Meet the Kearns & West Team
Adam Saslow
Vice President
Adam Saslow Vice President
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.
Amanda Ford
Vice President
Amanda Ford Vice President
Amanda joined Kearns & West with 20 years of experience in program management, tribal engagement, and conflict resolution. Her career extends to public policy development, environmental planning, and equity initiatives, serving Indigenous and historically unserved communities worldwide. This background includes advancing principles of equity as a liaison and mediator between tribes, community-based organizations, and local, state, and federal governments. Earlier in her career, Amanda worked as a consultant for numerous nonprofit organizations and government agencies, developing equitable drinking water policies and engagement plans for historically marginalized communities.
Amira Streeter
Director
Amira Streeter Director
Amira Streeter is a Director with Kearns & West and brings a breadth of knowledge and experience in complex, consensus-seeking public policy processes. A lawyer by education and training, Amira has built a government affairs career working with both private and public entities on projects involving strategic planning and legislative engagement. Her work is focused on environmental and natural resources issues, including land use, agriculture, wildlife management, environmental justice, water, energy, transportation, and climate. She primarily works on projects that require facilitation, conflict resolution, policy management, and large-scale stakeholder engagement where she instills collaborative, equity-focused, and process-based strategies. Amira earned her Bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Skidmore College and law degree and Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources law from Lewis & Clark, Northwestern School of Law.
Andrea Raynor
Project Accountant
Andrea Raynor Project Accountant
Andrea Raynor is a Project Accountant at Kearns & West. As a member of the finance team, Andrea works with project management to streamline project accounting processes and to ensure accurate and timely billing. She has over 20 years of business management and financial analysis experience, having worked for both Fortune 500 companies and also small and medium-sized businesses, helping them grow in sustainable ways. She has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in Interactive Design from California State University, East Bay. Andrea is active in various community organizations which support local entrepreneurship.
Angela Hessenius
Associate
Angela Hessenius Associate
Angela Hessenius is an Associate at Kearns & West with experience in environmental policy analysis and community outreach. While earning her Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, Angela completed projects related to climate adaptation, flood resilience, food systems, waste reduction, and environmental justice. She also has prior experience leading environmental education, communication, and outreach initiatives on marine ecosystems for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and supporting program implementation for the School for Field Studies in Cambodia. At Kearns & West, she supports facilitation and collaborative stakeholder engagement processes to address complex natural resource management issues.
Angela Jo Woolcott
Vice President
Angela Jo Woolcott Vice President
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.
Arpana Nautiyal
Associate
Arpana Nautiyal Associate
Arpana Nautiyal is an Associate at Kearns & West with experience in public involvement, stakeholder outreach, land use, and transportation planning. Her background includes content development for online engagement platforms for high-capacity transit expansions and designing comprehensive street improvements for increased public transit efficiency. Arpana brings experience working with large federal and regional authorities as well as knowledge conducting qualitative and quantitative analyses with her multidisciplinary background. Her professional interests include transit-oriented development, long-range planning, and housing strategies. Arpana earned her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Lewis and Clark College and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington.
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
Principal
Ben Gettleman Principal
Ben Gettleman is a Principal 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.
Bethany Taylor
Project Coordinator
Bethany Taylor Project Coordinator
Bethany Taylor is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West supporting public involvement projects in the land use, technology, and marine resource sectors, among others. She specializes in virtual meeting management, report writing, and materials development. Bethany is an experienced professional with over 10 years of success in the fields of public engagement, marketing events and tradeshows, logistical planning, and market research. She applies her adept organizational and methodical planning skills and detail-oriented nature to complex scheduling tasks, technical writing, stakeholder communication, and developing effective meeting materials while broadening her aptitude for learning new technologies. Bethany holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Richmond.
Bianca Valdez
Senior Associate
Bianca Valdez Senior Associate
Bianca Valdez is a Senior 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
Senior Director
Briana Moseley Senior Director
Briana is a Senior 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.
Brisa Aviles
Associate
Brisa Aviles Associate
Brisa Aviles is an Associate at Kearns and West, supporting the firm’s community planning, equitable and inclusive engagement, and renewable energy sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies with a double minor in Urban Studies and Environmental Systems and Society from the University of California Los Angeles. Her background includes neighborhood storytelling, community outreach and engagement, environmental and mobility justice, and affordable housing for community land trusts. Brisa’s previous experience ranges from grassroots organizing to serving as a community liaison to larger government agencies in both the San Diego and Los Angeles region.
