Joanne Kilgour, Chair
Joanne Kilgour is the Chapter Director of the Pennsylvania Sierra Club. Joanne previously worked as the Legal Director at the Center for Coalfield Justice, and holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law.
Sherwood Johnson
A member of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania since its inception, Sherwood Johnson is a veterinary specialist in small animal internal medicine and a founding partner of Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (PVSEC) in Pittsburgh, PA, where he has lived since 2004. He lives with his family and numerous pets in a green home (built to LEED Gold standards), which they constructed in 2010. After selling PVSEC, he left work in 2019 to pursue volunteer opportunities, join several non-profit boards, and devote more time to his family and garden. In addition to serving on CVPA's board, Sherwood also serves on the board of the Allegheny Land Trust. He prides himself on an evidence-based, pragmatic, fair approach to issues, and has particular interest in conservation, energy efficient construction, clean energy, race relations, conservation, anything to do with water or fish, and gardening…and the intersection of all of these. (They DO intersect.)
Cecily Kihn
Cecily Kihn is retired from managing the Agua Fund, a foundation that concentrates on environmental protection, social services, and civic engagement. Over the course of her career, she has worked in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of Interior, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and Island Press. She has a Masters in Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Harvard University.
She is a longtime resident of Center City Philadelphia, and from 2006 to 2013 she was a Democratic committee person in Ward 8. In 2008 and 2012, she was an active member of Center City West Neighbors, a group that aimed to increase voter turnout.
Caren Glotfelty
Caren Glotfelty has been the Executive Director of the Allegheny County Parks Foundation since 2014. Her previous professional environmental positions include Senior Environment Program Director at The Heinz Endowments, Maurice K. Goddard Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resource Conservation at The Pennsylvania State University, and Deputy Secretary for Water Management at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources. Caren lives in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Jossie Steinberg
As the Eastern Region Campaign Director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Jocelyn Steinberg oversees, develops and implements regional and state campaigns from Maine to Florida. Before joining NRDC, she worked for more than 10 years on campaigns in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Nevada and Wisconsin.
In 2016, Jossie managed Joe Torsella’s successful state treasurer race in Pennsylvania. It was one of only three successful down-ballot races in the country where a Democrat won where the Republican won the top of the ticket. Her background is managing races and working with field modelling data intensely and used it for digital paid media and messaging purposes. In 2015, she was Senior Political Advisor for Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s PAC to support the caucuses. In Nevada, she’s served as the campaign spokesperson for a statewide campaign and directed a communications plan that included live debates, a successfully pushed opposition research program and the endorsement from every major newspaper in the state.
Jossie Steinberg’s experience also includes being a law clerk for the EPA Administrative Law Judge’s office and for the University of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center. Jossie Steinberg holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from University of Georgia and received her JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Helen Tai
Helen Tai is a former Pennsylvania State Representative and Solebury Township Supervisor. She is the founder and owner of Enabling Innovation, LLC, a consulting firm that uses proven business improvement methodologies to drive transformational innovation. During her 30-year career, she also worked at Johnson & Johnson, Searle and Information Resources, Inc.
Additionally, she is a long-time Penn State Master Gardener volunteer, who educates the public about best practices in sustainable horticulture and environmental stewardship. She is a board member of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and CeaseFirePA.
Ivan Garcia
Ivan currently serves as the National Political Director for Make the Road Action. He previously worked with both Make the Road NY and PA.
In 2016, Ivan was the Campaign Manager for progressive champion Yuh-Line Niou, helping to get her elected to New York’s State Assembly in a crowded 6-way race (including the incumbent). In 2018, he was the Field Director for NYC Council Member Carlos Menchaca’s re-election campaign, helping him win a crowded 5-way race.
Ivan was born in Mexico and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He attended John Jay College and received a BA with a major in Criminal Justice and a double minor in Law and Political Science. Ivan also has an MA in Political science with a concentration on Urban Policy and Public Administration.
Carol Collier
Carol Collier, a seasoned senior advisor and government liaison, has spearheaded the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) to enhance water quality in tributaries through collaboration with landowners, farmers, and officials.
Notably, she led outreach, policy changes, and served as an Initiative Steward, guiding its future. Beyond DRWI, she focuses on evaluating impacts on natural resources and human water use, developing a watershed network in southwest PA, and enhancing river-based recreation for underserved communities. With a rich history in environmental leadership, including executive roles at the Delaware River Basin Commission and Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, Collier has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to water resource management.
