Meet the Kearns & West Team
Adam Saslow
Senior Director
Adam Saslow Senior Director
Adam Saslow is a nationally renowned process designer, facilitator and mediator who helps clients navigate through the maze of stakeholder engagement on thorny public policy and strategic problems involving environment, natural resources, energy and health concerns. For more than two decades, he has worked on issues grounded in a variety of programs, regulations, and statutes. He is particularly interested in guiding stakeholder dialogue related to water resource issues, energy and land use planning and particularly enjoys his work in life coaching and refereeing high school volleyball.
Alyson Scurlock
Associate
Alyson Scurlock Associate
Alyson Scurlock is an Associate at Kearns & West with experience in community engagement, Geographic Information System (GIS), and water resources. In this role, she supports community and stakeholder engagement and collaborative decision-making processes across the water, energy, and community and regional planning sectors. Alyson earned a master’s degree in Geography with watershed science emphasis and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, both from San Diego State University.
Angela Jo Woolcott
Senior Director
Angela Jo Woolcott Senior Director
Angela is a strategic communications and collaboration expert with broad experience in public affairs, strategic planning, and leading highly collaborative stakeholder engagement efforts. She has facilitated complex, multilateral planning processes for both the private and public sectors and is skilled in designing and implementing innovative communication processes that foster meaningful and long-lasting results. Angela works alongside clients and community leaders in the areas of water, transportation and infrastructure, public health, and natural resources, among others. She has a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and heads up the Denver/Rocky Mountain Region practice for Kearns & West.
Anna L. West
Founder & Managing Principal
Anna L. West Founder & Managing Principal
Anna L. West is a Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Kearns & West. She has over 30 years of experience in collaborative solutions, facilitation/mediation, and public engagement, particularly related to water, energy, environmental, natural resource, land use, and infrastructure issues. Anna is a member of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution’s mediator roster.
Anna Rossi
Project Coordinator
Anna Rossi Project Coordinator
Anna Rossi is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West, working on conflict resolution and strategic planning projects. Anna has served as a consultant at the local and international levels, providing research, analysis, and recommendations on various sustainable development issues, including environmental peacebuilding, technology innovation, and climate change perception. Anna holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Certificate of Peacebuilding from Los Andes University.
Ariella Dahlin
Project Coordinator
Ariella Dahlin Project Coordinator
Ariella Dahlin is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West and supports transportation and natural resources projects. Coming from the nonprofit sector, Ariella brings her community outreach, stakeholder engagement, and project support experience to the Kearns & West team. Ariella has a demonstrated history of utilizing best practices and an intersectional lens to cultivate collaborative relationships and manage projects. Her interests include environmental justice, active transportation, and urban greening. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Oregon, focusing on environmental policy and sustainable design and practice.
Ben Duncan
Senior Director
Ben Duncan Senior Director
Ben Duncan brings nearly two decades of working at the intersections of social, environmental, and economic systems and racial and ethnic disparities. He facilitates public and non-profit management focused on policy and program design, organizational culture change, and best practices in Environmental Justice and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Ben brings expertise in executive leadership to Kearns & West. Ben develops effective and inclusive processes in complex political and organizational environments and in partnering with organizations of all levels — from executive leadership to front line employees and communities to develop collaborative solutions.
Ben Gettleman
Vice President
Ben Gettleman Vice President
Ben Gettleman is a Vice President at Kearns & West with over ten years of experience managing environmental projects and a current focus on land use, water, air quality, and marine resource projects. His central skillset includes strategic planning and process design, meeting and public workshop facilitation, stakeholder outreach, and materials development. Ben is a member of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation and is a graduate of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership Public Affairs Fellowship Program.
Bianca Valdez
Associate
Bianca Valdez Associate
Bianca Valdez is an Associate at Kearns & West and holds a bachelor’s degree in Hydrogeology from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in Environmental Policy from the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Bianca supported the Udall Foundation’s National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution (NCECR) in carrying out a climate and conflict resolution assessment, which inspired her to direct her career towards public engagement and collaboration around environmental issues. Her focus at Kearns & West includes meaningful community engagement in the energy, sustainability, and water resources sectors.