Bushra Bangee
Associate
Bushra Bangee Associate
Bushra Bangee is an Associate at Kearns & West, supporting the firm’s community planning, equitable and inclusive engagement, and renewable energy sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies with an emphasis on Sustainable Development from the University of California, Irvine. Her background includes community outreach and engagement, urban planning, affordable housing, cultural consulting within entertainment, grassroots organizing, and nonprofit development. Bushra’s previous experience ranges from working alongside community and grassroots nonprofits to consulting with film and television entities to ensure authentic storytelling in shows such as Marvel’s Moon Knight and Disney Junior’s Mira Royal Detective. Bushra’s professional interests also include environmental justice, participatory planning, and diverse and equitable engagement.
Caisey Hoffman
Collaborative Technology Associate
Caisey Hoffman Collaborative Technology Associate
Caisey is a Collaborative Technology Team Associate 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.
Caitlin Sheridan
Associate
Caitlin Sheridan Associate
Caitlin Sheridan is a Associate at Kearns & West and supports a wide array of projects in the transportation and community and regional planning sectors. She earned a bachelor’s degree in History and African Studies from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver where her coursework included training in negotiation, collaborative decision-making, and sustained dialoguing. Caitlin also holds a professional mediation certificate and served as a volunteer court mediator. Her areas of focus include facilitated dialogues, research, pedagogy program management, collaborative technology support, social media content creation, and more.
Cameron Hucek
Project Coordinator
Cameron Hucek Project Coordinator
Cameron Hucek is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West supporting mediation, facilitation, and public participation projects. Cameron’s experience includes work within the renewable energy sector providing stakeholder outreach and engagement, policy research and data analysis, and communications planning for new and developing projects. Her skill set also includes producing project websites and informational print pieces. Cameron has a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin and Marshall College in Environmental Studies and Public Policy.
Catherine Scott
Senior Business Development Director
Catherine Scott Senior Business Development Director
Catherine Scott is the Senior Business Development Director at Kearns & West with experience in both project implementation and business development. Over the last decade, she has honed her skills in business development specializing in federal contracting. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Catherine supported international and domestic organizations to grow their portfolio of US government work in areas including organizational development, empowering marginalized communities, and community resilience. This included leading business development teams to submit up to $300M in proposals annually, secure a $90M follow-on project, and expand into new markets. At Kearns & West she supports the firm to identify and cultivate new opportunities and partnerships.
Celina (Cece) Horbat
Senior Associate
Celina (Cece) Horbat Senior Associate
Celina (CeCe) Horbat is a Senior 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.
Chelsea Cullen
Senior Associate
Chelsea Cullen Senior Associate
Chelsea Cullen is a Senior 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
Director
Christian Mendez Director
Christian Mendez is a Director 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.
Colin Johnson
Associate
Colin Johnson Associate
Colin Johnson is an Associate at Kearns & West with a background in conflict management, facilitation, communications, restorative practices, and learning and development. Since joining the firm, Colin’s facilitation and strategic communications skills have supported a wide variety of transportation and infrastructure-related projects. He is focused on providing communities and stakeholders access to equitable and collaborative processes. Before joining Kearns & West, Colin provided alternative dispute resolution services at University of Colorado Boulder, growing the conflict resolution program there and providing both mediation and training for students, faculty, and staff. Colin holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Marist College and a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Professional Mediation Certificate from the University of Denver.
Collin Buchanan
Project Coordinator
Collin Buchanan Project Coordinator
Collin Buchanan is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West supporting the energy, marine resources, environmental justice, and government solutions sectors. His background includes community engagement and volunteer training, database management, survey research, and copy editing. His experience extends to writing policy briefs and articles on topics such as climate change and renewable energy. As a research fellow at the Wason Center for Public Policy — a nonpartisan research and polling organization — Collin conducted surveys, synthesized data results, and provided analysis and reports on findings. He also supervised the Wason survey lab, managing 80+ employees’ scheduling, training, and work performance on each survey project. Collin is a graduate of Christopher Newport University’s Honors Program, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Constitutional Studies.
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
Vice President, People & Operations
Crystal Jackson Vice President, People & Operations
With over 20 years of business experience, Crystal Jackson, Vice President of People & 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.
