She is Capital Nature’s lead for the DC Master Naturalist program, and representative to the Biophilic Cities Network. Regionally, she convenes the BlueGreen Resilience Corridors working group in collaboration with Casey Trees, and facilitates the Washington DC Area Citizen Science Network with a steering committee of brilliant nature nerds.

Prior to founding Capital Nature, Stella helped facilitate the Biophilic DC civic initiative and worked in green building and sustainability policy. She collaborated with developers, public officials, designers, academics, and civic leaders to develop new approaches to urban sustainability and livable communities. Stella wrote the foundational report on Green Building for the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, and has served as adjunct faculty in George Washington University’s Sustainable Landscapes program. She holds a Bachelors in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia, and completed her graduate studies in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University.

Stella is trained as an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist. When she is not inventing new programs and initiatives, she enjoys leading tree walks and looking for critters under the leaves. Stella’s favorite words are “insight” and “joy.”

Ana first sparked interest in emerging nature lovers through her “Daily Leaf” posts which highlighted the beauty of local trees through photographs. As a dendrophile, or lover of trees, she enjoys sharing her knowledge with others through art and personal engagement. One of her favorite public engagement events is the annual global City Nature Challenge, during which she leads observation walks in Oxon Run Park and other area parks.

When she is not leading adventures for Capital Nature, Ana works for the US Green Building Council as a marketing and communications specialist, managing projects, curating digital assets and staff photography. She is also USGBC’s sustainability tour guide, introducing visitors from around the world to the benefits of green building. Ana is passionate about using the natural and built environment as a teaching tool. Her favorite word is “wonder.”

Annie came to Capital Nature after a once-in-a lifetime global trek that took her to Indonesia: experiencing the underwater archipelagos of Bali, a blue lava volcano, and sustainable villages in Java, biophilic buildings in Sydney, and even the base of Mt Everest, from which she brought a fresh global back to Washington DC.

Prior to her adventures, Annie worked for more than twenty five years in federal public policy, advocacy, project management, and program evaluation. She served as Director of Fiscal and Family Support for The Arc, a national organization promoting and protecting the human rights of people with developmental disabilities, and Director of Communications and Grassroots Advocacy for the Disability Policy Collaboration. Earlier in her career she was the Program Director for the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a government project officer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Annie believes that nature is the universal source of wellbeing and should be accessible to people of all abilities and all walks of life.

Annie is a graduate of the DC Master Naturalist Program. She holds a Master of Social Work from Catholic University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University. She is a fluent Spanish speaker. Annie's favorite word is "green."

Matthew met Capital Nature through our shared fiscal sponsor, Green Spaces for DC. He has always admired Stella and Ana’s spirit and dedication to their work in promoting nature, and is so happy to be part of the team!

Matthew specializes in front-end design and content architecture, knows his way around WordPress, and loves to problem solve. He developed the Park Rx America platform for health providers to prescribe nature and parks to their patients.

In his free time, Matthew practices classical piano, spends time with his family, and serves as President on the association board of his community.
Matthew’s favorite word is one he made up – “is-ness”.