Briana Moseley
Director
Briana Moseley Director
Briana is a Director at Kearns & West. Since joining the firm in San Francisco in 2008, her work has focused on designing and implementing collaborative solutions, particularly for energy, marine, water, environmental, natural resource, land use, and infrastructure issues. Briana’s core skillset includes strategic planning, public engagement, and facilitation. In 2012, Briana took an extended leave to sail her boat across the South Pacific and rejoined the firm’s Washington, DC office in 2017.
Caisey Hoffman
Collaborative Technology/Team Coordinator
Caisey Hoffman Collaborative Technology/Team Coordinator
Caisey is a Collaborative Technology Team Coordinator in the Washington D.C office and is originally from San Antonio, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Resource Management and Policy from Oregon State University. Caisey has experience managing major environmental events and conferences, both digital and in-person, working with dignitaries, VIPs, experts, members of the NGO community, and others to put on events. She has a background and expertise in working with nonprofit sector partners on science communication, ocean conservation, and water quality. Her interests include environmental justice, marine resources, and international relations.
Celina (Cece) Horbat
Associate
Celina (Cece) Horbat Associate
Celina (CeCe) Horbat is an Associate at Kearns & West focusing on environmental equity issues, environmental justice work, and collaborative processes. CeCe’s background includes experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as well as alternative dispute resolution, having served as program coordinator at New York State Dispute Resolution Association balancing state contracts and budgets to support the 20 different Community Dispute Resolution Centers across the state. Cece earned a Master of Science in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan specializing in Environmental Justice with additional coursework in negotiation and mediation.
Charles Harvey
Senior Director
Charles Harvey Senior Director
Charles Harvey is a Senior Director with Kearns & West. A lawyer by education and training, Charles is passionate about working in government relations and has expertise in California policy issues, particularly in public safety/emergency preparedness. He brings with him his experience as a Legislative Representative at the League of California Cities as well as working at various levels in the California State Assembly. This background along with his strong communication skills and ability to work amicably with all stakeholders make him a valuable member of the Kearns & West team.
Chelsea Cullen
Associate
Chelsea Cullen Associate
Chelsea Cullen is an Associate at Kearns & West. She has extensive experience managing large federal contracts focused in the conflict management and alternative dispute resolution field. In addition to managing the Kearns & West Sacramento Regional offices, she provides project support in the areas of conflict resolution, collaborative processes, and strategic planning. She holds a degree in International Relations from the University of California, Davis, where she focused on the intersection of environmental, natural resources, and human rights issues.
Christian Mendez
Associate
Christian Mendez Associate
Christian Mendez is an Associate at Kearns & West and brings over a decade of experience in community engagement, community grassroots organizing, and community planning. Christian holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in design and development from UCLA. His professional interests include environmental justice, participatory design processes, accessible digital engagement, land-use planning, and active transportation. His focus is on supporting clients in developing innovative equity-driven engagement and participation tools.
Cici Vu
Senior Director
Cici Vu Senior Director
Cici Vu brings over a decade of experience designing, convening, facilitating, and mediating collaborative equitable and inclusive processes around politically complex environmental, social, and racial issues. Throughout her career she has worked to connect government agencies with underserved and vulnerable communities across California, the Greater New York Area, and New Jersey. Cici focuses her equity expertise in the sectors of water and air quality, climate change, transportation, natural resources, and energy as well as on the issues of environmental justice, homelessness, housing, workforce development, public health, and community safety.
Corrine Inabinet
Accountant
Corrine Inabinet Accountant
Corrine Inabinet is an Accountant at Kearns & West. Her accounting experience includes both for-profit and non-profit environments, and she specializes in project accounting and billing for professional services firms. Her past accounting experience extends to working with agencies and consultants in the social services and social research sector and with government agencies, universities and foundations.
Crystal Jackson
Senior Director, Operations
Crystal Jackson Senior Director, Operations
With over 20 years of business experience, Crystal Jackson, Senior Director – Operations, oversees Kearns & West’s operations functions in the Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, and IT departments. She derives great satisfaction from driving innovation and formulating long-term solutions that advance company goals. She is a member of the Kearns & West team since October 2003.