Danielle Berger
Director
Danielle Berger Director
Danielle Berger is a Director at Kearns & West and brings over a decade of experience as a land use planner and community engagement specialist working in the non-profit and private sectors. Danielle previously served as the Director of Planning at a San Diego-based nonprofit organization working on mobility issues, community outreach, and stakeholder engagement at the intersection of environmental justice and climate resiliency. Her work now focuses on a variety of sustainability issues including natural resource planning, hazard mitigation, recreational access, and active transportation for local, state, and federal agency partners across California and the Mountain West. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Arts in geographic information systems from the University of Toronto and Master of Science in urban planning from Columbia University.
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
Senior Associate
Ellen Palmquist Senior Associate
Ellen Palmquist is a Senior 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.
Eric Holmes
Associate
Eric Holmes Associate
Eric Holmes is an Associate at Kearns & West focusing on community engagement, stakeholder facilitation, and participatory processes in support of water resources and coastal renewable energy programs. His areas of interest include watershed management, environmental communications, and collective action and decision making. Eric has previous experience in citizen science campaign development, STEM education stakeholder engagement, headwater ecosystem service analysis, and program management. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, Eric earned a master’s degree in Water Resources Management with a specialization in strategic environmental communications.
Eunice Lee
Associate
Eunice Lee Associate
Eunice Lee is an Associate with Kearns & West and earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington where her coursework included public policy, environmental communication, and GIS. Her skillset includes data assessment, analysis, and management; report and presentation preparation; and communicating complex information in concise and understandable terms. Through multiple internships at the federal and international level — including the U.S. EPA and the United Nations — she gained experience working on projects integrating climate, energy, economics, and policy. Her professional interests include environmental resilience, and equitable engagement.
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
Associate
Gillian Garber-Yonts Associate
Gillian Garber-Yonts is an Associate 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.
Grant Simmons
Project Coordinator
Grant Simmons Project Coordinator
Grant Simmons is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West supporting stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and digital communications on transportation and natural resources projects. His experience includes crafting climate policy while an intern with the City of Santa Cruz, CA, and he previously engaged in equity-focused non-profit work as a community engagement coordinator for the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Grant’s interests include decarbonization, environmental justice, transportation, and equitable collaboration. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College where he studied English and Computer Science.
Greta Sefu
Team Coordinator/Office Manager
Greta Sefu Team Coordinator/Office Manager
Greta Sefu is a Team Coordinator/Office Manager in the Kearns & West Washington, D.C office. Her experience includes administrative management, project management, policy research, and planning. Before joining Kearns & West, she provided coordination of virtual and in-person high-level events for the United Nations and affiliated nonprofit organizations and private companies. Greta holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Minnesota State University and a master’s degree in International Affairs from Penn State University where she focused her academic research on conflict management, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding.
Hanna Khalil
Senior Associate
Hanna Khalil Senior Associate
Hanna Khalil is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West, where she supports projects within the firm’s equitable and inclusive engagement, land use and natural resources, and climate practices. She brings experience supporting collaborative multi-stakeholder initiatives, meeting facilitation, and stakeholder outreach in the climate and environmental policy sphere. Prior to Kearns & West, Hanna was a Ruckelshaus Fellow at Meridian Institute, where she supported a wide range of projects focused on global food and land use reform, domestic agriculture policy, Indigenous peoples and local communities’ land rights, deforestation-free supply chains, and environmental philanthropy. There, she spearheaded a global initiative’s workstream on land tenure, gender equity, and social inclusion, solidifying her passion for environmental justice. Hanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in International and Area Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.
Heather McDonnell
Director
Heather McDonnell Director
Heather McDonnell is a Director at Kearns & West with over a decade of experience in public outreach and education, public policy, communication, and digital marketing working with local, state, and federal government agency partners and stakeholders. Her work has focused on natural resources, spanning climate resilience, biodiversity, clean energy, water, forest health, and wildfire resilience. Building public trust is a focal point of Heather’s approach to communication, often with using authentic storytelling and adapting complex technical issues into audience-friendly messages. She has a track record of successful project management and working in high-stress situations, having spent over six years working in an emergency communication response capacity for a state agency in the role of drafting, posting, and approving public information.
