Meet Our Team • Friends of the Earth United States

Our Team

Working to protect our environment for both people and wildlife requires many different skills and talents. Above all, it requires a passion for the planet and everyone who calls it home. Our staff are all advocates for our planet and they bring with them a complex mix of skills and experience to help Friends of the Earth achieve its mission.

Board Consultants

Senior Staff
  • Erich Pica
    President

    Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica is a nationally recognized expert on energy subsidies who for more than a decade has worked to reform U.S. tax and budget policy in ways that reduce pollution and spark a transition to clean energy.

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  • Michelle Chan
    Vice President of Programs

    Michelle Chan is the Vice President of Programs for Friends of the Earth and oversees its campaigns, communications, organizing and political work.

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  • Julie Dyer
    Chief Operating Officer

    Julie is the Chief Operating Officer and oversees the organization’s compliance, finance, human resources and operations work.

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  • Peter Stocker
    Vice President of Membership and Development

    Peter Stocker directs our membership and development program and has a wide range of development experience in Europe, Central America and the U.S.

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Staff
  • Luisa Abbott Galvao
    Senior International Policy Campaigner

    Luisa Abbott Galvao is a Senior International Policy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she works to reform climate and energy policies at the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other international financial institutions and to increase local and democratic control of financial systems and institutions.

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  • Melissa Angeles
    Controller

    Melissa Angeles is a Controller at Friends of the Earth, where she works to manage the financial operations of the company.

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  • Lisa Archer
    Food And Agriculture Program Director

    Lisa leads our work to rapidly transition the food system to one that is regenerative, resilient, healthy and equitable

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  • Molly Armus
    Animal Agriculture Policy Program Manager

    Molly works to advance policies that strengthen federal oversight of industrial animal agriculture and hold entities accountable.

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  • Darlene Azarmi
    Senior Democracy Campaigner

    Darlene Azarmi is the Senior Democracy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where they are working to build momentum for an Independent Redistricting Commission in North Carolina while forging deeper ties between environmental and voting rights communities.

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  • Bernadette Badamo
    Digital Membership and Advocacy Generalist

    In her role, she creates content to move advocates to act on important issues that impact lives every day.

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  • Terrance Lamaur Bankston
    Senior Ports Campaigner

    Terrance is directing organizing, coordination, and advocacy efforts in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Northwest regions to reduce air pollution from port and freight activity. 

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  • Caroline Bruder
    Gift Planning Advisor

    She works with donors who are interested in making planned gifts, including bequests, IRA gifts, and charitable gift annuities and is passionate about helping donors meet their philanthropic goals.

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  • Danielle Carrico
    Operations and Compliance Director

    Danielle oversees the organization’s lobby and electoral compliance with federal, state, and local entities, and ensures the organization is in compliance with state charitable solicitation registrations, trademarks and copyrights, and liability and health insurance requirements.

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  • Anne Chamberlain
    Senior Grant Writer

    Anne works closely with the senior grants coordinator and rest of the team to produce high-quality, compelling written content and raise funds to support our mission.

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  • Donna Chavis
    Climate & Energy Justice Program Manager

    Donna Chavis has over 40 years of service in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors on the local, state, and national level and currently serves as Climate & Energy Justice Program Manager with Friends of the Earth U.S.

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  • Megan Clark
    Senior Digital Advocacy Specialist

    Megan is the Senior Digital Advocacy Specialist who leads our digital advocacy program using comprehensive digital strategy to optimize member engagement.

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  • Jeff Conant
    Senior International Forests Program Manager

    Jeff Conant directs Friends of the Earth’s international forests program, which protects forests and the rights of forest-dependent peoples by addressing the economic drivers of forest destruction.

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  • Stacey Conn
    Manager, Office of the President

    Stacey Conn manages the office of the president. She is responsible for facilitating the president's internal and external relationships and the flow of information. Stacey is also the nexus between the president and the board of directors.

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  • Brit Cooper
    Senior Multimedia Designer

    Brit is a Senior Multimedia Designer at Friends of the Earth where she creates video and graphic content for social media, websites, and print.