Debra L. Nudelman
Principal & Senior Mediator
Debra L. Nudelman Principal & Senior Mediator
Debra L. Nudelman is a Principal and Senior Mediator for Kearns & West with nearly 30 years of experience as a consensus building and dispute resolution professional. She has experience in convening, facilitating, mediating, and managing projects including stakeholder assessments, workshops, strategic planning and agreement-focused processes involving complex public policy, natural resource, land management, and environmental issues, among others. Debra oversees the Kearns & West office in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Eric Poncelet
Principal & Senior Mediator
Dr. Eric Poncelet Principal & Senior Mediator
Dr. Eric Poncelet is a Principal and Senior Mediator at Kearns & West with over twenty years of experience in designing, mediating, and analyzing complex, multistakeholder collaborative planning and dispute resolution processes. His practice has focused on marine resource planning and conservation, fisheries management, water conservation, flood management, offshore energy, species protection, and land use management. Eric works to facilitate effective communications and agreement building among a broad range of stakeholder interests, including government (federal, state, and local levels), fishermen, farmers, business and industry, environmental organizations, recreational interests, and community groups. Eric leads Kearns & West’s marine practice while also co-leading the training program, providing interactive training courses on such topics as mutual gains negotiation, facilitation and mediation, collaboration, and effective management and communication of scientific information.
Dr. Ken Kearns
Founder & Senior Counselor
Dr. Ken Kearns Founder & Senior Counselor
Kenneth D. Kearns is a Senior Counselor and Kearns & West co-founder. Since 2012, when he stepped away from the firm’s leadership, Ken has divided his time between a few selected projects and an active retirement. Ken specializes in facilitation and public engagement for high-stakes collaborative projects in water, energy, and environment.
Ellen Palmquist
Associate
Ellen Palmquist Associate
Ellen Palmquist is an Associate at Kearns & West with experience in long-range planning, public involvement, and graphic design. Her interests include natural resources management, land use, and community resiliency. Ellen has worked on a variety of long-range planning projects, including downtown plans, housing action plans, comprehensive plans, and community visions. She uses her graphic design skills to translate complex information into easy-to-understand content that supports community decision-making. Ellen earned her Master of Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University.
Erin Bothwell
Office Manager/Project Coordinator
Erin Bothwell Office Manager/Project Coordinator
Erin Bothwell is an Office Manager/Project Coordinator at Kearns & West. In this role she maintains operations at the Portland office and supports a diverse array of environmental and natural resources projects. She studied Communication and Social Justice at the University of Portland and brings her experience as a former copywriter, student journalist, and marketing and public relations intern. Erin’s interests include environmental justice and water resources.
Eva Spiegel
Senior Communications Specialist
Eva Spiegel Senior Communications Specialist
Eva Spiegel is a senior Communications Specialist with Kearns & West with decades of experience in journalism, communications and public affairs with an emphasis in California local government issues. Her background includes a tenure at the League of California Cities where she served as Communications Director, providing strategic guidance and a suite of skills including writing, editing, and media relations. Eva specializes in helping clients communicate to better connect with constituents, stakeholders, policy makers and the public.
Gillian Garber-Yonts
Project Coordinator
Gillian Garber-Yonts Project Coordinator
Gillian Garber-Yonts is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West. In this role, he provides process support, stakeholder engagement, and meeting coordination for transportation and regional planning projects. He has a degree in Planning, Public Policy, and Management from the University of Oregon and brings his public sector experience working in transportation planning. His interests include diverse community engagement, active transportation, and environmental justice.
Ivana Rosas
Senior Associate
Ivana Rosas Senior Associate
Ivana Rosas is a Senior Associate, with equity and environmental focus, with Kearns & West. She has a Master of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley where she focused on the intersection of equity issues and urban design. Ivana previously worked in global feminist philanthropy, supporting grassroots women- and girl-led organizations around the world. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French and Portuguese. She is interested in creating collaborative decision-making processes that lead to more equitable outcomes as we shape the urban form through planning, land use, transportation, environmental issues, and policies.
J. Michael Harty
Principal & Senior Mediator
J. Michael Harty Principal & Senior Mediator
J. Michael Harty is a Principal and Senior Mediator for Kearns & West, and brings over 20 years of direct experience in the field of conflict management, mediation, facilitated decision making, and public outreach and engagement to those roles. Mike has substantive experience with water rights, water quality, conjunctive water management, groundwater, flood risk management, oceans, mining, ecosystem restoration, endangered species, and technical information issues, and has worked with numerous local, state, and federal agencies both internally and in multi-agency contexts. Mike oversees the Kearns & West Sacramento regional office located in Davis, California. He was a practicing attorney for eight years prior to shifting his focus full time to conflict resolution and collaborative decision making.
