RESEARCH GROUP - Key Persons

Alex Berrios - CFO

Job Titles:

Finance Director

Alex brings years of experience in private sector and non-profit financial strategy to the Stand.earth team. Alex Joined Stand in January 2022, where he focuses on finance team leadership, board financial relations, and maintaining organizational financial health. With a passion for sustainability and a dedication to making a positive impact, Alex is committed to driving forward Stand.earth's mission through strategic financial stewardship. In his free time, he loves reading, focaccia, planning the next kayak camping trip. Originally from California, Alex lives in Sitka, Alaska with his partner and their many house plants.

Amanda Williams

Job Titles:

Director of People & Culture

With over 20 years of experience in the field, Amanda Williams is a strategic HR leader with expertise spanning all functional areas of HR with direct experience in talent acquisition, planning and management; employee relations and engagement; training and leadership development; diversity and inclusion training and consulting; HRIS implementation and management; and benefits strategy and administration. Amanda brings extensive experience working in nonprofit organizations, most recently as the Director of HR and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and as the Director of HR at the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys biking, hiking, cooking, music, and reading. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband Jesse, her 27 year old, Gem, and their two cats, Karma and Kurtis.

Amy Gray

Job Titles:

Associate Director of Climate Finance at Stand.Earth

Amy is currently the Associate Director of Climate Finance at Stand.earth and a co-founder and former co-managing Director and current Steering Committee member of Stop the Money Pipeline. Amy is also a former organizer and director at 350.org & 350 Colorado. She led and won the grassroots campaign in Colorado Springs to close the coal plant located in the center of the downtown area and the decommissioning of another coal plant south of the city and has added hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy to her community's energy portfolio. Amy also sits on the Steering Committee of Divest Oregon and the Board of Directors for Fossil Free California, 350 Colorado Action and The Chinook Center, a community based mutual aid organization she co-founded with friends. She was the recipient of the 2020 Climate Warrior Award from the El Paso County Democratic Party for her work on decommissioning the coal plants in El Paso County.

Andrea Leebron-Clay - Founder

Job Titles:

Co - Founder
Member of the Board
Member of the Staff & Board
President of the Board

Aneri Garg

Job Titles:

Canada Shipping Campaigner
Marine Scientist, Science

Aneri is a marine scientist, science communicator, artist, and community organizer based in Huu-ay-aht First Nations Territory on the West coast of Vancouver Island.

Angeline Robertson

Job Titles:

Member of the Digital Campaigner - Forest Team
Senior Investigative Researcher

Angeline is dedicated to environmental and social justice, and utilizing investigative research to reveal issues related to the climate crisis, unsustainable consumption, and human rights violations. Her investigations utilize a wide variety of data sources and methodologies, allowing her to create innovative analyses related to deforestation, supply chains, fossil fuel financing, and climate policy. Before working with Stand, Angeline ran dozens of special investigations into supply chain fraud and illegal logging in environmental and social sustainability certification systems around the world. Angeline is a forest ecologist by training and has worked as a Research Scientist with the University of British Columbia, focusing on indigenous values as a framework for sustainable forest management. She has also worked as a policy analyst and program manager, tasked with creating innovative policy solutions that support the stewardship practices of forest-based communities. Angeline lives in Sechelt, B.C. with her husband and two children. She loves to garden, forage, cook food, play music, and be on the ocean.

Anissa Elmerraji

Job Titles:

Development Manager ( Writing )

Anissa joined Stand.earth in August 2017 to provide administrative and editorial support for the Development team. Prior to joining Stand.earth, she was an editorial assistant at HarperElixir, a San Francisco-based mind, body, spirit imprint of HarperCollins publishers, where she assisted with the publication of books like Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea and Ancient Aliens: The Official Companion Book, among others. Anissa holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. When she's not at Stand.earth, Anissa enjoys reading, creative writing, yoga, and exploring the natural wonders that the Bay Area has to offer.

