Leadership
Steering Committee
Agustín Angel Bernabe | Leaders4EARTH
Agustín, a co-founder of Leaders4EARTH, journeyed from Guerrero, Mexico, and proudly stands as a first-generation graduate from San Francisco State University, holding a B.S. in Health Education with double minors in Holistic Health and Community Health. With a passion for public health, environmental justice, and community engagement, Agustín has dedicated his efforts to making a positive impact.
His journey as a dedicated community organizer and youth educator took root in Salinas Valley and Bayview Hunters Point, where he collaborates with youth and residents. Agustín has mentored emerging environmental and social justice leaders, fostering relationships with advocates and partners across nonprofits, government, activism, and healthcare. His commitment extends to serving his local, state, and global community, embodying the role of an agent for positive societal change and environmental health activism.
Outside his impactful work, Agustín enjoys hiking, exploring eateries, listening to music, and embracing the outdoors.
Jessa Barzelay | CuriOdyssey
Jessa Barzelay (she/her) is the Chief Programs Officer and Director of Education at CuriOdyssey, a science playground and zoo in San Mateo’s Coyote Point Recreation Area. With over thirty years of volunteer and work experience in environmental learning at San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco Botanical Garden, and CuriOdyssey her passion has always been grounded in connecting people to nature and each other. In particular, Jessa is driven to develop and support future leaders in the environmental education field. Jessa earned a BA in Biology at UC Santa Cruz, Master in Nonprofit Administration from University of San Francisco, and is a certified Executive Coach through UC Berkeley’s Executive Coaching Institute. Her joys include unscheduled outdoor time with her two children, reading, and looking for whale spouts along the beautiful California coastline.
Suzanne Ou | Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program
Suzanne Ou, Ph.D. (she/hers) is the director of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at University of California, Santa Cruz. She works to foster a sense of belonging among minoritized students to increase diversity in conservation and ecology. Suzanne earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University researching the role of soil microbes in shaping plant communities and teaching on the intersection between ecology and environmental justice. She obtained her B.S. in Biology from Duke University and is a National Geographic Young Explorer.
Monica Chen | New Roots Institute
Monica Chen is the executive director of New Roots Institute, where she has overseen the development of a unique series of educational programs. A veteran teacher, she taught classroom environmental education to students at all grade levels and in residential settings. In the SF Bay Area, she worked at the Palo Alto Children’s Museum and Zoo, Happy Hollow, Hidden Villa, and NatureBridge Golden Gate. Her favorite hikes include a view! Monica serves as an Advisor to Animal Defense Partnerships, the AVA Summit, and Scarlet Spark. She earned her BA at UC Berkeley and her Master’s in Education, with a focus on the environment, at the University of New Mexico.
Aleks Liou | California Academy of Sciences
Aleks Liou, Ph.D. (they/them) is a community organizer, educator, and researcher focused on working alongside youth activists to better understand how relationships of solidarity are built across generational lines. Currently, they lead the new Youth Action for the Planet (YAP) program at the California Academy of Sciences, an environmental action hub for climate driven youth that connects young people with the resources, mentorship, and platform to drive climate action and solutions. YAP is for youth, by youth, led by a 14-person youth Leadership Design Council (ages 13-18), who imagine, plan, and execute programming for their peers about climate change and biodiversity loss. Aleks graduated from Dartmouth College in 2013, received their Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2017, and earned their Ph.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2022.
Blanca Hernández | YES Nature to Neighborhoods
Blanca Hernández (she/her/hers), Director of Programs & Partnerships at YES Nature to Neighborhoods, uses a strengths-based, healing-centered engagement approach to develop culturally responsive nature-based programs that cultivate the leadership of BIPOC youth and adults.
Blanca has a B.A. from the University of San Diego and is a graduate of CompassPoint’s Next Generation Leaders of Color. She has been a panelist and presenter at various convenings including the PGM ONE, the Children & Nature Network, the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE), and with outdoor and EE partners on the importance of creating equitable and inclusive outdoor programs and organizational practices. She serves on Healthy Richmond’s and ChangeScale’s Steering Committees, and on the board of directors of the Association of Environmental & Outdoor Educators (AEOE) and TOGETHER Bay Area. Her self-care practices include painting, writing, and jogging with her dog, Bo.