Jack Hughes
Senior Associate
Jack Hughes Senior Associate
Jack Hughes is a Senior Associate with Kearns & West and joined the firm in February 2018. He has a Master of Public Policy from Oregon State University where his studies focused on collaborative land and natural resource management. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Jack served as a conservation manager for an regional watershed conservancy, involving public and government agency coordination during implementation of projects. He is interested in collaborative processes, environmental policy, natural resource and open space management, and land-use planning. His current projects at Kearns & West span environmental and resiliency policy in Southern California.
Jamie Damon
Senior Director
Jamie Damon Senior Director
Jamie Damon is a Senior Mediator and Director at Kearns & West with over 30 years of experience as a mediator, facilitator, and public engagement practitioner. She has successfully designed, facilitated, and managed controversial and complex public policy consensus seeking processes in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska addressing issues involving public works, transportation, land use, natural resources, emergency services, crisis response, endangered species, public facilities, internal work teams, cultural resources, historic preservation and legislative issues. Jamie has a Master of Arts in conflict resolution from the School for International Training/World Learning.
Jason Gershowitz
Principal & Senior Facilitator
Jason Gershowitz Principal & Senior Facilitator
Jason Gershowitz is a Principal and Senior Facilitator at Kearns & West managing the firm’s Digital Collaboration Practice which involves connecting people and solutions in innovative ways. His interests include bridging communications, technology, and collaboration skills to create and sustain solutions in changing and complex environments, across a wide range of issues.
Jenna Tourjé
Director
Jenna Tourjé Director
Jenna Tourjé is a Director at Kearns & West with over a decade of leading community engagement, facilitation, and community planning projects. She is passionate about partnering with communities on the path to creating healthy, whole and equitable places, where people love where they live and have a voice and a stake in the future. She is fluent in Spanish and has facilitated collaborative projects with NGOs, municipalities, regional and federal agencies relating to resiliency, flood-risk, community planning, active transportation, transportation planning, health, and parks and open space.
Jennifer Vazconcelo
Associate
Jennifer Vazconcelo Associate
Jennifer Vazconcelo is an Associate at Kearns & West focusing on environmental equity issues, environmental justice work, and community outreach and engagement. Her interests include environmental policy, sustainability, land use, and climate resiliency. Jennifer is bilingual and has technical experience in energy consulting services to utility providers, public agencies, and private industries. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Occupational Management from Methodist University, North Carolina, with a minor in Regulatory Compliance and Natural Resources Management.
Joan Isaacson
Principal & Senior Facilitator
Joan Isaacson Principal & Senior Facilitator
Joan Isaacson is a Principal and Senior Facilitator at Kearns & West with over 25 years of experience in community engagement, stakeholder facilitation, and urban and environmental planning. Many of her projects integrate multiple sectors – water, transportation, energy, resiliency, land use, natural resources, parks, open space, and equity. On complex regional and local projects, both government agency clients and their communities and stakeholders appreciate Joan’s steady guidance in formulating and implementing effective, inclusive participatory processes.
Joey Goldman
Vice President
Joey Goldman Vice President
Joey Goldman is a Vice President at Kearns & West. He has more than 25 years of experience leading community development and transportation projects with an emphasis on planning, public engagement, consensus building, communications, marketing, and branding. An experienced project manager and facilitator for transit system design projects, he also has expertise in regional/rural investment studies, mobility management, and Title VI and ADA compliance. Joey has worked extensively on multijurisdictional projects with partners ranging from universities to national parks, and his leadership in focus groups and survey design has been instrumental in engaging older adults, people with disabilities, and disadvantaged communities in major investment projects. Joey co-chairs the Transportation Research Board committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility.
John Bowie
Director
John Bowie Director
John Bowie is a Director with Kearns & West who has been working in public policy and law since 2008. His work focuses on disaster resilience and climate adaptation, as well as regulatory issues in the energy and telecommunications utility sectors. John is interested in the intersection of innovative policy and collaboration as a tools to address the next generation of challenges.