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  • Daisy Cortez
    Digital Fundraising Manager

    She leads our email fundraising efforts, working to garner support from members to further important programmatic work that makes a difference for the planet. 

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  • Denise Cummings
    Data Systems Administrator

    Denise is Friends of the Earth’s data systems administrator. She manages our donor database of record and supports FOE’s mission by ensuring the integrity of our supporter data.

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  • Jason Davidson
    Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner

    Jason leads our policy work to phase out the use of toxic pesticides, break up Big Ag and fight for equitable climate solutions across our food system

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  • Kate DeAngelis
    Senior International Finance Program Manager

    Kate DeAngelis is a Senior International Finance Program Manager, working to end public financing for fossil fuels and give a voice to affected communities.

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  • Malaika Elias
    Food and Agriculture Campaigner

    Malaika Elias is a Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she assists the Food and Agriculture team's national regulatory and market campaigns on biotechnology and genetic engineering.  

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  • Audrey Fox
    Digital Communications Manager

    Audrey Fox is the digital communications manager at Friends of the Earth. She produces social content for the organization, tracks and analyzes metrics, coordinates between the communications and campaign teams, and manages the website.

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  • Raena Garcia
    Senior Fossil Fuels and Lands Campaigner

    Raena is the Senior Fossil Fuels and Lands Campaigner at Friends of the Earth where she works to phase out oil and gas leasing on public lands.

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  • Nicole Ghio
    Fossil Fuels Program Manager

    As the Friends of the Earth Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Nicole works to protect the public from dangerous big oil and coal money grabs, land giveaways, and the rollback of critical safeguards by exposing conflicts of interest and ethics violations at government agencies.

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  • Lisa Gonzalez
    Senior Food and Climate Policy Analyst

    Lisa Gonzalez is a Senior Food and Climate Policy Analyst at Friends of the Earth, where she works to support climate-friendly federal food procurement initiatives.

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  • Sarah Hacker
    Grant Manager

    Sarah is the Grant Manager working with Friends of the Earth’s development team. She works directly with the grant writer and all team members to orchestrate grant applications, reporting, foundation outreach, and more.

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  • Kari Hamerschlag
    Deputy Director of Food and Agriculture

    Kari leads the organization’s animal agriculture work, including a climate-friendly food service initiative that aims to leverage state, municipal, K-12 and university food purchasing dollars towards plant-based foods.

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  • Paloma Rose Henriques
    Senior Petrochemical Campaigner

    Paloma supports resilient communities working to protect their health and our shared climate and oceans by preventing the construction of new petrochemical plants.

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  • Caroline James
    Digital Production and Analytics Manager

    Caroline is the Digital Production and Analytics Manager at Friends of the Earth. As a part of the Membership and Development team, she ensures the digital program runs smoothly and analyzes and reports on the data surrounding the program.

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  • Erin Jensen
    Communications Director

    Erin Jensen is the Communications Director for Friends of the Earth, where she helps manage the day to day operations of the communications department and generate media coverage for the organization’s various campaigns.

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  • Miles Johnson
    Graphic Designer

    His main duty is using his design expertise to maintain and improve Friends of the Earth’s social media accounts.

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  • John Kaltenstein
    Deputy Director of Oceans and Vessels

    His work at FOE primarily concerns reducing pollution from shipping, and he has worked to help establish the U.S. & Canada’s Emission Control Area and the Polar Code – a suite of regulations pertaining to Arctic and Antarctic shipping.

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  • Marcie Keever
    Oceans and Vessels Program Director

    Marcie works as a director of the oceans & vessels program and has championed bans on ship sewage discharge in CA, WA & National Marine Sanctuaries.

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  • Jonathan Kellam
    Director of Philanthropy

    Jonathan Kellam is the Director of Philanthropy at Friends of the Earth. He advises donors on gifts that can have the greatest impact towards protecting the planet.

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  • Maryam Khawar
    Digital Production and Analytics Associate

    Maryam Khawar is the Digital Production and Analytics Associate at Friends of the Earth, working for the Development team.

