Before joining the faculty at Vermont Law School in 1994, Karin was President of the Wilderness Society in Washington, D.C., a staff attorney with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in Colorado, a partner in a public interest law firm, and one of Ralph Nader’s original “raiders.” Her work included efforts on behalf of environmental organizations and Native American tribes on issues of mining and oil and gas development, endangered species protection, and federal reserved water rights.
Karin serves on the Board of Directors of Defenders of Wildlife, EarthWorks, and the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Institute, and the Advisory Board of the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado School of Law.
Karin received her AB in Political Science from Vassar College and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
Penny Anderson: Energy Project Assistant/ IT Manager
Penny Anderson is the Energy Program's administrative assistant and WRA's IT manager. Before joining WRA in 1998, she worked for two years as a volunteer with The Nature Conservancy and Thorne Ecological Institute and for ten years with the Texas State Historical Association as an editor and network administrator. She has a B.A. in music and humanities from Augustana College in Illinois.
Drew Beckwith: Water Policy Analyst
Drew Beckwith joined the Water Program staff of WRA in February 2009. As WRA’s water policy analyst, he works closely with water utilities, state officials, and partner organizations around the region to find sustainable ways to meet human water needs. Prior to WRA, Drew worked at SAIC as a water resources specialist and provided water supply reliability planning services to various utilities in Southern California. Drew also worked at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Ventura and helped agricultural growers reduce nutrient and pesticide loading into local waterways. He has been a senior field instructor at the Keystone Science School in Colorado, led teambuilding and ropes courses in California, and was a head river guide in Oregon for several years. Drew holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree from the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Colorado College.
Charles Benjamin: Director, Nevada Office
Charles Benjamin joined WRA’s Nevada office in January 2007 to represent WRA and others in proceedings before the Nevada Public Utilities Commission concerning renewable energy, efficiency, and related matters. Prior to moving to Nevada, Charles was the lobbyist and attorney for the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club from 1997. He also had a law practice representing over 25 neighborhood associations across Kansas on a variety of land use and zoning issues. Charles was a political science professor at Bethel College in Kansas where he taught courses in environmental studies, American government, and international relations, and served 16 years as a county commissioner in Harvey County, Kansas. He holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California, and a J.D. degree from the School of Law at the University of Kansas
David Berry: Energy Project Senior Policy Advisor
David Berry is an economist and planner specializing in natural resources, including land use, energy, outdoor recreation, and water policy. He joined WRA in October 2001. David served as Chief of Economics and Research at the Arizona Corporation Commission for eleven years. In addition, he taught urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois and Boston University, and was an adjunct professor of geography at Arizona State University. He has a B.A. in geography from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in regional science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Andria Bronsten: Office Manager/Building Manager/Human Resource Director
Prior to coming to WRA in 2000, Andria Bronsten worked for a mediator's office in Boulder, and brings with her a good foundation in the fine art of conflict resolution. A dual Canadian-American citizen, her past lives have included non-profit experience in health care and food banking, as well as stints in the arts, food, newspaper journalism, market research consulting, and bookkeeping. Andria attended Goddard College and the Rhode Island School of Design.
Lowrey Brown: Senior Policy Analyst
Lowrey Brown started at WRA in January 2009. Most recently, she has been an independent consultant and a utility analyst for the Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon, a consumer advocacy organization in Portland, where she collaborated with and negotiated settlements with utilities and other stakeholders on issues ranging from regulatory policy to rate structures to the inclusion, in utility resource planning, of renewables, carbon, and regional energy efficiency. Lowrey has also been a writer and educational consultant. She has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Environmental Studies, and a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University.
Michael Chiropolos: Lands Program Director
Mike Chiropolos joined WRA in October 2001. He focuses on promoting policies that balance energy development with other values; challenging unsound fossil fuels projects; and advocating solutions grounded in conservation, efficiency and renewables. In 2007, Mike played a key role in drafting and passage of the Colorado Habitat Stewardship Act. Mike earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado and a B.A. from Northwestern University. Prior to WRA, Mike practiced federal Indian law for seven years, and served almost four years in the Peace Corps.
Jennifer Coken: Director, Western Clean Energy Campaign
Jennifer Coken is a 20-year veteran of developing and managing political and issue campaigns. Prior to coming to WRA in March 2007, Jennifer worked for Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Congressman Tony P. Hall, the National Parks Conservation Association, Main Street Colorado, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. She founded Coken Consulting Company, a Washington, DC firm that provided campaign management services and strategic guidance for national and community-based organizations. In addition to her responsibilities at WRA, Jennifer is also a trainer for Democracy for America, teaching activists to run for office and manage successful campaigns nationwide. Ms. Coken grew up in Cleveland and received her M.A. in Political Campaign Management from Kent State University.