Josh Mahar
Associate
Josh Mahar Associate
Josh Mahar is an Associate with Kearns & West and brings nearly a decade of experience working at the intersection of transportation and public involvement. He has worked on large, multijurisdictional transportation projects and is skilled at helping implement effective public involvement strategies through the federal environmental review process. Josh’s experience in public engagement includes working at local, regional, and state-level organizations, where he has worked on issues including transit, infrastructure, active transportation, and safety projects. Josh earned his Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion and History and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Julie Leimbach
Director
Julie Leimbach Director
Julie Leimbach facilitates and engages stakeholders so that people can create collaborative solutions that decrease the cost of conflict and inertia. For more than a decade, Julie has enjoyed bringing together groups of water agencies, resources agencies, local government, and NGOs to find common ground and advance jointly held objectives in water resources, land and forest management, climate change adaptation, hydropower, clean energy, disadvantaged communities, and health. She also brings international experience in peace-building in nations in democratic transitions and transboundary natural resource management.
Katy Kennedy
Project Coordinator
Katy Kennedy Project Coordinator
Katy Kennedy is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West and supports a wide array of projects at Kearns & West, including marine, water, flood protection, climate action planning, and hydropower. She also adds capacity to the firm by understanding and conducting 508 ADA compliance. Katy brings exceptional organizational skills given her recent experience working for the non-profit organization Clear Blue Sea in San Diego where she managed interns and volunteers, created job descriptions, maintained personnel documents, and coordinated orientation programs. She is a graduate of UC San Diego where she received a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Systems with a specialty in Environmental Policy.
Kelsey Rugani
Senior Director
Kelsey Rugani Senior Director
Kelsey Rugani is a Senior Director with Kearns & West and specializes in working on stakeholder outreach, strategic process planning, facilitation, project management, and complex regulatory process coordination. Kelsey brings exemplary organizational communication and planning skills to each project she works on. Her key sectors include hydropower, energy policy, transportation, water resource management, climate adaptation and resiliency, and air quality.
Kent Schwartz
Principal & COO/CFO
Kent Schwartz Principal & COO/CFO
Kent Schwartz is a Principal & Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Financial Officer with Kearns & West. He brings more than 30 years of experience is building meaningful analysis and processes to serve management, employees and clients. Most recently bringing that expertise to help grow a Professional Services organization by over 500% in 8 years. His main goal is to facilitate and support a company to grow to their full potential.
Kirsten Hauge
Director
Kirsten Hauge Director
Kirsten Hauge is a Director at Kearns & West and has over 16 years of experience in leading community outreach and strategic communication programs across many sectors. She helps clients implement inclusive community engagement approaches and plans public involvement to support environmental review requirements for state and local government agencies. Kirsten has advised on projects relating to high-capacity transit and transportation, natural resources and wastewater, public safety and emergency preparedness, public health, and planning and development. Kirsten has a Bachelor of Arts from Pacific Lutheran University.
Kyle Vint
Director
Kyle Vint Director
Kyle Vint is a Director at Kearns & West. Kyle’s interests include technical and scientific communication, virtual engagement, and process design. He’s worked with a wide range of clients to translate complex sciences into accessible public-facing graphics, assisting partners in identifying and utilizing appropriate virtual engagement tools, and managing multi-event nationwide public engagement campaigns. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa where he was also a coach of the national championship-winning Iowa debate team.
Larry Schooler
Director
Larry Schooler Director
Larry Schooler is a Director at Kearns & West. He holds an MA/PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and his experience ranges from assisting local, state, and federal agencies to nonprofit and faith-based organizations worldwide in resolving disputes, building consensus, and engaging the public in the decision-making process. He specializes in land use mediation, strategic planning, and visioning and has extensive experience in energy, water, community and regional planning, transportation, housing, health and human services, and technology. Larry is on the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin where he teaches Facilitative Leadership and Conflict Resolution and serves as a senior fellow at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life.
Lindsay Tryba
Associate
Lindsay Tryba Associate
Lindsay Tryba is an Associate at Kearns & West where her practice skills focus on supporting collaborative decision-making and equitable community engagement processes around water, hydropower, and natural resource management projects. Her interests include watershed management, climate resiliency, and environmental policy. At the University of Denver, Lindsay earned a master’s degree in International Security and an undergraduate double major in Public Policy and International Studies with a double minor in Spanish and Leadership Studies. She also holds a Certificate in Global Environmental Change and Adaptation.