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  • Krystal Klaassen
    Senior HR Generalist

    As Senior HR Generalist, she focuses on benefits management, leave administration, HR compliance, and compensation. 

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  • Kendra Klein
    Deputy Director for Science

    Kendra Klein, PhD is Deputy Director for Science at Friends of the Earth where she leads work on food and farming solutions.

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  • Kiara Laurent
    Digital Advocacy Manager

    Kiara oversees the digital advocacy program including managing advocacy emails, digital fundraising goals & assisting with online-to-offline organizing.

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  • Katharine Lu
    Senior International Finance Program Manager

    Katharine Lu is the Senior International Finance Program Manager at Friends of the Earth US. She leads the organization’s research on new models of sustainable finance and development, primarily those from China and other emerging markets.

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  • Adam Lugg
    Senior Membership Manager

    Adam is responsible for Friends of the Earth’s direct mail fundraising program and quarterly member newsmagazine, and has over ten years of fundraising experience.

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  • Sarah Lutz
    Climate Campaigner

    Sarah is a Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, where she works to decarbonize our energy sector.

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  • Gaurav Madan
    Senior Forests and Lands Campaigner

    Gaurav serves as the Senior Forests and Lands Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. He advocates for private financial institutions to stop financing deforestation and human rights violations.

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  • Carrie Mann
    Director of Digital Membership and Advocacy

    Carrie works to grow our digital base and gives people ways to take online action on the issues they care about.

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  • Chelsea Matthews
    Senior Campaigner, Climate and Agriculture Finance

    She works to shift private sector investment away from industrial animal agriculture and toward just and sustainable food production.

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  • Kelly McNamara
    Senior Research and Policy Analyst

    Kelly McNamara is a senior research and policy analyst in the International Climate and Agriculture Finance Program.

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  • Monique Mikhail
    Senior Program Manager, Climate and Agriculture Finance Program

    Monique leads our work to shift investment away from industrial animal agriculture & towards a just, plant-forward, agroecological food system

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  • Brittany Miller
    Senior Press Officer

    Brittany is a Senior Press Officer at Friends of the Earth, where she works to generate media coverage for the organization’s programs.

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  • Ariel Moger
    Government and Political Affairs Director

    Ariel leads the Government and Political Affairs Department and sets the strategic direction for the organizations’ federal advocacy.

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  • Kayla Mohammed
    Federal Policy Advocate

    Kayla Mohammed serves as the Federal Policy Advocate for Friends of the Earth, where she supports the organizations federal advocacy with Congress and the Executive Branch.

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  • Jessica Mueller
    Operations Coordinator

    Jess is the Operations Coordinator at Friends of the Earth where she oversees all office management requirements for both the Washington, DC and Berkeley, CA offices.

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  • Nabeelah Muhammad
    Social Media Coordinator

    Nabeelah Muhammad is the Social Media Coordinator at Friends of the Earth, where she creates digital content for FOE’s social media platforms and website.

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  • Dao Nguyen
    Staff Accountant

    Dao Nguyen is the Staff Accountant at Friends of the Earth. As a part of the Finance team, she primarily helps with revenue activities.

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  • Doug Norlen
    Economic Policy Program Director

    For 18 years, Doug Norlen has conducted successful advocacy to achieve environmental, developmental and accountability policy reform of multilateral trade and finance institutions, export credit agencies and private banks.

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  • Veronica O’Hern
    Senior Compliance Specialist

    Veronica O’Hern is the Senior Compliance Specialist at Friends of the Earth, where she ensures organizational compliance.

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  • Keiko Okisada
    Design and Multimedia Manager

    Keiko Okisada is the design and multimedia manager at Friends of the Earth. She is a hybrid creative with diverse work experience as a video director/producer, post-production supervisor, graphic designer, and motion graphic artist

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  • Karen Orenstein
    Climate and Energy Justice Program Director

    Karen Orenstein is Director of the Climate and Energy Justice Program at Friends of the Earth U.S, where she oversees efforts to ensure science-based, equitable, and just responses to the climate crisis.

