Welcoming three new staff members to the Guild’s Southwest Office!

Liz, Rachel, and Miguel hail from different parts of the country but have roots in and love for the culture and ecology of the Southwest. It was their collective interest in responsible forestry which drew them to the Guild’s vision and presence in New Mexico.

Miguel is serving as Field Coordinator for the Forest Stewards Youth Corps. He is passionate about landscape restoration and fire ecology. He has lived and worked in the Southwest for years and was drawn to the forest stewardship of his community of Mora, and that aspect of his position more broadly. At the Guild, Miguel will be assisting with FSYC logistics, assisting youth crew supervisors with logistical, emotional, and inter-crew related needs, and serving as a primary contact for Forest Service/YCC Partners. This work builds off his experience leading youth corps in different capacities including prescribed fire, chainsaw use, and forest stand monitoring.

Liz and Rachel are both serving as Southwest Project Coordinators. Liz is passionate about restoration ecology and native plant communities. She was drawn to the diverse and valuable forests of the Southwest after working in the Mojave Desert and Sagebrush-Steppe and is looking forward to working in an ecosystem with a little more shade. At the Guild, Liz will be assisting with the planning and monitoring of CFLRP and CFRP projects, contributing to the Fire Adapted New Mexico program including the Wildfire Wednesday blog, working with the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, assisting with Women Owning Woodlands, and expanding the Guild’s involvement in reforestation activities.

Rachel is passionate about adaptive ecosystem management, place-based science, and knowledge dissemination. She was drawn back to the resilient and fragile landscapes of the Southwest after working in forest thinning in the Pacific Northwest. At the Guild, Rachel will be assisting with the planning and monitoring of CFLRP and CFRP projects, contributing to the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition, enabling knowledge-sharing networks on post-fire resiliency and managed wildfire, publishing informational material for the public on upcoming and current forest management projects, and assisting private landowners manage their properties as a continuum of the surrounding landscape.

All three staff members are excited to get involved with their community and important local issues, with the Guild’s mission of education, training, research, and advocacy, and with the innovative and collaborative land management projects taking place across the Southwest.