Who We Are

“What are you doing to continue the legacy of conservation?” conservationNEXT was born from this question posed by Terry Tempest Williams at a Conservation Alliance event in August 2007.

Five committed and passionate people responded to Williams’ call to action. That group dedicated themselves to creating the next generation of stewards to protect and conserve threatened wild places through social networking.  We realized that those with more time than money need a way to get directly involved in conservation. Our strategy is to help save North America’s wild places by inspiring people to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in the name of conservation.

Board Members

* Click on each Board Members' name to see their NEXTer profile and connect as friends *

Brook Shinsky: Straight Shooter

Straight shooter Brook Shinsky earned her reputation by being comfortable rocking the boat. Not surprising since she’s been a competitive mountain biker, raft guide and currently snowboards, bikes and has 135 sky dives under her belt.  Over the past 10 years, she has called six different states home, from Michigan to Alaska. Now she lives in California’s East Bay where she works as part of the visual merchandising team at The North Face.  Last year, Brook was won The North Face’s “Living the Brand” award for her community service and love of the outdoors.

Liz Ferrin: The Diplomat

Liz Ferrin has more than ten years experience making connections. As Global Promotions Manager for Teva Footwear, she has crafted collaborations worldwide between artists and musicians, outfitters, non-profits, corporate sponsors and volunteers to clean up rivers, promote athletes, produce films, compile musical collections, and most recently to take inner city youth river rafting. When she is not on the Grand Canyon or Gauley herself, Liz likes to speak Spanish at her local Taqueria and practice Arabic on her iPod in preparation for her next international junket doing what she can to make the world a better place.

Deanna Kavanaugh-Jones: The Whip Cracker

Deanna is an organizer extraordinaire with a well honed ability to keep people on track, which have served her well in both her personal and professional life. She learned some of those skills as a now eight-year veteran professional river guide calling commands, enlisting the trust of her team, and nimbly turning her raft, and sometimes the group’s plans, on a dime. Deanna works for The Forest Group, which provides high-level executive search services to the Outdoor Industry. Deanna lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada where she spends as much time as she can outdoors, kayaking, skiing, or playing capoeira

Berne Broudy: Renaissance Woman

Berne Broudy is a writer, photographer, and itinerant adventurer. She is Green Editor at Backpacker Magazine, and a regular contributor to Outside, Popular Science and Skiing. In addition to gear reviews and travel stories, Berne writes extensively about environmental issues in the outdoor industry. She is deeply involved in the Outdoor Industry Eco Working Group, which is creating a standard for manufacturers to evaluate existing products and to help them design new ones that are more environmentally benign. It was a passion for wild places, her love of the outdoors, and surprise at the general lack of awareness amongst her peers that got Broudy involved in ConservationNEXT. The best place to find Berne is outside. She spends as much time hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, paddling and traveling as she can. The Green Mountains are her home, but she wanders far and wide.

Krissy Moehl: The Key Grip

Krissy Moehl is Program Associate at The Conservation Alliance staff and is the primary link between the Alliance and the NEXTer community. Krissy joined the NEXTer fray to help facilitate the relationship between The Conservation Alliance and ConservationNEXT.  An avid ultrarunner and trail seeker Moehl enjoys long hours in quiet, protected places.