Henry DeRuff
Senior Associate
Henry DeRuff Senior Associate
Henry DeRuff is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West who specializes in planning and implementing inclusive communications and engagement strategies on a local, regional, and statewide scale. His practice areas include transportation, climate change adaptation, environmental justice, and planning. Henry is an adept communicator, writer, relationship-builder, process designer, and collaborative thinker. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from Claremont McKenna College and completed a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs where he gained experience in wildfire and labor policy, nonprofit communications, and marketing strategy. As a former classroom teacher, Henry excels at managing crises and facilitating difficult conversations.
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. Glen Smith
Vice President, Business Services
J. Glen Smith Vice President, Business Services
Glen is Vice President of Business Services and brings to Kearns & West over 33 years of experience throughout North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in environmental consulting and related business services. His background includes managing the business aspects of delivering complex environmental, engineering, and civil construction programs involving scoping, costing, risk evaluation, contract negotiation, and compliance. At Kearns & West, Glen’s broad expertise is focused on compliance, systems, IT, program delivery, and developing processes and tools to support and streamline project delivery, among other responsibilities.
Prior to joining Kearns & West, Glen supported complex environmental program delivery for Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and USACE utilizing a wide variety of delivery models, including T&M, Units, EPC, EPCM, and CM. He is highly proficient in analyzing operations and markets to formulate a strategic vision, obtain stakeholder buy-in, then implementing the plans using diverse cross-functional teams to achieve the desired goals.
J. Michael Harty
Senior Counselor
J. Michael Harty Senior Counselor
J. Michael Harty is a Senior Counselor 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.
Jamie Damon
Vice President
Jamie Damon Vice President
Jamie Damon is a Vice President 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.
Jasmine King
Associate
Jasmine King Associate
Jasmine King is an Associate at Kearns & West, providing environmental justice research, public outreach, project and meeting management, public policy data analysis, and material development. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, they participated on an interdisciplinary research team engaged in multicultural collaboration creating and conducting a vulnerability and policy analysis of Oregon coastal communities. Their graduate work also includes social and policy research and analysis on water resource availability. Jasmine’s experience extends to the non-profit sector, where they provided supportive and capacity-building services to adults with developmental and physical disabilities. Jasmine holds a double major in Sociology and Environmental Science from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Public Policy from Oregon State University.
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-Maldonado
Vice President
Jenna Tourjé-Maldonado Vice President
Jenna Tourjé-Maldonado is a Vice President 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
Senior Associate
Jennifer Vazconcelo Senior Associate
Jennifer Vazconcelo is a Senior 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.
Jessica Miller
Director
Jessica Miller Director
Jessica Miller is a Director at Kearns & West and brings nearly two decades of experience providing community and digital engagement within the non-profit, academic, and government settings on diverse community, environmental, and regional planning projects. Jessica has expertise in the water, land use, and transportation planning sectors and is skilled in geospatial data analysis. She has extensive facilitation experience with large and small groups, including work with environmental justice communities. Her community-centered research projects focus on inclusive collaboration and process design through focus groups, stakeholder interviews, community meetings, and surveys. She holds a doctoral degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from The Graduate Center, City University of New York.
Jim Downing
Director
Jim Downing Director
Jim Downing is a Director in the San Francisco office with expertise in water, energy, agriculture, and land use. He has worked on energy and resources issues for more than 20 years, specializing in communications, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and project management. Before joining Kearns & West, Jim directed the scientific outreach and extension communications group at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he initiated and co-led a major online engagement project and facilitated major publications projects, industry partnerships, and communications planning. Prior to that, he ran a consultancy that supported outreach and stakeholder engagement for NGO, utility, and agency clients in the fields of water, energy and conservation. Jim began his career as a daily newspaper reporter at the Seattle Times and the Sacramento Bee, covering energy, water, agriculture, and local politics.
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.
Joe Palermo
Executive Administrator/Office Manager III
Joe Palermo Executive Administrator/Office Manager III
Joe Palermo is the for Kearns & West based in San Francisco. In this role he maintains office operations and supports executive and management staff, maintains the firm’s website, and assists in human resource functions. He also provides leadership on the firm’s collaborative internal newsletter and other internal communications and activities that help the team stay connected. Joe’s background and experience prior to joining Kearns & West includes supporting marketing, human resources, and office operations efforts within various high tech and app development companies, assisting them through development to launch.