Lisa Marie Alley
Vice President
Lisa Marie Alley Vice President
Lisa Marie Alley is a Vice President at Kearns & West with more than two decades of experience in communications, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning and public policy. She has worked on community and regional planning, environmental review, transportation, transit, climate change and workforce development projects at the regional and national level. Lisa Marie is interested in helping clients and their stakeholders find positive, collaboratively developed solutions to the challenges they face.
Liz Mack
Director
Liz Mack Director
Liz Mack is a Director for Kearns & West with over 15 years of experience in facilitation and public engagement. She specializes in designing collaborative processes to bring together stakeholders to make decisions about natural resource management, conservation, and environmental issues. Liz has provided strategic advice and neutral facilitation to numerous clients across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West that helped move complex issues forward. Her experience includes convening and facilitating advisory and technical working groups, developing evaluation processes and assessments, conducting stakeholder interviews and surveys, and achieving durable and measurable outcomes. She’s also skilled in developing community outreach and strategic communication programs across a wide range of sectors.
Mark Sebarrotin
Project Coordinator
Mark Sebarrotin Project Coordinator
Mark Anthony Sebarrotin is a Project Coordinator with Kearns & West and has a background in public engagement with community-based organizations and the hardest-to-reach populations. His experience includes policy research and analysis around regional planning efforts, climate resiliency, housing, and education. He provides collaborative solutions and communications support at Kearns & West where his project experience includes strategy development, meeting design and management, stakeholder interviews and landscape assessments, digital engagement, and meeting co-facilitation.
Mary Beth Day
Senior Associate
Mary Beth Day Senior Associate
Mary Beth is a Senior Associate in Kearns & West’s San Francisco office. She has been active in the energy, water, and climate change practices since joining the team in 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geoarchaeology from Hamilton College and a PhD in Earth sciences from the University of Cambridge, where she studied human-climate-environment interactions. She’s excited to translate her scientific background into tackling present day challenges.
Matt Marvin
Senior Associate
Matt Marvin Senior Associate
Matt Marvin is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West and joined the firm in April 2016. Matt is a graduate of the University of Oregon and has a background in environmental justice, project management, and renewable energy in the private industry and with nonprofits. His interests are in stakeholder engagement, environmental justice, energy and natural resource policy, and infrastructure projects.
Nery Anaya
Accounting Assistant
Nery Anaya Accounting Assistant
Nery is a Junior Staff Accountant at Kearns & West where her focus is accounts payable, contract compliance, and assistance with other financial duties to other accounting staff members. Nery has a degree in Accounting from San Francisco State University.
Nick Saffold
Senior Director
Nick Saffold Senior Director
Nick has more than a decade of experience working in public affairs, strategic planning, and public policy. He specializes in leading communications campaigns, message development, and policy analysis in the regulatory and legislative arena and provides strategic counsel and communications expertise on internet, technology, and infrastructure issues. On each project, Nick distills complex issues into clear, concise messages for the appropriate audience. Nick works collaboratively to provide clients with innovative approaches to communicate with policymakers, media, and the public. Nick has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Arizona.
Nora De Cuir
Senior Director
Nora De Cuir Senior Director
Nora De Cuir is a Senior Director at Kearns & West with over fifteen years of experience facilitating collaborative decision making around land use, transportation, energy, water and natural resource management issues. Nora’s experience at the local, state and federal levels coupled with her passion for stakeholder collaboration helps our clients to conduct meaningful engagement that builds agreement. Nora’s core skillset includes strategic planning, public involvement, and facilitating conflict resolution within multi-party groups.
Patricia Garcia
Project Coordinator, Finance
Patricia Garcia Project Coordinator, Finance
Patricia Garcia is a Project Coordinator who joined Kearns & West in March 2015. She has experience in meeting logistics planning and support, stakeholder outreach, project management, supporting complex invoicing processes, and supporting the account and business system migration. Her interests include stakeholder engagement, environmental justice, system integrations, system processes and efficiencies.
