Collective Team
Sarah Trujillo Rippere Thornbrugh, M.S.
Sarah is a passionate and seasoned advocate for inclusion, equity, and accessibility with over 12 years of direct experience working within the non-profit and conservation fields. With an educational background in informal education and sustainability, and a lifetime of grassroots community organizing and advocacy work, she focuses on addressing barriers to equitable community engagement with a focus on climate and community resilience. Sarah is a lifelong science learner and participant in community-led conservation efforts, and passionate about sustaining equitable nature access for future generations.
Casey C. Thornbrugh, Ph. D
Casey is a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal citizen with over 15 years of direct experience working for Tribal Nations, including Tribal colleges and non-profits. His experience includes climate adaptation technical support, teaching, grant writing, and program management. His educational background is in geography with a focus on climate science and Native American and African American studies. His passion is creating and implementing culturally-responsive education and service programs.
Renée Lopes-Pocknett, M.Ed.
Renée Lopes-Pocknett has over 40 years of experience directing community development, grant-funded direct services and cultural education programs within several Tribal communities in the northeast. She is a citizen of the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation and has extensive experience with traditional practices of subsistence, hunting, fishing, gathering and culturally significant conservation priorities. In particular, her extensive and inclusive work to bring together educational systems, governmental partners and Tribal communities is rooted in traditional knowledge and value systems and widely recognized throughout Indigenous communities in the northeast.
