The Conservation Leadership Institute kicks off this week, with our largest class ever!
Entering its ninth year and 13th round, the Conservation Leadership Institute (CLI) is the Alliance’s flagship civic engagement program. CLI empowers the present and future leaders of Jackson Hole with the skills, knowledge, experiences, and connections to more effectively organize movements and realize change around the community issues that matter most to them.
This week, 19 new CLI participants will embark on a journey into grassroots community organizing and local conservation issues. Over the next nine weeks, they will apply their learning to real campaigns for SPET initiatives on the November 8 ballot, advocating for land conservation, water quality, transportation alternatives, community housing, and renewable energy.
Join the Alliance in celebrating these emerging leaders for their courage to take action at a critical time for our community! Welcome to the Conservation Leadership Institute!
Hailey Gilmore
Hailey moved to Jackson, Wyoming, from Vermont three years ago, like most, to follow the snow! When she arrived, she found an amazing community that shared her love for the environment it lives in. After a season of coaching downhill ski racing and armed with a Masters in Environmental Law and Policy, she realized she must get back onto her path of environmental stewardship. She now works full-time as Operations Manager for Hole Food Rescue and plans to build up her skill set through CLI so that she can make a larger impact on the community that has given her so much. When she is not rescuing food, she is skiing, mountain biking or playing outside with her dog.
Forrest Lewis
Forrest hails from the faraway redwood utopia of Northern California and spends his days helping environmental foundations develop grantmaking strategies around climate and conservation. A new(ish) transplant to Jackson, Forrest enjoys skiing, biking, and climbing in the Tetons, and moonlights as an aspiring fisherman still yet to catch his first fish.
Toby Smith
Toby spent his childhood roaming the woods, lakes, and mountains of Maine. Following graduation from the University of Vermont, he traveled westward to live in the shadows of the Tetons. He spends his time continuing to romp in the outdoors as well as working with local agricultural producers during the growing seasons and as a ski instructor during the winter.
Hilary Turner
Hilary Turner is a lifelong conservationist and naturalist from Helena, MT. She grew up running around in the woods, mostly chasing birds, and not much has changed since then. She received a BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and spent several years working as a field technician before joining the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation as their Program Coordinator. She lives in Victor, ID, where she spends most of her free time hiking and birding.
Bella Fucigna
Bella is a Florida native and lover of all things outdoors, who first fell in love with the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Jackson Hole while working in fisheries and watershed conservation for the Henry’s Fork Foundation in 2019. She has experience in various aspects of conservation such as environmental and experiential education, research and scientific monitoring of aquatic and marine ecosystems and species, and combining sustainable development and conservation of biodiversity via broad collaboration and partnership in UNESCO Biosphere Regions. Bella enjoys activities such as cooking, biking, swimming, backpacking and climbing and is excited to learn more about how to become a more effective and successful leader in conservation and grassroots efforts!
Matthew Baker
Matthew is a new member of the Jackson Hole community who is excited to be engaged and involved. He inherited his love of the outdoors and passion for conservation from his father. He has been involved in numerous conservation and public engagement projects across the country and hopes to share his dedication to community service.
Lizzie Votruba
Lizzie moved to Jackson in 2016 and has grown deeply fond of the Jackson community ever since. She is excited to hone her outreach skills and bolster her passion for conservation with CLI. Lizzie spends her spare time fly fishing, mountain biking, skiing, and enjoying plant-based cooking alongside her lab Gouda.
Sarah McIntosh
Sarah was born and raised in Jackson and became passionate about conservation through her childhood exploring the mountains and trails of the valley with her family. She earned her degree in Environmental Science in Bellingham, Washington, and recently spent time working in Alaska as an environmental educator. During her time back in Jackson as an adult, she’s seen the new and growing changes and challenges and is looking forward to gaining new skills to become more engaged in advocacy alongside education. In her free time, Sarah loves hiking, skiing (of all kinds!), and watercolor painting.
Max Moran
Hailing from the green mountains of northern Vermont, Max is a graduate of the University of Vermont who transplanted to Jackson in search of soft snow and a connected small mountain community. Max is motivated by healthy lifestyles, community engagement, and innovative and bold ways to combat the climate crisis. Max is currently employed as a Civil Engineer at Beyond Efficiency, a green building consulting company based in Jackson that focuses on high efficiency and sustainable design practices.
Olivia (Olive) Graykowski
Olive grew up exploring the St. Croix River Valley of the Ojibwe people. This is where her connection to waterways and the people who depend on them began. She is a recent graduate from the University of Denver who moved north to further understand the complexities that come with multidimensional environmental issues.
Rin Kuemerle
Raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Rin sought out nature in the great lakes and forests of the Midwest, then moved to New York City to better understand people. Earning a degree with majors in Environmental Studies and Anthropology, Rin’s interests lie in the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and ecological information; she’s curious to discover what cultural shifts must occur to heal human-nature relations. Rin has found a home in this community through dancing and photography, and enjoys exploring the region on foot, raft, skis, and horseback.
Emma Leither
Emma is new to Jackson – after living here for a few summers, she is excited to be in the valley full-time. She looks forward to digging into policy issues and becoming a more engaged community member through CLI. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, rollerblading, reading, and cuddling with her cat, Frankie.
Elizabeth Hooper
Elizabeth is a Virginia native and moved to Jackson in 2020. She’s an avid lover of animals – both domestic and wild – and cares deeply about sustainable environmental practices. In her free time, you can find her hiking, playing soccer, crooning over wildflowers, or getting her best sleep in a tent. She is excited to join the CLI this year to connect with passionate individuals and combine her background in strategy and marketing with her passion for wildlife conservation and serving Jackson’s wonderful and wild community.
Jessica is currently a first-grade teacher at Colter Elementary School in Jackson. Having grown up in Montana, the Intermountain West has always been and continues to be a special part of her life. In participating in CLI, she not only hopes to gain a better understanding of how to actively protect these spaces, but also contact more of Jackson’s community to better understand their role in protecting these spaces as well.
Carter Callaway
Carter is the current Development Director for the Alliance. Carter has always had a love and connection to nature and animals. It is this connection that originally drew her to Jackson Hole and, upon visiting Jackson Hole for the first time in 2011, she knew she had found her home. She relocated from Texas a few months later and has never left. In her off time, she enjoys hiking, rafting, snowboarding and, really, any adventure that she can share with her beloved dog, Stevie.
Mattea Goetz
Mattea’s work primarily focuses on decolonial action within the Outdoor recreation field. They hope to utilize their passion and creativity to create healthy community spaces that allow for healing through outdoor, experiential education. Mattea is passionate about mending human/land relations that have been torn by colonial structures and re-building inherent connections with the land based upon understandings of sacred relationships, safety, and abundance. Their work is primarily focused within Indigenous and LGBTIA2S+ communities.
TJ Moulton
TJ Moulton is a fourth generation Wyoming cowboy who loves to travel, hunt, fish and be outdoors with close friends and family. He especially enjoys the company of his wife and dog on his outdoor adventures.
Ava Reynolds
Ava Reynolds, originally from Virginia, has called Jackson home for two years plus several summer seasons. She is the Growing Manager at Vertical Harvest. Ava also teaches art classes with the Art Association and always has printmaking and painting projects in the works. When not in the greenhouse or art studio, catch Ava trail running up Cache creek or organizing with Sunrise JH.
Taylor Kwait