Joey Goldman
Principal
Joey Goldman Principal
Joey Goldman is a Principal at Kearns & West and leads the firm’s Transportation Practice. He has more than 25 years of experience managing community development and transportation projects with an emphasis on planning, public engagement, consensus building, communications, marketing, and branding. He brings expertise in multiparty transit system integration negotiations; meaningful and equitable public engagement for transportation investment projects (including planning games, community tours, ambassador programs, etc.); and working with older adults, people with disabilities, and disadvantaged communities on Environmental Justice, Title VI, and ADA compliance projects. An experienced project manager and facilitator for passenger rail, transit system design, and multimodal transportation projects, he also brings skills in regional/rural investment studies, mobility management, first/last mile plans, and environmental review processes. Joey serves on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and previously co-chaired the TRB Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility.
John Bowie
Senior Director
John Bowie Senior Director
John Bowie is a Senior 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
Director
Josh Mahar Director
Josh Mahar is a Director 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
Vice President
Julie Leimbach Vice President
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.
Karis Johnston
Director
Karis Johnston Director
Karis is a Director at Kearns & West with extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, conflict transformation, and collaborative process design. She has applied human-centered design, appreciative inquiry facilitation, and restorative practices in the conservation and technology sectors throughout California, aligning people processes of organizations to their mission. Her background includes working with public, private, nonprofit, and community stakeholders to solve complex issues, gain new perspectives, establish new pathways for collaboration, and build strong resilient working partnerships. With deep listening, she guides groups through contention and toward a shared vision.
Katie DeLeuw
Senior Director
Katie DeLeuw Senior Director
Katie DeLeuw is a Senior Director at Kearns & West with nearly 20 years of experience providing community outreach and engagement services in the transportation planning, climate, water, and natural resources sectors. As a collaborative leader and community engagement strategist, Katie’s background encompasses a wide range of projects and clients, from city transportation plans and community-scale bicycle/pedestrian improvements to multi-jurisdictional transit planning efforts and complex, state-led infrastructure megaprojects. Katie is passionate about connecting people to issues that affect them and supporting agencies in making decisions that center the needs of communities, guiding successful communication and outreach processes through all project phases. She has a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree from UC Santa Barbara.
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
Vice President
Kelsey Rugani Vice President
Kelsey Rugani is a Vice President 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.
Kirsten Hauge
Senior Director
Kirsten Hauge Senior Director
Kirsten Hauge is a Senior 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.
Krystal Enriquez
Project Accountant
Krystal Enriquez Project Accountant
Krystal Enriquez is a Project Accountant at Kearns & West and supports our contract work. Before joining Kearns & West, she provided project accounting for an IT networking infrastructure company serving the government, education, and healthcare sectors. Krystal earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and speaks both English and Spanish.
Kyle Vint
Senior Director
Kyle Vint Senior Director
Kyle Vint is a Senior 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
Senior Director
Larry Schooler Senior Director
Larry Schooler is a Senior 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.
Lauren Salitan
Associate
Lauren Salitan Associate
Lauren Salitan is an Associate with Kearns & West supporting stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, and project management within the energy sector. She graduated from CUNY – City College with a bachelor’s in Area Studies, minoring in Public Policy/Public Administration and Sociology. Lauren entered the environmental field in marine biology research, studying chlorine exposure effects in juvenile oysters and monitoring the Hudson River estuary water quality. She has obtained various certificates relating to environmental sciences and research practices. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Lauren worked with NYC Accelerator where she focused on outreach and program management in building decarbonization efforts in addition to specializing in internal team optimization by creating various digital platforms and tools.
Leigh Osterhus
Senior Associate
Leigh Osterhus Senior Associate
Leigh is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West providing project support across sectors and service areas at the firm. Her experience includes facilitating connections among stakeholders across the globe and managing capacity-building programs for urban leaders to better deliver for their cities and communities. Her interests include equitable community engagement, sustainable development, and city planning. Leigh earned her master’s degree in International Development from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and her bachelor’s in City and Regional Planning from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
Liz Mack
Senior Director
Liz Mack Senior Director
Liz Mack is a Senior 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.
Madeline Kane
Senior Associate
Madeline Kane Senior Associate
Madeline Kane is a Senior Associate with Kearns & West supporting major inter-governmental transportation projects. She holds a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from Portland State University with Certificates in Mediation and Collaborative Governance. In addition, she served as a Program Manager for the University’s Conflict Resolution Department providing program development and training. Madeline’s professional experience includes working with local and state agencies on policy analysis, project management, and legislative and administrative processes. She speaks conversational French and is fluent in Swahili.