Recognized with numerous awards and affiliations, including induction into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) and the Mary H. Marsh Medal from the American Water Resources Association (AWRA), she champions sustainable practices and has contributed globally, underscoring her belief in the pivotal role of water resource management for our collective economic and environmental prosperity.
Kai Mateo
Kai Mateo (he/him) is a Regional Campaigns Director at the Fairness Project.
Prior to joining Fairness, he served as Campaign Manager for Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s successful 2023 re-election. During the 2022 midterm elections, he was Deputy Organizing Director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. He was one of the leaders of the team that bucked national trends and flipped a U.S. Senate seat for John Fetterman, elected Josh Shapiro governor, and flipped the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years.
He was previously the Federal Climate Campaign Manager for Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, New York League of Conservation Voters, New Jersey LCV, and Maryland LCV, where he led four statewide campaigns to pass the largest climate change bill in US history: the Inflation Reduction Act. Before joining LCV, Kai worked as a Regional Relational Organizing Manager for the Democratic National Committee, where he was part of a team that built a groundbreaking, nationwide relational organizing program to elect Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Democrats down the ballot in 2020.
In addition to his work in political campaigns, Kai has extensive experience in community organizing and leadership development with a variety of organizations. He has coached public narrative and organizing with Marshall Ganz, the Formerly Incarcerated Peoples and Families Movement, the Recovery Advocacy Project, the Bloomberg City Leadership Initiative, and other organizations since 2015.
He is a graduate of Deep Springs College and Harvard College, where he was a Gardner Fellow and a Mellon Mays Fellow. Raised in San Diego, Kai now lives in Philadelphia.
Damien Ruffner
Damien Ruffner is the Center Manager at the Discovery Center, Mid-Atlantic National Audubon.
Damien has been involved with education for ten years, and specifically environmental education for the past eight. He received his BS in Biology from Francis Marion University. After growing up primarily in the Southeast, Damien spent time in the Lone Star State teaching at-risk youth science in and after-school settings for kids. After moving to Philadelphia in the summer of 2011, he took on the role of Environmental Educator with the Schuylkill Center, as well as a mentor for the Philly based program, EducationWorks.
Damien's passion for teaching environmental issues comes from his background of wanting to break down perceived barriers between people in nature. He hopes to take his background and use it to create a supportive learning environment for the Strawberry Mansion community and the Philadelphia region.
Camila Rivera-Tinsley
Camila Rivera-Tinsley has been an advocate and champion of people and the environment for most of her life. Before becoming the CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation, she was the Director of Education for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and helmed the Frick Environmental Center, the first publicly owned Living Building in the United States.
Before that, she worked for 14 years stewarding programming and mentoring hundreds of students and early career professionals at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. She also helped to start a small environmental non-profit focused on people of color and used her voice to highlight the concerns of underserved populations.
With an extensive background in advocacy, environmental education, horticulture, permaculture, and urban agriculture, Rivera-Tinsley serves on numerous boards and coalitions. Camila’s 20-year history of serving her community through her profession, volunteer work, and as an adviser to environmental organizations of color have formed and cemented her passion for providing opportunities to connect all people to their personal power to change the world around them for the better. Her true motivation lies in creating a more verdant and inclusive future for her 18 year-old daughter.
Kandyce Perry
Kandyce Perry is the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice and Director of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.
Kandyce is responsible for the management and oversight of the OEJ, which provides guidance to the DEP and all New Jersey state departments and agencies on how they can incorporate environmental justice into their statutory and regulatory responsibilities, policies, programs and core functions. She also oversees the convening of the State's Environmental Justice Interagency Council and Environmental Justice Advisory Council, while acting as a key contact for overburdened communities.
Prior to joining the department, Kandyce worked at a Trenton-based nonprofit, where she directed policies and programs aimed at reducing flooding, improving water quality and ensuring equitable funding of stormwater infrastructure upgrades in the state. She also had worked on brownfield redevelopment for the Camden Redevelopment Agency.
Kandyce holds a master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Spelman College. She believes that environmental justice for our most vulnerable and overburdened communities brings about justice for all of Earth’s inhabitants.