Rafael Silberblatt
Director
Rafael Silberblatt Director
Rafael Silberblatt is a Director at Kearns & West with extensive experience in facilitation, strategic planning and stakeholder engagement. He has put these skills to use in the clean energy sector and across a wide array of projects with government agencies, community groups, non-profits and businesses. He enjoys helping groups navigate conflict, create order and solve problems creatively through empathy, communication, systems, processes, and plans
Rebecca Beauregard
Director
Rebecca Beauregard Director
Rebecca Beauregard is a Director at Kearns & West and brings more than a decade of project management experience in international human and organizational development. Her varied project and team leadership roles across sectors, industries, and contexts make her adept at change and its processes. She focuses on improving processes and relationships in the management of complex initiatives and utilizing her expertise in facilitation, coordination, training, and stakeholder engagement in meeting project objectives.
Rickie Cleere
Associate
Rickie Cleere Associate
Rickie Cleere is an Associate with Kearns & West. His outreach and organizational skills help to ensure that the voices and concerns of disadvantaged communities are included and thoughtfully considered at all steps of a project process. His background and education in the environmental and communications fields has focused on issues of equity, environmental justice, sustainability, climate adaptation, and public health. Rickie’s work with local governments, utilities, and federal agencies has provided him with insight on how to best disseminate information and communicate with stakeholders around what matters most to them. In addition to his background and experience in public outreach and community engagement, Rickie is skilled at copywriting, research, and data analysis.
Ross Green
Senior Associate
Ross Green Senior Associate
Ross Green is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West, working in the public safety, telecommunications, and technology sectors. He has worked on campaign and corporate communications to help clients improve their reputation among stakeholders. Ross brings experience in polling and analysis, message development, and project management. Ross is a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs – Los Angeles. His interests include stakeholder engagement in projects involving sustainability, infrastructure, and emerging technology.
Samantha Meysohn
Associate
Samantha Meysohn Associate
Samantha Meysohn brings eight years of professional experience in the environmental field, studying, implementing, and supporting projects on topics ranging from climate change adaptation, human-elephant conflict, and biodiversity informatics. Prior to becoming an Associate at Kearns & West, she completed a year-long Apprenticeship in Conservation Conflict Transformation with the Center for Conservation Peacebuilding, transforming deeply-rooted, identity-based social conflicts surrounding wildlife conservation and natural resource management. At Kearns & West, she supports process design and facilitation for collaboration among tribal, federal, and state representatives and stakeholders to address complex natural resource management topics. Samantha earned her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College and her master’s degree from the Yale School of the Environment.
Samantha Ramsey
Associate
Samantha Ramsey Associate
Sam Ramsey is an Associate at Kearns & West who brings an expertise in strategic communications, public affairs, and project management to a wide variety of marine, renewable, transportation, and telecommunications-oriented projects. Sam is a leader in the Kearns & West collaborative technology practice, supporting the deployment of technologies across the full spectrum of Kearns & West services from communications and outreach, to media monitoring, to facilitation of large, complex virtual events.
Sara Omar
Senior Associate
Sara Omar Senior Associate
Sara Omar is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West and is a skilled project and management professional with experience in conflict analysis and resolution, environmental justice, and international relations. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Sara interned at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution. Her accomplishments there include research and production of a report on how to create Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution networks within the Department and facilitation of a series of workshops on reaching consensus for a scientific methodology. Sara’s focus at Kearns & West includes equitable and inclusive engagement, environmental justice, facilitation, mediation, and stakeholder assessment. She holds a master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University.
Sarah Franklin
Associate
Sarah Franklin Associate
Sarah Franklin is an Associate with Kearns & West and has eleven years of community development and community engagement experience working with public-private collaboratives in the non-profit sector. Her expertise extends to urban policy, sustainable land use, affordable housing, healthy and resilient communities, transportation, and equity and inclusion. Sarah’s key areas of interest include stakeholder engagement and outreach efforts that blend infrastructure-related policy and community well-being resulting in widely supported and long-lasting outcomes. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from UC Berkeley where she received the Bardach Award in 2021, given to one graduate professional for exemplary public policy analysis.