Maria Bone
Project Coordinator
Maria Bone Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator
Maria Bone is a Project Coordinator for Kearns & West. She has a broad suite of skills including public outreach and involvement, stakeholder and community engagement, facilitation, and strategic communications. She specializes in water, natural resource management, resiliency planning, and collaborative conservation projects. Maria has a Bachelor of the Arts in Psychology from the University of Arizona and a Master of Legal Studies from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where she completed a dual emphasis in Conflict Resolution and Sustainability Law. Maria also has an Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate from the University of Arizona and is bilingual in both English and in Spanish.
Maria Verano
Project Coordinator
Maria Verano Project Coordinator
María brings unique research, community outreach, and planning skills to her position as Project Coordinator. María’s lived and professional experiences in multicultural and multinational communications and engagement provide her with the knowledge and background for her role. At Kearns & West, María supports stakeholder engagement and digital communications on transportation and natural resource projects, among others. María’s interests include equitable engagement; revitalization of rural economies; trade; and the effects of globalization on the environment, transportation, and language accessibility. María earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in International Relations and Diplomacy with an Emphasis in Latin American Politics as well as double minors in Business Administration and Non-Profit Administration. María is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational German.
Mark Sebarrotin
Associate
Mark Sebarrotin Associate
Mark Anthony Sebarrotin is an Associate 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.
Marlys Jeane
Associate
Marlys Jeane Associate
Marlys Jeane is an Associate at Kearns & West, primarily supporting the water sector. Her experience includes working on collaborative planning efforts with local governments, community-based organizations, and the public related to sustainably managing water resources. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Marlys worked at the California Department of Water Resources. While there, she facilitated stakeholder engagement with small, rural water systems across the state gathering feedback for water shortage contingency planning on the local level. Marlys’s professional interests in environmental justice and equitable engagement were influenced by this work alongside disadvantaged communities. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from the University of California at Davis.
Mary Beth Day
Director
Mary Beth Day Director
Mary Beth is a Director 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.
Mia Schiappi
Senior Associate
Mia Schiappi Senior Associate
Mia Schiappi is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West and supports collaborative services, interest-based negotiations, and multi-stakeholder discussions for water and watershed resources. Mia holds both a J.D. and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School where her studies focused on water resources and public land use law and regulation. Her bachelor’s degree is in Environmental Biology from Cal Poly Humboldt. Prior to joining Kearns & West, Mia worked for the California State Water Resources Control Board as a Scientific Aid. Her accomplishments there include research and drafting site-specific opinions relying on California’s Low-Threat Underground Storage Tank Case Closure Policy in the pursuit of groundwater regulation and remediation.
Michael Ding
Senior Associate
Michael Ding Senior Associate
Michael Ding is an Senior Associate at Kearns & West and supports strategic communications and collaborative solutions within the technology, energy, and equity and inclusion sectors. Michael’s background is in the communications and public affairs field, where he provided project management on numerous ballot initiatives as well as research on crisis management throughout the pandemic. He is passionate about the positive impacts of public-private partnerships and building trust among stakeholders. Michael received his bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Comparative Economics from the George Washington University where his studies focused on comparative economic systems and energy management. He was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia and is fluent in Bahasa.
Michelle Davis
Human Resources Specialist
Michelle Davis Human Resources Specialist
Michelle Davis is a Human Resources Specialist with Kearns & West with experience in full-cycle recruitment strategy and execution. She serves as the benefits administration point of contact while also working with unemployment claims, insurance, 401k, FMLA, PTO, and maintaining employee records. She has her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Long Island University.
Miquela Craytor
Vice President
Miquela Craytor Vice President
Miquela Craytor is a Vice President at Kearns & West on our New York team. In her nearly 20-year career, she has specialized in managing complex, multi-stakeholder engagement initiatives in the government, non-profit, and private sectors.
Miquela’s background includes deep experience in connecting economic development opportunities to disadvantaged and environmental justice communities through designing industry and community-informed workforce and small business growth programs. At Kearns & West, Miquela is applying her expertise in the areas of green industry, clean energy, climate adaptation and resiliency, and environmental justice, among others.