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  • Michelle Perez
    People and Culture Director

    Michelle Perez is the People and Culture Director at Friends of the Earth where she oversees the Talent Management functions that include recruitment, performance, benefits, and employee engagement.

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  • Dana Perls
    Senior Food & Agriculture Program Manager

    Dana Perls is a Senior Food & Agriculture Program Manager with Friends of the Earth, and leads the Food and Agriculture team’s international and national regulatory and market campaigns on biotechnology and genetic engineering.

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  • Bryan Pomeroy
    Senior Member Relations Specialist

    Bryan Pomeroy is the Senior Member Relations Specialist at Friends of the Earth. He processes gifts, assists with our direct mail fundraising program, and works to provide an excellent member experience for our donors.

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  • Lukas Ross
    Deputy Director of Climate and Energy Justice Program

    Lukas Ross is Deputy Director of the Climate and Energy Justice Program at Friends of the Earth. He works on greening the federal budget and ending subsidies for polluting industries.

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  • Meg Sabatino
    Digital Innovation Manager

    She utilizes her marketing and content development skills to help with Friends of the Earth’s digital strategies.

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  • Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz
    Senior International Agriculture & Climate Finance Campaigner

    She works to defund industrial animal agriculture, pushing public development banks like the World Bank to stop bankrolling factory farming.

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  • Lane Schmus
    Senior Accountant

    Lane Schmus is a Senior Accountant at Friends of the Earth, where he tracks and reports on grants and funding with the organization’s finance team.

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  • Erika Seiber
    Press Officer

    She collaborates with campaigners on issues ranging from climate disinformation to global forest preservation, providing media cultivation support and messaging strategy. 

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  • Shaye Skiff
    Senior Press Officer

    Shaye Skiff is a Senior Press Officer at Friends of the Earth, where she manages external communications and rapid response for the organization’s campaign teams.

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  • Amanda Sky
    Philanthropy and Donor Services Coordinator

    Amanda Sky is the Philanthropy and Donor Services Coordinator at Friends of the Earth. She fosters relationships with donors and connects them with the organization.

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  • Sharon Smith
    Senior Accountant

    Sharon Smith is Friends of the Earth’s senior accountant. She brings with her more than 20 years of accounting experience.

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  • Sarah Starman
    Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner

    Sarah is a Senior Campaigner of Food and Agriculture with Friends of the Earth, where she focuses on protecting people and pollinators from toxic pesticides.

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  • Nora Stewart
    California Climate-Friendly School Food Program Manager

    Nora Stewart is the Manager of the California Climate-Friendly School Food Program and is passionate about leading innovative initiatives to offer healthy, climate-friendly, plant-based and plant-forward food in schools

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  • Hallie Templeton
    Legal Director

    Hallie Templeton is Friends of the Earth’s Legal Director where she manages and advances the organization’s legal portfolio and fights to stop the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

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  • Jahnavi Trivedi
    Finance Director

    Jahnavi is the finance director at Friends of the Earth. She comes to us with more than 15 years of accounting management experience with various non-profit organizations.

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  • Preston VanAlstine
    Digital Advocacy Specialist

    Preston VanAlstine is a Digital Advocacy Specialist at Friends of the Earth where he delivers high impact digital content to engage our members on the issues that keep them up at night.

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  • Kaleen Washington
    Grants Specialist

    Kaleen works directly with the development team to create captivating content that effectively displays Friends of the Earth's mission and impact.

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  • Chloë Waterman
    Climate-Friendly Food Senior Program Manager

    Chloë Waterman currently serves as the senior program manager for Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly Food Program where she leads Friends of the Earth’s policy and markets campaigns to advance a healthy and climate-friendly food system.

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  • Larona Whipps
    People and Culture Generalist

    Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Larona has spent the last four years working within the Tides ecosystem as an HR Generalist for Tides Advocacy, and as an HR Manager for Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a project of Tides Advocacy. 

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  • Hilary Wolkan
    Senior Midlevel Giving Officer

    Hilary Wolkan is the Senior Midlevel Giving Officer at Friends of the Earth, where she cultivates and stewards donors who are passionate about building a healthy and just world.

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