John Curl: Energy Program Senior Policy Analyst
John Curl joined the New Mexico office of WRA in January 2009. For over 26 years, he worked with the New Mexico Public Utility Commission and the Public Regulation Commission as an economist and served as the utility division director. He has a Master of Business Administration with a finance concentration from the Robert O. Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Arts with a sociology major and biology minor from the University of California, San Diego.
Tom Darin: Staff Attorney
Tom Darin joined WRA in February 2007 as an attorney focusing on energy policies and transmission projects that will affect western public lands. Prior to this, he worked with the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and the Wyoming Outdoor Council where he focused on the impacts from oil and gas extraction to public lands and national forests within Wyoming. His work on these issues led to published articles and speaking engagements about coal-bed methane development. Previously, Tom volunteered with the National Wildlife Federation, worked in Illinois for a private law firm, and clerked for the Honorable Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney. He has also volunteered with youth literacy programs. Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, received his J.D. from Northern Illinois University, College of Law, and has worked towards a Master's degree in the field of resource conservation and ecology. He is licensed in the states of Illinois, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming.
Dan Heilig: Staff Attorney
Dan Heilig joined WRA in March 2008. His work focuses on advocating for environmentally responsible oil and gas development on public lands. Dan earned his J.D. from the University Wyoming and a B.A. in geography from the University of Delaware. Before joining WRA, Dan was the Executive Director at and a staff attorney for the Wyoming Outdoor Council in Lander. Since then, he has been an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, and has also worked for the State of Wyoming Department of Transportation;as a motorcycle safety instructor.
Robert Harris: Staff Attorney
Robert Harris joined WRA’s Boulder office in August 2008. He had been a legal intern at WRA, at the Environmental Litigation Clinic of the Pace University School of Law, at the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. He has a BA from Valparaiso University in Indiana, and his JD from Pace University School of Law. Robert is a member of the Colorado Bar, and will be working on oil and gas law and policy, and the connection to water issues.
Kathryn Holm: Director of Finance
Kathryn Holm joined WRA in September 2008. Most recently, she was chief operating officer for a group of foundations in Denver with just under one billion in assets. Previously, Kathryn was the Chief of Operations for a healthcare foundation and COO of a non-profit social service agency, both in Columbus, Ohio. She has an MBA in finance from Franklin University, and BS in Business from Regis University. Kathryn has participated in the Shambhala Authentic Leadership Program in Nova Scotia, the Commonfund Endowment Institute at the Yale School of Management; and Portfolio Management at the University of Chicago Graduate Business School. Her professional development includes membership in the Foundation Financial Officers’ Group and the Council on Foundations.
Nancy Kelly: Senior Policy Advisor
Nancy Kelly joined WRA in August 2008 bringing with her significant advocacy and policy experience in energy-related matters. As a consultant, technical consultant, and utility economist with the Committee of Consumer Services (the group representing Utah small customer interests in energy and utility matters), Nancy focused primarily on regional electricity issues. In that capacity she was elected to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Board of Directors in 2002 and continues to serve in that role. Prior to working on energy-related issues, Nancy was the staff economist for the Center for Business Research and Services at Idaho State University (ISU) and taught a number of courses at ISU, Westminster College, and the University of Utah. She has a B.S. in economics from Idaho State University and an ABD from the University of Utah Department of Economics.
Victoria Mandell: Staff Attorney
Victoria Mandell joined WRA in June 2008 to focus on energy law practicing before state public utility commissions. Prior to this, she was in-house regulatory counsel for Level 3 Communications for four years, and before that, a consultant in the energy industry with Platts Research and Consulting. Victoria served in the Regulatory Department of the Colorado Attorney General’s office for ten years, representing a wide variety of boards and commissions, including the trial staff of the Colorado PUC on energy and telecommunications matters. She has a B.S. in international political science from Georgetown University, and an MBA, with an emphasis in finance, and JD from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Steven Michel: Chief Counsel, Energy Program
Steven Michel joined WRA in January of 2007, bringing with him 25 years of experience in the energy industry. For the past 17 years, he served as general counsel for the New Mexico Industrial Energy Consumers, and prior to that, worked five years as Assistant Attorney General in the New Mexico Attorney General’s Consumer Division Energy Unit. In 2007, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson appointed Steve to the board of the Renewable Transmission Authority (RETA), an entity created to help deliver New Mexico’s world-class renewable energy resources to market. Steve has donated countless hours of pro bono work and, as counsel for a coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups in the early 1990s, was instrumental in stopping the construction of a major utility transmission line through New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains. In 1995, Steve was awarded the New Mexico State Bar’s Robert H. LaFollette Pro Bono Award. He has served on many governmental task forces dealing with energy issues, and has helped develop and draft energy-related legislation in New Mexico. Steve received a B.A. degree in History and Economics from Northwestern University and received M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Bart Miller: Water Program Director
Prior to joining WRA, Bart Millerspent 4 years in the Solicitors Office in Washington, DC, on the legal staff that advises the many agencies within the U. S. Department of the Interior. After an initial year in the Solicitors' Honors Program, he focused on natural resource issues in the Division of Indian Affairs. Bart is a 1995 graduate of the University of Colorado Law School and a 1988 graduate of Dartmouth College. Between college and law school, Bart honed his public relations skills, selling everything from tomatoes to computer software, and spent 6 months hiking the Continental Divide in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
Regina M. Nichols: Office Administrator/Legal Assistant - Nevada Office
Regina Nichols joined WRA in 2006, having worked as a Legal Research Assistant for the Public Utility Commission of Nevada and previously as a paralegal/legal assistant with two private law firms in the areas of corporate law, probate, and estate planning. She has an AA in Business and is a Certified Legal Assistant and certified Professional Legal Secretary. Regina will be assisting on electrical energy issues in Nevada.
