Executive Director: Amy Collins joined the TreeUtah staff in 2010 after working for ten years in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she served as the development and program director at Glen Canyon Institute, where she worked for five years to promote the restoration of Glen Canyon and a free-flowing Colorado River. Before that, she was the development coordinator for RESTORE: The North Woods, a New England regional organization working to create a Maine Woods National Park, and a member of the external relations staff at Harvard Business School. Currently, Amy serves on the Board of Directors of Wasatch Community Gardens, the Utah Community Forest Council and the Jordan River Commission.
Education Coordinator: Alex Porpora relocated to Utah from the wilds of Florida in 2009 to pursue her Masters’ in Environmental Humanities at the University of Utah. Over the past two years she focused on place-based learning in the Salt Lake Valley and developed curriculum specific to the region for her Master’s thesis. Alex brings 6 years of experience in the field of environmental education to TreeUtah; she developed distance learning and community programs at the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Florida and was Lead Outreach Educator at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. Alex is excited about this opportunity to share her love of the natural world with students young and old.
Volunteer Coordinator: Meghan Johnston graduated from Westminster College in 2011 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Studies. Before joining the TreeUtah team in 2011, she worked for the Westminster Environmental Center running the Westminster Campus Garden. This is her second stint at a urban forestry organization, in 2007-2008 she ran the education and outreach department of Our City Forest in San Jose, California.
Planting Coordinator:Ross Sequoyah Chambless brings a rich variety of project organizing and media skills to TreeUtah. Ross grew into tree planting after implementing an orchard restoration project at the University of Utah’s Rio Mesa Research Center near Moab. Since completing his Master’s degree in Environmental Humanities at the University, he is eager to develop his skills in the fields of arboriculture and ecological restoration. Ross has worked as an independent producer for public radio and creative media consultant for ten years. He also lived in Japan for four years where he taught English and met his wife.
Planting Intern: Owen Carroll graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Utah. As a student, Owen developed a close association with TreeUtah as a teaching assistant for Fred Montague’s Global Environmental Issues class. Owen has already had a fair amount of experience in both the environmental education and ecological restoration fields, including doing invasive plant control for Salt Lake City Watershed and education programs for Cottonwood Canyons Foundation. Having grown up hiking, backpacking, and watching wildlife in Utah and other parts of the west, Owen is eager to share his knowledge about the natural world and passion for the protection of wild spaces with others.
