Frances Ortega
Alum 2003Frances Ortega is a community educator at the Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque, New Mexicom, where she writes for the publication The Workbook about environmental justice issues affecting people of color communities in the Southwest. At the Mesa Refuge, Frances documented stories of Chicana environmental activists in hopes of sharing a unique Chicana perspective in the environmental justice movement.
William Speed Weed
Alum 2003William Speed Weed is a writer of stories, plays and non-fiction. His work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Popular Science, Salon.Com, Mother Jones, The Washington Monthly and other publications. His play Errorism envisions an alpha bomb that eradicates letters from the enemy's alphabet. At the Mesa Refuge, William worked on a creative writing project about nature, science and knowledge.
Daniel B. Gold
Alum 2002Daniel B. Gold is a film and television Producer, Director and Cinematographer. Daniel won acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for his work on the documentary "Blue Vinyl." He has also worked on three documentaries: Waiting to be Sung, about the stories of country music songwriters; an historical film on Sacco and Venzetti; and a film about one of Florida's most vibrant and soulful retirement communities—Kings Point.
Koben Christianson
Alum 2001Based in Switzerland, Koben Christianson is a Program Officer with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. His writing focuses on enabling sustainability through the market. Koben's writings include Sustainable Development Society and Environment: A Conceptual Framework for Tracking the Linkages, a report he co-authored for the European Commission.
Petr Sauer
Alum 2001Petr Sauer is Associate Professor of Environmental-Ecological Economics and Policy and founder of the Department of Environmental Economics at The University of Economics in Prague Czech Republic. Petr is author of the first textbook on environmental economics and planning in The Czech Republic and has written several research and teaching books. His latest work explores voluntary agreements in environmental policy.
Leah Thomas
Alum 2001Leah Thomas is a writer, poet and visual artist residing in Oakland California. Her has focused on using mental imagery as a healing tool for various forms of abuse. She has completed a volume of illustrated poetry and a book of short stories. Leah has also worked with The Mentoring Center, an Oakland-based non-profit organization that develops and disseminates models for effective programs to mentor under-served and highly at-risk youth.
Katie Alvord
Alum 2001Katie Alvord is author of the book Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile. Her writing has also been published in a variety of periodicals and her work has included stints with non-profit organizations involved in transportation reform land preservation and other environmental issues.
Lee Goldberg
Alum 2001Lee Goldberg brings 25 years of experience with the electronics industry to his coverage of technology society and the environment in "The Citizen Engineer" area of ChipCenter.com, an on-line trade publication for electrical engineers. His articles on technology and the environment have also appeared in Electronic Design and IEEE Computer Magazine. Lee's book Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - Environmentally Responsible Engineering was published by Newnes Press in 2000.
Andrew Sell
Alum 2000Andrew Sell is the Associate Director of International Exchange for the Institute of Human Ecology, a Chinese non-government organization (NGO) that is dedicated to issues related to the environment and sustainable development. At the Mesa Refuge, Andrew reflected on the environmental NGO movement in China. Using IHE as a primary case study, he completed an analysis of the often complex and subtle barriers that hinder effective NGO work in China as well as the interactions between business NGOs and the government. He has also been the Marketing Manager for Riverwood International.
William Ashton
Alum 2000William Ashton is an environmental consultant who focuses on community-based environmental protection. His projects include developing water quality management plans for the Nature Conservancy, evaluating management of sanitation systems in Alaska Native villages and facilitating environmental restoration advisory boards. William used his time at Mesa Refuge to work on his first book Living Between Heaven and Earth, a personal narrative of his study of the principles of Feng Shui and how he includes them in his personal and professional life.
Jennifer Burkhardt
Alum 2000Jennifer Burkhardt's primary interest is environmental law with a focus in land conservation and urban planning. She is particularly concerned with the adaptive reuse of historic structures for the benefit of the urban poor. At the Mesa Refuge, Jennifer began an article on inner city historic preservation grants for low-income homeowners. She has been a contributor for the Vermont Law School Environmental Law Journal.
Dan Dagget
Alum 2000Dan Dagget is the author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book Beyond the Rangeland Conflict: Toward a West that Works. He runs Ecoresults, an internet catalog of ecological restorations for people interested in restoring the health of ecosystems in the American West. Dan worked on his newest volume Unmasking the Trickster: Getting Beyond Conflict to Effectiveness at the Mesa Refuge. The book discusses collaborative solutions to environmental change.