John Nielsen: Energy Project Director
John Nielsen has worked at WRA as an economist and policy advisor since 1995. He is an expert on the relationship between energy policy and air quality, and has served as an expert witness in regulatory proceedings around the region involving utility resource planning, electric industry restructuring, renewable energy, energy conservation, and green marketing. He has been named to the Colorado Climate Action Plan Advisory Panel to advise the Governor on opportunities for reducing emissions and growing the economy. John holds a B.A. (summa cum laude) in mathematics and economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in economics from Yale University.
Christine Quenroe: Bookkeeper, Accounting Assistant
Prior to joining the WRA staff in 2002, Chris Quenroe served for 12 years as
the office manager and bookkeeper in the for-profit world of design and
architecture. Chris' other past career lives were spent in the fields
of secondary education and academic librarianship. Chris received her
undergraduate degree from Augustana College, Sioux Falls and her Masters
Degree from University of Maryland, College Park.
Peter Roessmann: Communications Coordinator
Peter Roessmann has been involved in communications for over 15 years. He served as public information officer and communications coordinator for Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, CO before moving to the Colorado River Water Conservation District to implement their public outreach and education efforts. Peter has written numerous freelance articles and worked as a writer with Pollak Productions on video projects that won five Emmys. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.
Anita Schwartz: Development and Communications Director
Before joining WRA in August 2004, Anita Schwartz worked at Environmental Defense
where she managed fundraising efforts in a seven-state region. Prior to
that, Anita worked at The Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder on an ambitious
project to transform an abandoned 40,000 square-foot dairy building into
a multi-disciplinary community arts center. In that capacity, she led
a capital campaign, hosted a live weekly television program, installed
dance floors, and even fixed the plumbing. Anita started her non-profit
career at Conservation International in Washington, D.C. in 1990. She
has a B.A. from American University in Washington, D.C., with a double
major in literature and American studies.
Stacy Tellinghuisen: Energy/Water Analyst
Stacy Tellinghuisen joined WRA in August 2008, where she will be focusing on the energy/water nexus. Prior to this, she was an energy/water analyst for the California Sustainability Alliance, where she researched the energy intensity of Southern California's water supplies. Stacy has also researched the energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions of different landscapes, and worked on various water resources projects for the City of Moab, Utah. Before working in water resources, Stacy taught natural history to school groups of all ages in parks throughout California and Utah. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Geology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Nicole Theerasatiankul: Development and Communications Coordinator
Nicole Theerasatiankul started with WRA in November 2007 assisting the Development and Communications Director. She has been a graduate teaching assistant and instructor at the University of Colorado, and taught English as a second language in Korea. Nicole has a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University, and a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Joro Walker: Senior Attorney and Utah Office Director
Joro Walker opened the Utah Office of Western Resource Advocates in 1998. She attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Utah with Masters of Arts degrees in philosophy. In 1993, she received her law degree from the University of Utah, graduating in the top ten percent of her class. For the next four years, Joro worked at a private civil rights law firm specializing in inmate and First Amendment rights litigation and Utah constitutional and civil rights law. In 1997 and 1998, Joro served as associate director of the Wallace Stegner Center at the University of Utah, College of Law. In 2005, Joro won first prize in the U.S. category at the Yves Rocher Foundation's "Women of the Earth" award ceremony in Paris. Joro was honored for her long-term advocacy for Utah’s public lands, red rock wilderness, and the Great Salt Lake. The Yves Rocher Foundation supports women and environmental causes.
Justin Wilson: Organizing Director, Western Clean Energy Campaign
Justin Wilson joined WRA in December 2007 as the Organizing Director for the Western Clean Energy Campaign. Prior to that, he worked for Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. organizing volunteers across the country to take part in “get out the vote” operations and grassroots political advocacy. He has also worked on energy campaigns with Environmental Action, Florida PIRG, and Environment Colorado. Justin has a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Arkansas.
Karin P. Sheldon became Executive Director of WRA in September, 2007. Prior to this, she was Professor of Law, Associate Dean for the Environmental Law Program, and Director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School. Her areas of specialty were natural resources and environmental law, in particular federal land management, wildlife conservation, water resources allocation, and watershed management and protection.