Jackie is an experienced project manager, museum curator, botanist, educator, and environmental scientist with expertise in the Seeds of Success protocol and native plant biology in the American Southwest. She is an accomplished scientist and fundraiser who has built international collaborations with diverse colleagues to complete complex studies and projects. Jackie is skilled in using her deep understanding of scientific study design, inference, and communication skills to translate intricate topics to the general public, legislators, and other stakeholders.

Sherry has been with Partners since 2015. She joined us with more than 20 years of experience in administration, bookkeeping, and managing office operations, primarily in public schools.  

Sherry has lived most of her life in the small town of Monticello, Utah, at the base of the Abajo Mountains and at the center of the Colorado Plateau. Her family has lived in the Four Corners area for nearly 100 years. During her free time, she enjoys gardening, hiking, cool mountain air, and any kind of adventure with her family.

Growing up in Western New York, Jason spent countless hours hiking, backpacking, and paddling the Finger Lakes and Adirondack regions. More recently, he has enjoyed exploring over 25 National Parks, including the “Mighty Five”, where his fascination with Utah’s landscape and biodiversity blossomed.

Jason received an MS in Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan University, where he spent five years fostering relationships and generosity at his alma mater. Gaining this experience, he was eager to intertwine his fundraising and communication skills with his passion for the environment and public lands.

When not raising support for GSEP, Jason can be found cycling, trail running, and backpacking throughout Utah and the Mountain West.

Alex received a civil engineering degree from UW-Milwaukee in 2011, but couldn’t handle the thought of being stuck behind a desk for the rest of his life.

Instead, he joined a conservation corps so that he could work outdoors. Alex first came to Escalante in 2013 with Arizona Conservation Corps to treat Russian olive with ERWP.

He is very happy to be working in such a beautiful country.

Mary is originally from Layton, Utah, and studied Interdisciplinary Studies at Southern Utah University, where she combined Outdoor Recreation, Hospitality Management, and Psychology. An academic blend that reflects her passion for connecting people with the natural world. From a young age, she struggled to fit into traditional societal roles and found a sense of belonging in nature. She believes the outdoors offers the freedom to be one’s authentic self, a feeling she experiences deeply in southwest Utah. 

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
— Aldo Leopold

Mackenzie was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, and earned her degree in Outdoor Recreation in Parks and Tourism from Southern Utah University, with an emphasis in Outdoor Education. She began working for the National Park Service across the country in places such as Cedar Breaks National Monument, Zion National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, and Mount Rainier National Park, focusing on trail work, maintenance, education, and interpretation. These experiences shaped her passion for helping people connect with the landscapes around them. Now living permanently in the desert, Mackenzie loves sharing the beauty of this unique environment with others.

Katie has spent more than a decade chasing water across the West, always returning to the Colorado Plateau as the heart of her interests. A riparian ecologist by trade and a reverse snowbird by chance, she spent many summers working in high-desert river and stream monitoring and restoration programs, and seven winters as a professional ski patroller observing water at its source in mountain snowpacks. During this time, she also supported Partners through graduate research and as a watershed field coordinator.

She holds a Master of Environmental/Public Land Management and is completing her M.S. in Ecology at Western Colorado University, where her research has centered on understanding long-term riparian change in the Escalante watershed and Glen Canyon. She earned her undergraduate degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia in 2014. 

When she isn’t working or studying, she is somewhere outside with her partner, their reluctantly retired avalanche dog Josie Bassett, and their happily rescued mutt Iris.