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Team BBTO
Martin LeBlanc, National Youth Education Director
Martin is the National Youth Education Director for the Sierra Club and also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Children and Nature Network which was founded by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods. Martin has had a passion for the outdoors since having his own life turned around through an outdoor experience as a teenager. Martin enjoys backpacking and recreating with his dog Mocha.
Before working for the Sierra Club, Martin was an outdoor education advocate for Texas Parks and Wildlife in Austin, Texas and was also an outdoor educator for Youthnet a non-profit in Mount Vernon, Washington in the mid 90's working with at-risk teenagers. Martin has a BA in Political Science from American University in Washington DC and an MA in Environment, Society and Culture from Lancaster University in England. Martin received the 2008 President's Award from the Environmental Education Association of Washington for his leadership in connecting Washington's children with the outdoors. Martin believes "every child in America deserves their own special place in nature.
Juan Martinez, Building Bridges to the Outdoors Volunteer Youth Coordinator
Juan is the Volunteer Youth Coordinator for the Sierra Clubs' Building Bridges to the Outdoors. His passion to empower individuals and youth led him to direct Sierra Club's first environmental justice youth leadership academy in Los Angeles.A proud product of south central Los Angeles, Juan is now the national Natural Leaders Network coordinator for the Children & Nature Network.
In 2009, Juan introduced Department of Interior's Ken Salazar at Powershift in Washington, DC, the largest youth gathering on climate change, and he was invited by the White House to attend the National Forum on Clean Energy Economy.
Camilla Feibelman, Regional Representative
Camilla grew up in New Mexico and studies environmental biology at Columbus University.
Afterward she spent a year in the Peruvian Amazon on a Fulbright Scholarship where she studying the effects of urbanization on the local fishery. She began at the Sierra Club as a student activist and director of the Sierra Student Coalition. She went on to work in the media department to support communities in their fight for environmental justice and to launch the Club's first national Spanish language column.
In 2005 Camilla moved to Puerto Rico to help establish the Club's first Spanish speaking chapter. Since Camilla's arrival, the chapter has grown to 900 members who have worked together with the Coalition for the Northeast Ecological Corridor to protect a swath of 3,000 acres of coastal habitat as a nature reserve. And it's no wonder - Puerto Rico is known as "the Enchanted Island" and Sierra Club volunteer leaders bring thousands of Puerto Ricans into nature every year, inspiring them to take action on conservation issues, environmental justice, and global warming.
Kristina Ortez, Associate Regional Representative
Kristina Ortez grew up in the San Joaquin Valley of California. She graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Anthropology, and began her career in New York City working in marketing, as an editor and at a law firm. After living in Indonesia for nearly two years and witnessing the effects of environmental degradation, Kristina came back to the States determined to work on environmental issues that affected her own community.
She has been an organizer and advocate on wilderness and wild scenic rivers in California and DC, a policy analyst on water issues in California, and a board member of organizations to restore and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Joaquin River. She is passionate about water issues, is an avid rafter, and believes that love for the environment starts with that first step on a marked trail.
Jackie Ostfeld, National Youth Representative
Jackie is the National Youth Representative for the Sierra Club's Building Bridges to the Outdoors program. Jackie was formerly an outdoor environmental educator in South Carolina and California, where she spent years leading youth of all ages and backgrounds through educational nature walks and activities. Jackie believes that positive and plentiful outdoor experiences contribute to healthy development and empower youth to take meaningful actions to protect their environments.
She also believes that policy makers and public officials have critical roles to play to ensure kids have opportunities to get outside. Jackie earned her Master's Degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University in Washington, DC, and has spent time assisting government and corporate whistleblowers hold their employers accountable to the public good.
Tiffany Saleh, National Youth Outreach Representative
Tiffany represents the youth of California for Building Bridges to the Outdoors. Raised in the suburbs of San Diego, Tiffany knows first-hand how
difficult it can be to balance the demands of the city with a desire to connect with nature. To fuel her own love of the outdoors, she studied Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology at UC Davis before working in wildlife rehabilitation in San Diego, and as an Education Specialist at the LA Zoo.
She later earned her graduate degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, and developed a passion for environmental conflict resolution. Tiffany believes that reconnecting youth with their natural surroundings will inspire the next generation to a healthier, happier, greener future.
Lori Stutz, Youth Grants Coordinator
Lori is the Grants Administrator for Building Bridges to the Outdoors. Her love for the outdoors stems from her backpacking adventures in Southern Utah and cycling in Seattle. She attended the University of Utah where she earned her Bachelor's in Science with a focus on biology and chemistry and an Environmental Law and Regulation Certificate from the University of Washington. Before joining Building Bridges to the Outdoors she taught middle school science.
While teaching she volunteered for the Sierra Club which led to a career transition to the environmental community, first as Program Assistant for the local Chapter followed by a position as Administrative Coordinator for the NW Region. She is delighted to join Building Bridges to the Outdoors where she can combine her love for nature and working with youth.