Before joining Kearns & West, Miquela led the City of New York’s first industrial industry partnership, overseeing the development of the City’s Industrial Action Plan. Most recently, she developed the community engagement strategy for Ford Motor Company’s BlueOval education and training effort to support their first EV manufacturing ground up development in over 30 years.
Morgan Lommele
Sr. Director
Morgan Lommele Sr. Director
Morgan is a public engagement expert and policy analyst whose practice helps individuals and groups communicate effectively and reach agreements. She has 16 years of experience in the public lands, renewable energy, transportation and infrastructure, natural resource management, and water resources sectors. Morgan has worked on policy and regulatory issues locally, in all 50 states, and at the federal level. Her background includes working for two national non-profits, where she led flagship coalition building and community organizing efforts. Morgan has a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Denver. She is fluent in French and conversational in Spanish and German.
Morgan Nachman
Project Coordinator
Morgan Nachman Project Coordinator
Morgan Nachman is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West bringing with her a background in community engagement, communications support, and issue and policy research across the nonprofit and public sectors. At Kearns & West, Morgan provides virtual engagement and project support for a variety of marine, energy, and community and regional planning clients. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Communication Studies and Political Science from Penn State University, where she focused her research on public policy and civic engagement.
Nahal G. Ipakchi
Senior Director
Nahal G. Ipakchi Senior Director
Nahal Ipakchi is a Senior Director at Kearns & West with over 15 years of experience leading efforts focused on environmental justice, community resilience, tribal relations, equitable and inclusive outreach and engagement, collaborative solutions, and stakeholder facilitation. Nahal’s current focus is on air quality, climate and shoreline adaptation, water resources, land use, equity and inclusion, and community and regional planning. Nahal is a trusted convener committed to making environmental justice and equity central to climate and environmental planning and policymaking. She designs and facilitates public engagement strategies focused on cultivating meaningful partnerships for innovative and equitable solutions that support thriving and healthy communities and ecosystems.
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.
Nicole Metildi
Senior Associate
Nicole Metildi Senior Associate
Nicole Metildi is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West with experience developing and implementing public involvement and communications programs for a variety of local, regional, and statewide public projects. Her interests include transportation and community planning, with a particular interest in active transit and climate action planning. Nicole helps her clients create inclusive engagement approaches and uses her copywriting and editing skills to develop communication materials that are easy to understand. Nicole earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from UC San Diego and her Masters in English from Oregon State University.
Nora De Cuir
Vice President
Nora De Cuir Vice President
Nora De Cuir is a Vice President 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 Balmas
Senior Director Financial/Systems Analyst
Patricia Balmas Senior Director Financial/Systems Analyst
Patricia Balmas is a Senior Director Financial/Systems Analyst 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
Senior Director
Rebecca Beauregard Senior Director
Rebecca Beauregard is a Senior 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.
Robin Gilliam
Director
Robin Gilliam Director
Robin Gilliam is a Director at Kearns & West with over 10 years of experience in public outreach and engagement and strategic planning. Her areas of focus are land use and natural resources, energy, water, and government solutions. With a background in the non-profit, government, and academic sectors, Robin is skilled in the development and facilitation of impactful community involvement, public policy, and public affairs processes. She deeply values collaboration, process-based strategies, equity, access, and environmental justice. Robin holds her Master of City Planning degree with an emphasis in Environmental Planning & Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sam Levy
Senior Associate
Sam Levy Senior Associate
Sam Levy is a Senior Associate at Kearns & West with experience in community engagement, facilitation, digital capacity building, research, and program design. Sam is a leading member of the Kearns & West digital engagement team and works across Kearns & West sector areas to provide technology and collaborative engagement expertise and support. Her interests include responsible data use and public interest technology. Sam joins us from the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University where she served as program manager for a technical assistance program for state government data and policy experts looking to kickstart a data-driven project to support COVID-19 recovery efforts. Sam holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Policy from Northeastern University.
Samantha Meysohn
Senior Associate
Samantha Meysohn Senior 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 a Senior 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
Director
Samantha Ramsey Director
Sam Ramsey is a Director 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.
