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Pinchot Institute for Conservation Staff
Staff Biographies
Jennifer Yeager has served with the Pinchot Institute for Conservation in Washington, DC since 2001. As Chief Financial Officer, she has management oversight and responsibility for the Institute's finance, human resource, contractual and administrative functions and oversees a $1.8 million budget. During her tenure with the Pinchot Institute, Jennifer has ensured sound stewardship of the nonprofit's federal, state and charitable grants and contributions and has made fiscal accountability her top priority. Prior to joining the Institute Jennifer served as the Assistant to the Director of Admissions at the University of St. Mary in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and more than fourteen years as a teacher and administrator at a private school in the San Francisco Bay area. Jennifer holds her degree in Accounting with a minor in Business Management, and is currently pursuing her graduate degree in Nonprofit Management. Her special interest and area of expertise is Nonprofit Accounting.
Will has been at the Pinchot Institute since 1999, working on public policy and market-based solutions that improve forest management and advance conservation. His studies on forest certification have included projects with state and federal agencies, companies, universities, and First Nations. In recent years he has also worked with agencies and landowners on ways to sequester carbon through forest conservation. Prior to the Pinchot Institute he consulted with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and worked as a research technician with NASA, and with the Forest Service PNW Research Station in Corvallis, OR. Will graduated from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a Master of Forest Science degree, and holds a Bachelor's of Science from University of Notre Dame, where he studied ecology.
Leila Pinchot, Research Fellow (top)
Blair Rynearson, Research Fellow (top)
Blair graduated from Beloit College with a Bachelor of Science in ecology, evolution and behavioral biology and a minor in environmental studies. His summers were spent working as a teacher naturalist for the Glacier Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to outdoor education based out of Glacier National Park, MT. He worked five years as a seasonal US Forest Service employee with jobs ranging from trail maintenance, to public relations, to working on a fire suppression hotshot crew. For three winters Blair was employed by Confluence Timber Co., a business focused on restorative forestry based out the Flathead Valley, MT. He started as a volunteer with the Pinchot Institute's EcoMadera program in January of 2009, and assisted on a baseline study of the existing methods of timber extraction. He is currently working in conjunction with local sawyers to introduce technologies that will improve the transport and yield of harvested timber, and reduce damage and mortality associated with non-directional felling.
Brian focuses primarily on the Institute's work on bioenergy and community-based natural resource management and policy. His current work examines the extent to which various approaches to wood-biomass utilization can support renewable energy development, sustainable natural resource-based communities, and the improved management and conservation of forest resources. Brian has helped lead a broad-based multi-sector policy dialogue to identify appropriate mechanisms to help ensure that as markets for wood-based energy develop, they remain closely aligned with principles of sustainable forest management. In addition to this work on bioenergy, Brian manages a process to monitor and evaluate the role communities play in the conceptual development, design, and implementation of stewardship contracts and agreements on National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management lands. Before his work at the Institute, Brian managed programs for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and also worked on wilderness management issues in the Mt. Hood National Forest. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from Colby College and a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from the Johns Hopkins University.
Stephanie Pendergrass is working to implement a pilot drinking water source protection fund for the Delaware River watershed. Prior to joining the Institute, she managed the Coral Reef Conservation Fund and marine mammal programs at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where she also administered a variety of grants across the western U.S. She earned her Masters degree from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, where her Masters project involved assessing the potential for restoring pine barrens habitat (and fire) in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. She also interned at the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment to assess the ecological and economic impacts of the Secure Rural Schools Act on counties with national forests. In addition, she has worked on federal science policy at the National Council for Science and the Environment and environmentally preferable purchasing at the Center for a New American Dream. Originally from Oklahoma, she earned a Bachelor of Music in oboe performance with a Minor in environmental studies from the University of Illinois. Her interests include ecosystem services valuation, payments for ecosystem services (PES), institutions and political economy, local food systems, and ecological agriculture. She also hopes to get back to playing her oboe and riding horses in the near future.
Alex Andrus, Communications Coordinator (top) Alex Andrus joins the Pinchot Institute having completed a Master of Public Policy degree at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He was a 2010 Secretary of the Interior Fellow with a placement at the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. Before returning to school he worked at the International Conservation Caucus Foundation in Washington, DC, managing their communications. As an Eagle Scout he worked for three summers in the Conservation Department at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He received an A.B. in English with a minor in economics from Georgetown University. |
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Darshini moved to Washington, DC from Louisville, Kentucky in 2011 to take on the role of Finance and Administration Assistant. In addition to providing assistance to the Institute’s Chief Financial Officer in all financial functions, Darshini manages the day to day operations of the Institute’s headquarters in Washington, DC, administers the Institute’s employee benefits program, manages accounts payable and vendor support, and assists with the administration of grants and contracts. Darshini holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Chemistry and a concentration in accounting from the University of Louisville. Her hobbies include oil painting, cooking, and watching the University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team. She lives with her husband in Germantown, MD.
Leila is establishing a collaborative effort among The Pinchot Institute, The US Forest Service, and The Milford Experimental Forest to examine forest health issues facing private landowners in the northeast. This project incorporates two functions: 1) to research American chestnut reintroduction, among other issues related to forest health and restoration in the Northeastern US, and 2) to use this research as an educational tool to increase awareness about forest health, restoration, and management. The program is headquartered at Grey Towers National Historic Site. Leila received her Ph.D. in Natural Resources from The University of Tennessee, her Masters of Forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and her B.A. from Oberlin College. She has worked on American chestnut restoration research and outreach in various capacities over the past ten years.
Susan recently joined the Institute after spending three years working in business development and program support for an international NGO. She is currently serving in the role of Development Coordinator where she will be responsible for working with the Institute’s staff and board members to secure both general support and project-specific funding from a variety of sources. She is also responsible for prospect researching, drafting grant requests and for the organization and maintenance of donor-related information. Susan holds a J.D. from the University of Richmond and B.A. in sociology from the University of Virginia. In her spare time Susan enjoys playing volleyball, traveling, and reading Stephen King novels.
