Alonso Abugattas
Natural Resources Manager, Arlington County
Founder, Capital Naturalist
Alonso Abugattas is a well-known local naturalist, blogger, environmental educator, speaker and storyteller. A former officer, including president, with the Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, Alonso is a master naturalist and master gardener serving as an instructor in a variety of topics for several chapters for both. He is also a co-founder of the Washington Area Butterfly Club and is currently the Natural Resources Manager for Arlington County Parks, VA.
Abugattas is the long-time Co-Chair for this region's chapter of the National Association for Interpretation, the professional association for naturalists, zookeepers and environmental educators and has been certified by them as a Heritage Interpreter. Alonso has had numerous mentions in the press and media, including an appearance on Animal Planet. He invites you to check out his various social media outlets such as his Facebook Group called the "Capital Naturalist" as well the Blog by the same name. You're also welcome to view his Capital Naturalist YouTube Channel or follow him on Twitter @CapNaturalist.
Melanie Choukas-Bradley
Author and Naturalist
Certified Forest Therapy Guide
Melanie Choukas-Bradley is the author of the The Joy of Forest Bathing: Reconnect With Wild Places & Rejuvenate Your Life (Rock Point, August 2018) and four natural history books, including the highly acclaimed City of Trees: The Complete Field Guide to the Trees of Washington, DC. The Washington Post Book World called City of Trees: "A splendid field guide - practical, botanically sound, and filled with good stories." The book has been published in three editions over a 37- year period. Her recent book, A Year in Rock Creek Park - the Wild, Wooded Heart of Washington, DC, won an Independent Publishers IPPY award for Mid-Atlantic nonfiction.
Melanie is also author of two books about Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland. She is currently working on a book tentatively titled A Year at Theodore Roosevelt Island. Melanie leads tree tours, field trips and forest bathing walks for Smithsonian Associates, the Audubon Naturalist Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Rock Creek Conservancy, the U.S. Botanic Garden, Politics & Prose, the National Bonsai Foundation and Casey Trees. She lectures widely and has been a guest on NPR's the Diane Rehm Show, Morning Edition, All Things Considered and WAMU's the Kojo Nnamdi Show.
In 2014 she was awarded one of four inaugural Canopy Awards by Casey Trees for her efforts to educate people about the trees of the nation's capital. Melanie's free-lance articles have been published in The Washington Post and many other publications. Melanie is a nature and forest therapy guide with certification from the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs.
John Henderson
President, Green Spaces for DC
John is a Certified Parks and Recreation Executive, city planner, public participation practitioner, arbitrator, and mediator. He is also an attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois and the District of Columbia. He enjoys hiking and biking and is passionate about finding opportunities to bring nature into city neighborhoods. President and Executive Director of Green Spaces for DC is a District of Columbia resident with over 23 years of experience in parks and recreation, including twelve years with the Chicago Park District and eleven with The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
John is certified as a parks and recreation executive, city planner, public participation practitioner, arbitrator and mediator. He is an attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois and the District of Columbia. John holds a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School, a Bachelors in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati and a Certificate in Public Performance Measurement from Rutgers University.
He is a member of Leadership Washington Class of 2004, Lambda Alpha International, the national society for advanced land economics, and the Board of the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, the national park and recreation accrediting organization.
Robin-Eve Jasper
President Emeritus, NoMa Parks Foundation and Principal, Elton Ventures
Robin-Eve gets things done in real time, usually at the intersection of public policy and private investment. With varied past lives as a corporate attorney, commercial developer, and affordable housing provider, Robin-Eve lent her considerable experience to making emerging NoMa a fantastic neighborhood in DC. She was active in NoMa for many years, from establishing the NoMa BID in 2007 to founding the NoMa Parks Foundation in 2013.
Katrina Lashley
Program Coordinator, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
Katrina D. Lashley is Program Coordinator of Urban Waterways at Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum. She received her BA in English Literature and Italian at Rutgers University and earned an MA in History (Public History track) at American University, with a focus on the British Caribbean. Ms. Lashley has worked on projects for the National Museum of American History and Arlington House. In addition to her Public History work, she taught English Literature and English Language for 12 years.
Brenda Lee Richardson
President, Chozen Consulting, LLC
Brenda Lee Richardson, a resident of Ward 8 in Washington, D.C. and an eco-feminist, has been working on welfare reform, environmental justice, economic development, and health issues for the past 25 years. She currently serves as the President of Chozen Consulting, LLC, a consulting company that focuses on community engagement, facilitation, training, international affairs, and government relations.
Ms. Richardson was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Councilmember Marion Barry. She also served as a consultant for the past 20 years. Ms. Richardson served for many years as the Managing Director of the Metropolitan Dialogue, a group of people of faith who met monthly to discuss civic issues in the District of Columbia. From 1995 to 1996, Ms. Richardson was the Director of Resident Services for the D.C. Housing Authority, and prior, she was the Executive Director of the Anacostia/Congress Heights Partnership. She has served as a Board member to major institutions and environmental organizations in the region.
Ms. Richardson is currently a Trustee of the DC Public Library and DC Water, and serves on Georgetown University Hospital's Lombardi Cancer Center Community Advisory Group. She has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Master's of Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Sandy Wiggins
Principal, Consilience LLC
Sandy Wiggins is Principal of Consilience LLC, a national consultancy with a mission to foster environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities. His skillful facilitation has helped birth sustainable master plans for municipalities and institutions across the country, as well as sustainable regional public policy initiatives. He has led the development of scores of LEED certified projects, as well as net zero energy buildings, one of the nation's first Living Building Challenge projects, and a neighborhood development aspiring to meet the Living Community Challenge.
Sandy is also a Sr. Advisor to RSF Social Finance, whose purpose is to transform the way the world works with money. His work with RSF has principally focused on supporting the growth of community capital systems and place-based mission investing.
Sandy currently serves on the Green Building Advisory Council for the City of Washington, DC. He is a Past Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, was Founding Chair of the Green Building Certification Institute, and was Founding Chair of the Philadelphia-based Delaware Valley Green Building Council.
Dr. Robert Zarr, MD
Founder & Medical Director, Park Rx America
Robert is a physician researcher and public health pediatrician based at Unity Health Care, Inc and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He has provided medical attention to BIPOC and immigrant populations for more than 20 years. Robert is also a certified nature and forest therapy guide. You will often find him walking or hiking on nearby trails and spending time near his neighborhood trees.