Olivia VanDamme | The California Academy of Sciences
Olivia is an experienced environmental educator, facilitator, and collaborator. Driven by a dedication to helping others build reciprocity with nature, she takes pride in providing the best educational experience possible. As an Education Program Coordinator, her goals include building confidence in STEM teaching for out-of-school time educators and providing affordable and accessible STEM resources to youth programs across the country.
In addition to her primary role at the California Academy of Sciences, Olivia has been recognized by Justice Outside for her extraordinary leadership and commitment to equity in the outdoors, as an alumna of their Rising Leaders Fellowship program. Olivia is a skilled public speaker and has presented at the This Way to Sustainability, Institute for Women Surfers, Green 2.0, Half-Earth Day, and PGM ONE conferences. She graduated from CSU Chico with a BA in Geography and Latin American Studies and was awarded Geography Student of the Year at CSU Chico in 2015.
Olivia has volunteered with Brown Girl Surf since 2016, supporting their surf days, fundraising and advocacy. She served as the Program Director for City Surf Project in San Francisco for 3 years, providing surf lessons to high school students for PE credit and helping scale their non-profit operations. She has worked on several coastal access and environmental justice initiatives at government agencies such as the California Coastal Commission and California State Coastal Conservancy. She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Explore the Coast grant program through the California State Coastal Conservancy. She enjoys reading, surfing, climbing, and backpacking with friends and family along the West Coast and Latin America.
Elsa Calvillo | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Elsa has been in the Environmental / International Youth Education field for nearly 20 years. With experience ranging from hands-on outdoor education to formal classroom settings, as well as designing and leading on the ground international service-learning programs for youth. Elsa currently manages the Internships Program at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and hopes to create welcoming and sustainable pathways into public lands for the next generation of diverse leaders. When not in nature, Elsa love to cook, dance, and garden at home, but most of all, loves adventures – local or afar.
Aaron Rich | NatureBridge
As NatureBridge’s Golden Gate director, Aaron Rich oversees programs that serve more than 20,000 people annually in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Aaron joined NatureBridge in 2004 as the field science education manager at the Golden Gate campus, overseeing education staff as well as designing and evaluating curriculum and teaching methodology. He also served as director of marketing from 2007-2010. Prior to joining the staff at the Golden Gate campus, he led programs in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, along the shores of the Tennessee River, in the forests of western Michigan, and in the canyons of southern Utah.
Aaron grew up swimming, fishing, and canoeing in the lakes of northern Wisconsin. After college, he hiked the 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia and determined that he wanted to pursue a career in service of the environment. Aaron earned his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and participated in a graduate residency in environmental education with the Canyonlands Field Institute in Utah. Today, he lives with his wife and son in Marin City where he enjoys access to running, hiking, and biking the trails in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Former Steering Committee Members
Christy Rocca | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Christy Rocca grew up north of the Golden Gate, surrounded by dairy ranches, oak woodlands and suburban sprawl. She has worked with youth from underserved communities for more than thirty years in a variety of capacities.
In 1999, she joined the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to launch Crissy Field Center, a multicultural environmental education center, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, that is devoted to encouraging new generations to become bold leaders for thriving parks, healthier communities, and a more environmentally just society. The center engages 23,000 urban youth annually, 95% who traditionally have not participated in their national parks. Prior to joining the Crissy Field Center, Christy served as director of education at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.
Craig Strang | Lawrence Hall of Science
Craig is the founding Director since 1985 of MARE: Marine Activities, Resources & Education, an award-winning K-8 professional learning and curriculum development program focused on implementing schoolwide marine/environmental science that increases learning and language development especially for English learners. MARE has been widely used in California, Nevada, Texas, New Jersey, Oregon and Japan. In 2012 Craig received the National Marine Educators Association President’s Award in recognition of his leadership since 2003 of the Ocean Literacy Campaign that resulted in the development of Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles of Ocean Sciences Grades K-12and The Ocean Literacy Scope & Sequence for Grades K-12.
He is the director of BaySci: The Bay Area Partnership for Science Education, which improves school districts capacity to improve and support science teaching in the new NGSS/Common Core era. He is lead principal investigator on the National Science Foundation Discovery Research K-12 professional learning partnership with Stanford University,Researching the Efficacy of the Science and Literacy Academy Model. He is principal investigator of BEETLES (Better Environmental Education Teaching, Learning & Expertise Sharing), which designs professional learning tools and exemplary trail activities for residential outdoor science programs. Craig is a founding member of ChangeScale and co-chair of the ChangeScale School Partnership Initiative.