Seth Goldstein
Project Coordinator
Seth Goldstein Project Coordinator
Seth Goldstein is a Project Coordinator at Kearns & West supporting mediation, facilitation, and public participation projects. His skillset includes stakeholder engagement and science communication along with geospatial, hydrological, and sociological research related to water security and federal and state climate policy. In addition, Seth’s background includes facilitation of workshops and conversations on topics related to empathy, gender, and power and privilege. Seth holds a Bachelor of Science from Brown in Environmental Science with a focus on Land, Water, and Food Security and speaks both English and Spanish.
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.
Sujata Bhide
Senior Director of Finance & Accounting
Sujata Bhide Senior Director of Finance & Accounting
Vice President, Finance & Accounting
Sujata Bhide, Vice President of Finance & Accounting, brings over 20 years of experience and leadership in financial accounting and management. As a strategic member of the team, her focus is on providing relevant information and advice to the management team by creating financial visibility, optimizing working capital, monitoring costs, and supporting accounting functions to produce accurate financial reports analysis. Sujata earned her master’s degree in Business Accounting, Accounting & Finance from Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune, India and has successfully passed the Uniform CPA Exam in California.
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.
Taylor Funderburk
Associate
Taylor Funderburk Associate
Taylor Funderburk is an Associate at Kearns & West supporting projects focused on water, energy, climate change, land use and natural resources, and community planning. Taylor’s expertise includes managing projects and coordinating logistics for in-person and virtual engagement events, developing project materials, and notetaking and summary writing. Taylor holds master’s in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of San Diego. While in graduate school, she worked as a consultant providing community engagement planning and project management for local government, foundations, and community organizations; implementing evaluations and conducting data analysis for sector trends and community needs; and event and logistics planning for capacity building and stakeholder engagement, workshops, and conferences of up to 300+ participants.
Terra Alpaugh
Director
Terra Alpaugh Director
As a Director at Kearns & West, Terra designs and facilitates collaborative decision-making, conflict resolution, and public outreach and engagement processes related to water operations and supply, water quality, habitat restoration and endangered species issues, flood risk, and wastewater. Terra has worked with numerous local, state, and federal agencies, both internally and in multi-agency contexts, and has executed outreach to a wide range of public stakeholders. Terra holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s degree in history from Cornell University. She enjoys helping stakeholders utilize evolving science and modeling in their decision-making, including exploring how to address scientific uncertainties and associated risk in their short- and long-term planning and policymaking.
Tess Burroughs
Associate
Tess Burroughs Associate
Tess Burroughs is an Associate at Kearns & West providing project support for collaborative stakeholder meetings and community assessment reporting. Tess holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English and minor in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Mary Washington as well as a Master of Science in Sustainable Development from Uppsala University. Tess’ graduate thesis focused on environmental communications and analyzing the ways in which we use language to discuss environmental issues.
Centered around themes of sustainability, conservation, and climate resiliency, much of her academic and professional work has supported environmental education efforts, communal stewardship projects, and public outreach initiatives.
Trevor Reddick
Director
Trevor Reddick Director
Trevor Reddick is a Director 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.
Val Varshavsky
Accounting Manager
Val Varshavsky Accounting Manager
Val Varshavsky is the Accounting Manager at Kearns & West. She brings over 10 years of experience in accounting and management. Her areas of focus include the daily operations of the accounting department, maintaining and analyzing accounting ledgers, preparation of financial statements, and establishing proper accounting methods, policies, and procedures. Val has worked closely with leadership and management teams to optimize workflow processes, identify cost-saving opportunities, budget analysis and cash flow forecasting.
Vidya Bhamidi
Senior Associate
Vidya Bhamidi Senior Associate
Vidya Bhamidi is a Senior Associate with Kearns & West with a background in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors as well as with research institutions. Her public involvement and project facilitation work focuses on land use and resiliency planning, transportation, climate adaptation, energy and water, and infrastructure projects. She also brings her design background to the tools and materials she develops to communicate complex ideas for diverse audiences. Vidya has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University in India and a Master of City Planning from UC Berkeley.
Whitney McLaughlin
Human Resources Director
Whitney McLaughlin Human Resources Director
Whitney McLaughlin, Human Resources Director with Kearns & West, brings nearly a decade of experience in the field. Her area of expertise includes employee relations, recruiting, benefits administration, training, compliance, and payroll. Whitney believes that people are the most important aspect of any business, and she is passionate about structuring HR practices that aid in the success of the organization. In addition to her work experience, Whitney earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration: Organizational Management at Bryan College and holds a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification.
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.