Staff

Program Director

Anne is passionate about connecting people with the natural environment through education and action. She earned her B.A. in Environmental Analysis from Pitzer College and spent several years in Claremont, CA designing and implementing sustainability programs for government and nonprofit organizations. In 2017, she returned to her home region of the East Bay Area and joined The Watershed Project as an environmental educator. A certified California Naturalist, Anne is thrilled to have found a role that combines her experience with community engagement, environmental education and stewardship, and organizational capacity-building. She enjoys tap dancing, playing piano, and hiking with her dog, River. Anne lives in the Galindo Creek Watershed.

Community Engagement Manager

Naama's passion lives in complex systems. She aspires to live, work, and recreate diverse, interconnected, harmonious, ever-changing environments, just like Earth’s natural ecosystems. Naama worked as an Environmental Scientist with a focus on ecohydrology at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and taught courses on the Water Cycle and Water Management at the University of California, Berkeley. As a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Project Manager for Global Development Projects, she led participatory design projects with smallholder farmers, indigenous communities, and grassroots organizations in Alaska, Central America, and Africa. As a Richmond resident, Naama has co-led various local Environmental Justice programs. She has a B.Sc. in Geology, M.A. in Geomorphology, and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. In her free time she likes to travel, hike, and play piano.

Community Outreach Coordinator (she/ella/her)

Marianella “Nella” grew up exploring Bay Area parks and nature and loves getting outdoors and inspiring others to do the same. Her interest in Outdoor Education has motivated her to take classes in the Natural History and Sustainability Program at Merritt College and to volunteer as a Farm and Wilderness Educator at Hidden Villa! Her vocation as a Language Interpreter has led her to work closely with people from all walks of life to facilitate communication across cultures and advocate for language justice locally and internationally. Marianella holds an M.A. in International Communication with an Environmental Policy focus from American University and a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from UC Riverside. You can find her taking pictures of nature, refining her Portuguese, playing soccer, or hanging out with her family, her dog Mingo and her parrot Cashew, aka Marañón. Marianella lives in the Oakland Sausal Creek Watershed, territory of Huchiun.

Community Programs Manager

Paula became involved with The Watershed Project through her interest in researching trash in local streams. She started as an intern with The Watershed Project, coordinating the Richmond data collection effort for the Taking out the Trash source control and waste reduction project. For the past several years she has served as Contra Costa County’s Coastal Cleanup Day coordinator and manages community resiliency projects in North Richmond. Paula has an M.A. in Geography from San Francisco State University and also holds a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. She relaxes by gardening, doing yoga, and fiddling in various orchestras and ensembles. She lives in the Potter Creek Watershed.

 

Greening Urban Watersheds Program Manager

Kat is a rainwater catchment specialist with experience developing programs to strengthen urban stormwater infrastructure with rainwater harvesting and LID strategies for the San Francisco Unified School District, the City of San Francisco and the City of Oakland. She is inspired by activities that bring people together to enliven their communities and strives to build bridges between civic agencies and grassroots environmentalism. Kat brings these skills to The Watershed Project as a Program Manager for the Greening Urban Watersheds Initiative, implementing projects that green the city of Richmond. She holds an MA in Organic Architecture from the San Francisco Institute of Architecture.

Restoration Manager

Ethan is a habitat restoration specialist and naturalist with a deep passion for California native plants. He has B.A.'s in History and Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2019, Ethan became a certified California Naturalist and went on to volunteer and work in the field of habitat and urban restoration with a variety of organizations including TreePeople, Grassroots Ecology, and California State Parks. When he isn’t hiking or tending his native plant and vegetable gardens, Ethan likes to read, play boardgames, and hang out with his two cats.

Environmental Monitoring Coordinator

Satoko is engaged in environmental science and restoration. She completed two California native plant nursery internship programs and worked as a water quality analyst at an environmental laboratory. She works with local environmental stewardship groups doing restoration projects at creeks, wetlands, and open spaces. Her big picture goals are focused on maintaining clean water at the watershed level and restoring native plant communities in order to enhance ecosystem resilience. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Nihon University and A.S. in Biology from Berkeley City College. She lives in the Cerrito Creek Watershed.

Lead Environmental Educator

Audrey is an enthusiastic ENFP who loves all things related to the ocean. She has a M.P.S in Marine Mammal Science for University of Miami and a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. In addition to a passion for ocean and environmental conservation, Audrey loves working with children both in and out of the classroom. As the Lead Environmental Educator, Audrey hopes to spark a passion for nature in the students she works with. Outside of work, Audrey loves hiking, scuba diving, hanging with friends and their dogs, and the San Jose Sharks!

Education and Communications Coordinator

Maggie is the Education and Communications Coordinator for The Watershed Project and was introduced to TWP as a fellow from Climate Corps AmeriCorps. She is a recent graduate from the Masters of Science in Environmental Management program at the University of San Francisco and prior to this she attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo where she got her Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry. She is passionate about coastal and community resilience, flood management, environmental justice, human health, and social equity. Originally from Kailua Kona, Hawaii, she is now a resident of San Francisco, California, and in her free time she likes to go for runs, paint, and get boba.

Youth Field Crew Manager (she/her)

Pinkie is a rock nerd and proud Richmond native. Pinkie received her Bachelor's degree in Geology with an Environmental Science Focus from Occidental College in Los Angeles. She gained field experience working on Phase II and III Environmental Site Assessments as a project geologist. A woman of color working in a STEM field, Pinkie saw first hand the severe lack of diversity in the environmental sector and wanted to do something to address inequality in the field. She transitioned to STEM education as a Public Education Specialist at the Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley before joining the Watershed Project. When Pinkie isn’t dusting off her rock collection, she likes to knit, and bike on the Bay Trail. Pinkie lives in the Baxter Creek Watershed.

Green Collar Corps Intern

Ellie is an outdoor lover, plant lover and proud of being raised in Richmond. She enjoys taking long walks with her dog (Oliver) throughout her community to observe its beauty. She spends most of her free time tending to her house plants or working on her dream garden. Ellie looks forward to working with K-12th grade students in hopes of sparking a passion of their very own in caring for our environment.

 

Green Collar Corps Intern

Sydney is a current student at the University of California Berkeley studying Environmental Economics and Policy. She joined the Green Collar Corps with hopes of learning about many different environmental careers and making a positive impact on the world she lives in. She is from Los Angeles, California and enjoys spending time outdoors when she is not in class. Sydney lives in the Dominguez Channel watershed.