Anna Barford

Job Titles:

Canadian Shipping Campaigner

Anna Gerrard

Job Titles:

Digital Campaigner, Canada

Anne Pernick

Job Titles:

Member of the Digital Campaigner - Forest Team
SAFE Cities and Fossil Fuel Non - Proliferation Treaty Community Manager

Arin de Hoog

Job Titles:

Canada Communications Specialist

Becky Sparks Parker

Job Titles:

Member of the Board
Member of the Staff & Board
Co - Chair, Communications & Strategy
Lead Strategist and Founder

Cari Barcas - CCO

Job Titles:

Communications Director

Cari comes to Stand with nearly two decades of communications experience bridging the worlds of journalism and nonprofit management with climate advocacy. A storyteller at heart, Cari is passionate about crafting compelling communication assets that amplify action and accelerate impact within organizations striving to inspire systemic change, elevate intersectional solutions, and sustain a healthy planet. Before joining the team at Stand, Cari spent the past six years shaping narratives, facilitating conversations and fostering engagement that advanced green building, clean energy and climate justice in her work as associate director at the nonprofit Green Built Alliance. Prior to her shift to nonprofit communications, she spent a decade working as a journalist in Chicago, first as a reporter who produced award-winning investigative series probing corruption in local government and later as a regional editor who oversaw the launch of dozens of hyperlocal community news websites at a national digital media startup. Having worn many hats in her work with operations of varying sizes and resources spanning the news and nonprofit sectors, Cari has consistently gravitated toward leadership roles at startups and organizations navigating periods of pivotal growth. Through her chosen segue from work in journalism to a career in climate communications, the common thread has been her passion for lifting up meaningful messages that cultivate greater well being for people and the planet. Cari lives just outside Asheville, North Carolina, on the traditional homelands of the Eastern band of Cherokee and Catawba people. Outside of her work at Stand, Cari can be found teaching yoga, plotting to adopt more dogs, nurturing native pollinator plants on her home's wooded acre, and exploring the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains with her beloved family.

Cary Burns

Job Titles:

Donor Services Associate

Cary joined Stand in May of 2019 and is thrilled to be here! As Stand's Donor Services Associate, Cary processes and acknowledges gifts, coordinates with monthly donors and helps keep the lines of communication open between donors and Stand staff. She also assists with data management and analysis as well as with community engagement both online and in person. Prior to joining Stand, Cary held Development Assistant roles at organizations in the greater Seattle area: PATH, EvergreenHealth Foundation, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Northwest Chapter. In her spare time, Cary enjoys spending time with family, renovating and decorating her 1928 craftsman bungalow, gardening, hiking, biking and exploring her new city of Bellingham.

Danielle Weiss

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant

Danielle joined Stand.earth in July 2020 as the Executive Assistant to our International Program Director. Prior to Stand, Danielle worked in a variety of roles at Canada's leading educational retreat center from Executive Assistant to the CEO, to managing logistics for groups and conferences. She started her career working for Canada's largest adventure travel company where for a decade she led small group tours throughout South America, managed the Responsible Tourism department, and created an award-winning Foundation that developed and supported over 25 grassroots projects worldwide. Danielle graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Environmental Studies, participated in a year-long study abroad program in Ecuador, and wrote a thesis paper exploring the impact of the Oil Industry on Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Having lived, worked, studied, or volunteered on all seven continents, Danielle's most memorable experiences were the years spent living and working with Indigenous communities in the Andes and the Amazon. She is delighted to now be part of an organization that is committed to working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, frontline activists, communities, and organizations around the world to protect our beautiful planet.

Dr. Devyani Singh

Job Titles:

Member of the Digital Campaigner - Forest Team
Researcher
Investigative Researcher

Dr. Devyani Singh is an Investigative Researcher working on Energy and Climate policy. Her inter-disciplinary research has included energy access & transitions in the Global South, air-quality (GHG emissions accounting), evaluating climate impacts of national policies, natural resource economics, environmental (carbon) finance, forest sustainability, and methane emissions from oil and gas production. As a result, she has coordinated multiple research projects across sectors (industry, academia, government, Indigenous communities, and non-profits) and countries (India, Canada, US), where she led research design, research execution, and communication (via peer-reviewed papers, reports, presentations, social media etc.). Outside of academia, Devyani has consulted on carbon markets and policy for New Forests Inc., and worked with First Nations on non-timber forest products. In the past (until 2010), she also worked as a Senior Financial Analyst for various Fortune 200 companies after obtaining an MBA in Finance. However, inspired by the magnitude and importance of global climate change, Devyani changed career paths and obtained an M.Sc. in Environmental Science, and a Ph.D. in Energy & Climate Policy. She actively promotes engagement with policy makers and the public for evidence-based decision-making. In her free time she can be seen hiking with her dog Zephyrus, playing ultimate frisbee or running along the sea wall in Vancouver.