Sharif Ebrahim
Managing Principal
Sharif Ebrahim Managing Principal
Sharif Ebrahim is a Principal with Kearns & West. He brings nearly 20 years of experience designing and implementing multi-disciplinary public involvement and outreach programs, including working on numerous complex water, energy and land use issues, initiative campaigns, and state and federal legislation and regulatory proceedings. Sharif has worked with local, state and federal agencies, trade associations, Fortune 500 companies, and various collaborative processes to help them communicate their vision and form productive relationships with their stakeholders.
Sharon Hu
Associate
Sharon Hu Associate
Sharon Hu, an Associate at Kearns & West, specializes in the water, transportation, and energy practices. She has diverse experience in stakeholder engagement and natural resource policy and holds both a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Michigan, focusing on conflict resolution, public management and economics, and environmental justice. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Geography from UCLA.
Shreya Jain
Associate
Shreya Jain Associate
Shreya Jain is an Associate with Kearns & West and has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, both from Portland State University. Her experience includes community outreach and engagement, transportation and infrastructure planning, and GIS/data analysis. Shreya has a particular interest in engagement of environmental justice communities and creating more equitable engagement processes and outcomes.
Sylvia Ciborowski
Vice President
Sylvia Ciborowski Vice President
Sylvia Ciborowski is a Vice President at Kearns & West with a strong background in stakeholder engagement, facilitation and mediation. She is a lawyer by education and training, specializing in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and is also a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Sector of the Oregon State Bar. Working alongside clients, she is skilled in designing outcomes-focused stakeholder engagement processes that consider a wide range of interested parties and anticipate stakeholder conflicts. She specializes in facilitating conversations that result in strategic paths forward and solutions on complex public policy issues. Sylvia facilitates many types of workgroups and committees, including long-term advisory committees, strategic planning meetings, discussion and focus group meetings, large public open houses, and meetings in other languages. She has worked on projects in a wide range of fields including land use and transportation planning, environment and natural resources, forestry, climate change, housing, changes in local codes and regulations, and equity and inclusion. Sylvia is a certified Court-Connected Mediator, a volunteer mediator with Multnomah County Courts, and a member of the Oregon Mediation Association.
Tai Bui
Accounting Supervisor
Tai Bui Accounting Supervisor
Tai Bui is an Accounting Supervisor at Kearns & West where his focus is project management, accounts payable and general ledger oversight, and process engineering. His experience includes having worked in the architecture and engineering industry providing guidance on project management, financial reporting and analysis, and public accounting specializing in low-income housing tax credits. Tai has a degree in Accountancy from California State University, Chico and is currently testing to acquire CPA licensure.
Taylor York
Director
Taylor York Director
Taylor York is a Director at Kearns & West and holds a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He has worked in both the local government and private industry sectors and currently serves as a Board Member for the Inland Empire branch of the U.S. Green Building Council, Los Angeles. His community and stakeholder engagement focus is on urban planning, environmental, energy, and transportation projects. Taylor has special expertise in outreach and education for the deployment of alternative fuel and zero-emissions vehicles and infrastructure, including long-term involvement with the Western Riverside County Clean Cities program, part of a nationwide program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Taylor’s background has cultivated a diverse skill set which includes community engagement and collaboration, coalition building, and project management. He has experience engaging a wide range of stakeholder groups through interactive and creative methods.
Terra Alpaugh
Senior Associate
Terra Alpaugh Senior Associate
Terra Alpaugh joined Kearns & West as an Associate in 2017, bringing with her five years of communications and project management experience in the conservation and education fields. Leveraged alongside her academic background in water management and climate change science, these skills enable her to support dialogues that facilitate creative thinking and help parties find shared interests around addressing environmental problems.
Trevor Reddick
Associate
Trevor Reddick Associate
Trevor Reddick is a Senior Associate with Kearns & West and brings data-driven problem-solving, research acumen, and valued presentation skills to the team. He comes from the real estate industry where he managed sustainability projects and interfaced with government on regional programs across water management, land use planning, and energy sectors. Trevor has a master’s in Communication from Baylor University where he focused his thesis on the intersection of public engagement and environmental justice in urban resilience policy.
Zach Barr
Senior Associate
Zach Barr Senior Associate
Zach Barr is an Associate at Kearns & West and joined the firm in June 2016. Zach studied energy management and environment and natural resources at University of Wyoming and has experience in GIS and the oil and gas industry. His interests are in energy, natural resource management and policy, land-use planning, infrastructure projects, and environmental policy.