Staff and Board

STAFF

Meet our talented team!

Amy Hafsrud

Financial Manager & Youth Recreation Coordinator

For the past 30 years, Amy has led outdoor education and leadership training trips throughout the U.S., including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. At the Sierra Institute, she co-coordinates the summer P-CREW internship program and was instrumental in the development of the Greenville Outdoor Adventure Learning and Friday Night for Teens programs. In addition to the diverse experience in outdoor leadership programming Amy brings to our youth programs, she has also served as the financial manager for the organization since 1998. In her spare time, you can find Amy hiking with her dogs, working diligently in her garden, and serving as the community mom to the youth of Indian Valley. Email Amy

Ashley Bomar

P-CREW Coordinator

Ashley manages Plumas Conservation Restoration and Education in Watersheds (P-CREW), bringing rural and urban youth together to perform landscape restoration projects in the northern Sierra. She has a B.S. in Agronomy (Soil Science and Environmental Quality) and a minor in Geology from Iowa State University. She came to California in 2011 to join a conservation corps and immediately fell in love with the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the corps life. She’s thrilled to be in a position that helps youth from a variety of backgrounds have a positive experience living and working in the mountains while connecting with nature. Ashley is also an Indian Valley Parks and Recreation District Board member locally. Email Ashley

Camille Swezy

Wood Utilization Program Manager

Camille leads Sierra Institute’s wood utilization program, an effort to improve forest health and spur rural economic development in Plumas County through creation of outlets for low value wood. Current work includes managing the Plumas Health and Human Services Center Biomass System in Quincy and the Crescent Mills wood products site cleanup and redevelopment effort. She joined the Sierra Institute team in 2014 after receiving a BS in Environmental Science and Resource Management from the University of Washington. Originally from Fairfax, CA, Camille is delighted to be an Indian Valley resident, where she can often be found running along the valley's roads. Email Camille

Hilary Sanders

Natural Resource Social Science Assistant

Hilary works on socioeconomic monitoring efforts and Sierra to California All-Lands Enhancement (SCALE). She graduated from Cornell University in 2018 with a BS in Development Sociology and a minor in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she is thrilled to be back in California, and excited to expand her knowledge of forestry and watershed management and explore the Northern Sierra. Email Hilary

Ivy Kostick

Stewardship Forester

Ivy has been working in natural resources for more than 20 years. At Sierra Institute, Ivy manages on-the-ground implementation of our forest management projects and assists with environmental analysis in conjunction with our Agency partners. Ivy has a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from the University of Montana in Missoula, and is a California Registered Professional Forester. Ivy finds contentment exploring the Great Basin of western Nevada, where she can appreciate the solitude of the desert and always count on seeing wild horses and antelope. Ivy is originally from Susanville. Email Ivy

Jonathan Kusel

Executive Director

Jonathan founded the Sierra Institute in 1993 and has directed the organization ever since. He received a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sociology and Policy from U.C. Berkeley, where he was an instructor before launching Sierra Institute. His dissertation focused on how rural northern Sierra communities changed following the departure of their wood products anchor businesses. This work, at the intersection of community and forest and watershed health formed the basis for the Sierra Institute’s mission and approach. He also holds a Masters in Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Jonathan lives in Indian Valley with his wife, Amy, and two dogs, Dobby and Sadie. In the rare occasion that he’s not working to promote rural well-being or advance opportunities for his organization, you can find him hiking around the valley or coaching the varsity boys basketball team at Greenville High School. Email Jonathan

Kelsey Summers

Office Administrator, Property Manager

Kelsey is the Office Administrator at Sierra Institute. She graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.A. in Environmental Studies: Appropriate Technology, where she spent a year co-directing the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, a student led, student funded, sustainable living demonstration house. Kelsey is a globetrotter and enjoys volunteering abroad specifically on community based environmental projects. She is a Jill of all trades and believes interdisciplinary team work is necessary in creating solutions for multifaceted issues. When Kelsey is not in the office you can find her Jeeping the dirt roads, playing with her pit-bull, woodworking, creating art, or exploring new places! Email Kelsey

Kyle Rodgers

Collaborative Forestry Program Manager

At Sierra Institute, Kyle manages our work with a growing network of collaborative groups working on forest management issues across California, and rural development efforts focused on rebuilding capacity in forest communities across California. Kyle brings a diverse background to this work that includes surveying hemlock trees and monitoring bog turtles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, studying human dimensions of endangered species conservation planning across the Southeast, and prior work at the Sierra Institute on a range of projects from watershed coordination to youth programming. When he isn’t at the office, you might find him coaching youth soccer or hiking with his wife and dog. Kyle holds a BS in Conservation Biology from Clemson University and a MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from the University of Tennessee. Email Kyle

Laurel Sacco

Fish Pathogen and Passage Fellow

As a part of a partnership between the Sierra Institute and Trout Unlimited, Laurel is coordinating a project assessing an invasive aquatic pathogen and conducting surveys to improve fish passage in the Feather River Basin. She is originally from Maine and has a BSc in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine in Orono. She later earned an MSc in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan where she studied fish parasites. Laurel is happiest whenever she is outdoors and loves hiking, biking, and canoeing. This is her first visit to California, and she is enjoying exploring the Sierras and living in Indian Valley.

Moorea Stout

Director of Development

Moorea began her non-profit career at age nine stuffing envelopes after school at a nearby university office of advancement. A frequent volunteer at UC California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography during high-school, she has always had a passion for maintaining the well-being of Earth's environment. While completing her BA at Scripps College, she worked in the development and alumni office, taught literature and composition to disadvantaged high-school students, and during her Junior year abroad in France, volunteered at an elder care community. While living in San Clemente, Moorea worked in the development office at Casa Romantica, a community cultural center and children’s education garden. In 2002 she founded a business in kitchen design before moving to Indian Valley, in 2015. Moorea is excited to pursue her passion for holistic approaches to community, economic, and environmental health by joining the team at the Sierra Institute.. Email Moorea

Matt Moore

Financial Assistant

Matt joined the Sierra Institute in 2019 after receiving a Masters of Public Administration in December of 2018. Matt recently moved to Chester near the shores of Lake Almanor in order to live, breath, and work in the most beautiful place on earth. Matt has a long background in non-profit organizations and is excited to be part of the great work being done at the Sierra Institute. Email Matt