snack.
Nadine joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as the Colorado Policy Advocate for the Energy and Wildlife Programs. She has dedicated her career to promoting environmental law and policy initiatives and works passionately to protect wild places. She spent the last few years between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She received her J.D. from Vermont Law School and her B.A. from University of Vermont. Nadine loves spending time with her family, husband and adventure dog, playing in the mountains, deserts, and in the beautiful landscapes between.
Jennifer Schwartz joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as a Staff Attorney with a focus on protecting the American West’s wondrous, yet imperiled native species. A long-standing biodiversity advocate and lover of wild places, Jennifer has worked with numerous environmental groups for over two decades. Though her social justice and civil litigation interests are varied, she has spent most of her career as a litigator defending the Pacific Northwest’s grasslands, forests, river canyons, and sagebrush steppe ecosystems from destructive logging, livestock grazing, road-building, and motorized recreational abuse.
Jennifer holds a J.D. from Lewis & Clark law school and a B.A. in Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz. After becoming a mother in 2012, Jennifer started her own solo practice representing non-profits and neighborhood groups in their quests to protect Oregon’s invaluable natural resources.
Jennifer enjoys traveling, learning about natural and cultural history, and teaching her young son to be a respectful inhabitant of planet Earth.
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970-363-4191
Samantha's work is focused on advocating for better policies and laws that empower people to coexist with native carnivores across the West and at the federal level. From working to reform the federal wildlife-killing program USDA Wildlife Services to developing resources for state wolf planning, Samantha is driven to see fewer dead animals and dispel misinformation on some of America’s most iconic species.
She possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from University of California Riverside and a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine University. Samantha’s past work experience includes work in local government & business relations, public affairs, rural economics and environmental policy. She currently resides in Salem, Oregon with her family and their small menagerie of animals.
Daniel Timmons joined WildEarth Guardians as a staff attorney in 2019, where his work focuses on halting fossil fuel development on public lands and protecting the imperiled wild rivers of the Southwest.
Trained in both law and science, Daniel earned his Juris Doctorate from Lewis & Clark Law School, his Masters’ of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Northern Arizona University, and his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. Prior to joining Guardians, Daniel was as an associate attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and he previously worked in private environmental law practice in Portland, Oregon. He is licensed to practice law in Oregon, Washington, and South Carolina (inactive).
Daniel lives in Santa Fe with his wife, where he enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and exploring the ever-inspiring American West.
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505-412-2688
Jeremy Bremser grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He attended college in Albuquerque at UNM where he received his degree in Accounting. In past years Jeremy was the Controller for a local hotel and for a large property management company. Jeremy has been in the finance world for over 10 years.
Jeremy spent his youth traveling the world and enjoying the sport of scuba diving. Other than diving Jeremy spends his free time running, playing the Saxophone, and being SuperDad to a lovely little girl.
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505-417-5893
Madeleine Carey is the WildEarth Guardians’ Greater Gila Guardian. Born and raised in Albuquerque, Madeleine spent her childhood exploring the Rio Grande and its bosque on foot and on horseback. In May 2014, she graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA with a degree in Biology and Urban Studies. While at Tufts, she was a four-year member of the Track and Cross Country teams and a trip leader for the Tufts Wilderness Orientation program. During college, Madeleine spent her summers working for the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, researching American Pika in the Valles Caldera National Preserve and working with NM State Forestry to create a post-wildfire assistance guide. An avid runner and pie baker, Madeleine is always looking for ways to combine adventures with brunch.
Carol Norton is WildEarth Guardians’ Associate Director. Before coming to work at the Guardians, she spent over eight years working at Intel Corporation in Rio Rancho, NM in the information technology group as both a people and project manager. While there, she earned a Project Management Professional certification from Project Management International (PMI). Carol’s other positions have included running a family software business with her father, doing sales support for Apple Computer, and project management for the National Indian Business Association.
Carol graduated from Brown University with a degree in Biology. Then she worked for the National Park Service for a year before starting a career in the technology field. She gladly returns to conservation—her true calling. Carol has lived in the Southwest since 1989 and has worked on a variety of issues here including land use and wilderness designation. Carol is an avid backpacker, hiker, and runner.
Caitlin Muret Oxley joined WildEarth Guardians as Membership Manager in April 2017. Born and raised in southern Kansas, Caitlin spent most of her time outside. Her favorite childhood memories are of playing in the small creeks that meander through her home county. She graduated from Kansas State University with BAs in English and Mass Communications and spent the first part of her career at museums. She moved to Portland, OR to follow her dream of working for an organization that protects wildlife and wild places. Caitlin currently volunteers as a Crew Leader for Friends of Trees, teaching Oregonians about the importance of planting native species to restore natural areas, especially watersheds. Her favorite place to spend her free time is outside in a hammock, reading a book with her schnoodle and listening to the birds sing.
Jen Pelz joined Guardians in March 2013 as the Wild Rivers Program Director where she strives to breathe new life into the endangered rivers of the West. Jen grew up in New Mexico exploring the mesas of Albuquerque, fishing and camping along the Pecos River and wearing her father’s waders to fish the Conejos River near Platoro every summer. She received her B.A. in Field Biology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1998 and her J.D. and Certificate of Environmental and Natural Resource Law from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2002. Jen was a co-director for the 2001 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference and was a clinic student for the Western Environmental Law Center. Jen practiced law for seven years at a small private firm in Denver, litigating land use, public lands and water law cases. She loves spending time with her husband and two little girls, tending her organic garden, and (slowly) remodeling her 1964 ranch home. Jen lives with her family in Colorado.
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970-281-7288
Dave Levine is WildEarth Guardians’ Communications Director. His personal passion is wild places. His professional passion is telling stories to change the world for the better. A psychology degree (and undergraduate and graduate work in earth and environmental science) from Wesleyan University and a mediation certification from the University of New Mexico Law School laid the foundation for intimately understanding people and what motivates them. Dave's nearly 20 years of professional experience creating communications for nonprofits, business-to-business and consumer clients nationwide means he excels at creating powerful brand experiences that move people. As a Guardian, he feels tremendously honored to integrate his lifelong passion and reverence for wild places with his professional experience to help protect and restore those ecosystems for generations to come. Out of the office, you may not actually see him, but his footprints and ski tracks lead to some of Colorado’s most rugged and remote wild places.