Elie Dickler

Job Titles:

Member of the More Staff & Board
Grant Accountant

Elie (they/them) worked in various accounting functions in the for-profit sector in industries such as payroll services and food production before finding their fit in nonprofit accounting. Prior to joining Stand, they worked in grant accounting at a health and human services nonprofit, while earning their Master's in Management with a specialization in Accounting. Elie is passionate about using their analytical skills to assist nonprofits in making a positive impact. Elie currently resides in Portland, OR with their partner and dog, Pinto. In their free time, Elie enjoys hiking, teaching Spin classes, urban biking, discovering new music, and fawning over every dog they see.

Gisela Hurtado Barboza

Job Titles:

Member of the More Staff & Board
Senior Campaigner, Amazonia for Life

Gisela Hurtado Barboza (she/her) is a Peruvian lawyer born in Huancayo, Peru. Her parents and grandparents, native Quechua speakers, taught her the language and cultural traditions, which fueled her passion to advocate for Indigenous Peoples' rights. Gisela has extensive experience in promoting and protecting human rights across Latin America and has specifically worked on the protection and promotion of Indigenous rights in the Amazon. Her work includes international advocacy at the United Nations and within the Inter-American system, campaigning against financial institutions, and analyzing international standards on Indigenous rights. Gisela earned her law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She completed a Master's degree in Public Law at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre - La Défense, as well as a Master's degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Université Panthéon Assas. She is fluent in Spanish, Quechua, English, French, and Portuguese.

Greg Higgs

Job Titles:

Director of Research and Investigations

Greg Higgs directs Stand Research Group, previously known as Borealis. Over the last 20 year, Greg has authored or contributed research to over 350 reports on behalf of campaigning NGOs in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia on issues ranging from rainforest deforestation and overfishing to plastics pollution, oil drilling and climate change. Prior to founding Borealis, Greg worked for Greenpeace Germany and Greenpeace International, where he campaigned on forests in Brazil, Russia and Canada, and their respective markets in Germany, Japan, China, and the US. He first found his calling working with First Nations in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest in the 1990's. Greg finds inspiration by ever exploring new ways to translate patterns in data into campaign opportunities. When not doing this, he likes to hike, bike, ski, grow vegetables (not always successfully) and play guitar. Greg lives in Nelson, British Columbia with his wife and two sons.

Hilary Reid

Job Titles:

Member of the Digital Campaigner - Forest Team
People & Culture Specialist

Hilary is a passionate Human Resources professional with expertise in employee learning & engagement, talent management, event coordination, and HR operational support. She has held roles in people & culture, program management, and volunteer coordination for nonprofit and commercial organizations. Outside of work, Hilary enjoys hiking, camping, pottery, and live music.

James L. Clay - Founder

Job Titles:

Co - Founder
Member of the Board
Member of the Staff & Board

Jay Julius

Job Titles:

Member of the Board

Jay Julius is a fisherman, father, former chair of the Lummi Nation, and works as a strategist, advisor and speaker.

Jim Ace

Job Titles:

Senior Campaigner and Actions Manager

Jim got his start as an activist and organizer in 1990 and has worked on a range of social justice and environmental issues with organizations including Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace, The Ruckus Society, SEIU, and Alliance for Democracy. He joined Stand in May 2012 to challenge the logging industry's greenwash of forest destruction. Jim grew up in New Jersey but spent his summers in the woods and streams of Pennsylvania, developing a deep connection with the natural world. He lives in Bellingham, Washington, with his amazing partner/wife and two amazing children.

Joshua Archer

Job Titles:

Senior Global Corporate Campaigner - Deliver Change

Julia Williams

Job Titles:

Grants Manager

Julia joins Stand.earth with more than seven years of experience in nonprofit organizing, communications, and fundraising. After witnessing years of severe drought and increasingly shorter winters in her hometown in Colorado, Julia decided to pursue a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Supported by a minor in public relations, Julia developed a passion for using powerful narratives and storytelling to secure meaningful action to protect our environment and people. As Orange County Coastkeeper's Director of Cleanup OC she engaged more than 10,000 volunteers in beach cleanups that were responsible for removing over 62,000 pounds of trash from the coastline. In her time as 350 Colorado's Communications and Development Director, she increased organizational income by more than 300% in five years through grant writing, peer-to-peer fundraising, and major gift development. Julia is also a trained Climate Reality Leader and serves on the steering committee for Safe & Healthy Colorado, a grassroots community initiative working to protect Coloradans from neighborhood fracking.

Kayla Minotti - COO

Job Titles:

Director of Operations

Kayla joined Stand.earth in 2011 after graduating from Western Washington University with a B.S. in Environmental Science. In her role as Associate Director of Environmental and Sustainability Programs at Western, Kayla got her start coordinating programs and events for students and community members to engage in environmental activism. Through this and her coursework, Kayla developed a deep understanding of the threats to community health and the global climate. After graduation, she felt the need to work for an organization that was getting real results for a safe environment and climate, which led her to Stand.earth.

Lana Goldberg

Job Titles:

Climate Campaigner - SAFE Cities Canada

Lays Ushirobira

Job Titles:

Amazon Communications Manager

Liz McDowell

Job Titles:

Senior Campaigns Director at Stand.Earth

Liz is the Senior Campaigns Director at Stand.earth where she directs Canadian oil and gas campaigns, Canadian forests campaigns, and helps local governments transition off fossil fuels as part of the SAFE Cities campaign. Since joining the team in 2017, she's helped campaigns develop strategies to engage more than 700,000 people and reach corporate and government decision-makers in innovative and unexpected ways. Before working with Stand.earth, Liz was Campaigns Director at SumOfUs, where she mobilized millions of people online to take action on corporate accountability and shifted corporate policy at some of the world's largest companies, and Executive Director at Conversations for Responsible Economic Development (CRED BC), where she convened hundreds of business leaders concerned about the risks of oil pipeline expansion in B.C. Liz was also the co-founder and Executive Director of the UK-based Otesha Project, where she catalyzed a new generation of environmental leaders and designed green jobs training programs, and Climate Change Programme Fellow with the UN Institute for Training and Research in Geneva. She's also been a piano teacher, organizational development consultant, dancing dinosaur and, for the longest two weeks of her life, a telemarketer. She's particularly passionate about harnessing digital tools to catalyze real-world change to wind down fossil fuel production and accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that centers and supports impacted communities. Liz lives on unceded Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam and Squamish territories in Vancouver, Canada, and when she's not working, she's generally wrangling cats, toddlers and/or teenagers (she has all three), tending her backyard garden, or planning bike adventures.

Logan McIntosh

Job Titles:

Senior Director of Campaigns and Organizing

Logan cut her teeth organizing in Alberta against tar sands expansion, and ever since, she's been working on climate justice as a digital strategist, coalition facilitator and organizer. Before working with Stand.earth, Logan was Co-Executive Director at Leadnow where she led high-impact, people-powered campaigns in Canada, using digital tools to engage and mobilize hundreds of thousands of people to win progressive change. Logan joined Stand in November 2020, where she directs the SAFE Cities campaign, oversees the community giving fundraising program, and is exploring how to grow our organizing power. She lives on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples in Vancouver and loves adventuring in the mountains in her Delica Starwagon van.

Martyna Dominiak

Job Titles:

Member of the More Staff & Board
Senior Climate Finance Campaigner, Amazonia

Martyna leads the Exit Amazon Oil and Gas campaign - a research and indigenous-driven effort to get banks off oil and gas financing in the Amazon. With over ten years of experience in advocacy and organizing, she won fights on EACOP, the Energy Charter Treaty, and EU Elections Disinformation. She is a sociologist from Lodz, Poland. Now based in Barcelona.

Mathew Jacobson

Job Titles:

Campaign Director

Mathew Jacobson has more than two decades of experience in grantmaking, strategic planning, campaigning, communications, public opinion research, and government and corporate relations at the intersection of conservation, Indigenous rights, social justice, and sustainable livelihoods. He has a record of achieving goals previously deemed impossible by bridging innovative strategic leadership with powerful coalition building, team building, grants management, and field mobilization in senior positions at Pew Charitable Trusts, MoveOn.org, Mighty Earth, and Greenpeace.

Matthew Lichty

Job Titles:

Data Analyst
Member of the More Staff & Board
Stand.Earth Research Group As a Data Analyst

Matthew joined the Stand.earth Research Group as a Data Analyst in March of 2024. Prior to joining Stand.earth he worked as a data analyst for a variety of public health and environmental projects in academic research, non-profit, and government settings. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Knox College in Computer Science and Environmental Studies and has focused his data analyst career on making a positive impact for people and ecosystems. Outside of work Matthew and his partner are starting a small-scale agroforestry farm in so-called Wisconsin along the West Fork of the Kickapoo River, where they grow basketry willow along with a variety of fruit and nut crops amongst restored native prairie and maple, oak, and hemlock forest.