Council Bios

Advisor: Christina Wong, '01, '02, Tempe, AZ, SCA Board of Directors
If you have any questions, contact Alumni Director Mary Margaret Sloan.

Aliana Lee Knapp-Prasek, Redway, CA

I am a Butterfly who lives the "Pura Vida" lifestyle and gives thanks for each and every day. I love composting, making art out of trash, sewing, live music, walking, hiking, getting lost in nature, adopting gnomes to play in my orchard, and baking from scratch (sending thanks to my former SCA roommates who inspired me). I love vintage fabrics and making clothing so I decided to get my degree in Apparel Merchandising with a minor in Business from East Carolina University. I had a change of heart career-wise after accompanying my best friend on a road trip to Colorado for her SCA Internship at the Great Sand Dunes. A couple months later I moved to San Francisco for my own SCA Internship as a Sustainability Intern at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. While there, I helped finalize our Composting Program, set-up a Scrap Metal Recycling Program and assisted an NPS employee (an SCA Alumni) with a Bike at Work Program. I also taught required courses for all NPS employees on Recycling, Composting, and Disposal of Universal Waste. Now, I live in Redway, CA by the Eel River and amongst "Old Growth" Redwood trees. I do US Tour/Print Promotions for the consciously aware reggae/jazz band Groundation. I feel honored to be an SCA Alumni Council Member and want to inspire by example. Email Aliana

Allison Kean, Chicago, IL

Allison Kean was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and, against all odds, managed to fall in love with the outdoors anyway. In high school, Allison served on crews in Kentucky and Hawaii, and has been enamored with bluegrass and passion fruit ever since. She attended the University of Chicago, where she studied Sociology and worked extensively in admissions, alumni relations, and development. While in Chicago, Allison also worked in the Public Policy Department of the Mayor's office, where she had the opportunity to research and write about urban environmental initiatives in Chicago and elsewhere. After graduating, Allison came full circle by co-leading a high school crew in the very beautiful but very wet Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After a stint in New York City where Allison worked as a management consultant focused on understanding and mapping social networks, employee pride and motivation, and the similarities and differences between public, private, and non-profit organizations, she's back in Chicago. She is looking forward to continuing her service with SCA! Email Allison

Cashea Arrington, Americus, GA

Cashea Arrington Cashea was born in California, raised outside of Charleston, South Carolina and traveled to Vermont to begin her undergraduate studies. Her first SCA experience landed her in the swamps of southwest Georgia at Andersonville National Historic Site, where she cleared the park boundary escaping the mosquitoes and poison ivy along the way. After the following summer in the Great Smoky Mountains as well as working as Wilderness Director and Head Counselor in Virginia in 2007, she ventured to Vermont to experience a real winter. While in Washington, DC for EarthVision, Cashea was offered a chance return to her roots as a crew leader back at Andersonville NHS summer 2008. Once the crew ended, she was asked to stay and be the Junior Ranger Ambassador Intern, where she made her way into a job as a Park Ranger at Andersonville. Cashea is currently finishing her bachelors in Parks and Recreation Management at Northern Arizona University and now calling Americus, Georgia home until her next adventure. Cashea is passionate about the environment and sustainability, while tapping into history while working with the National Park Service. She also loves hiking, backpacking, camping, playing guitar, making smoothies and relaxing by an open fire. Email Cashea

Clare Sullivan, New York, NY

Clare Sullivan Clare started working with SCA in 2005 as a national high school crew leader and has since led five crews: at Isle Royale NP, Sleeping BearDunes NP, Olympic NP, Bear Mountain SP, and Pecos NHP. Before that, she received her B.A. in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and currently, she is pursuing a Masters degree in Environmental Policy with Columbia University's Earth Institute and School of International and Public Affairs. Her interests include tropical agriculture, community-managed conservation areas, and strengthening the links between policymakers, science and grassroots environmental movements. She spends about half of her time at school studying environmental science, and the other half calculating economic externalities (there are too many) and public goods (not enough), subjects familiar to anyone who has ever mined a bag of trail mix. Growing up in Woodstock, Illinois, she attended a Montessori school through eighth grade. SCA's emphasis on service learning strikes her as very similar to the Montessori Method of learning by doing. Whether watching rain flow down a trail or planning a day of work around the tides, SCA projects provide unique opportunities for learning. Her favorite tool is a Pulaski; she loves fresh-baked biscuits, strong coffee, peeling logs, and moving big rocks. Email Clare

Craig Maier, Merrimac, WI

Prior to working with SCA, I earned a BS in Geoscience from Northland College, a liberal arts and science college located on Lake Superior. During the summer of 2004, an SCA internship allowed me to work in watersheds across western Oregon and Washington as a member of a stream survey crew collecting data for monitoring watershed health on Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park lands. SCA saved me from my first “real job” after college, providing me a much-needed opportunity to trade a reporter’s notebook, iMac and cubicle seat for waterproof data sheets, a backpack electroshocker, waders, and a fish-eye view of the Pacific Northwest. Following my SCA internship, I worked with the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Working at the Leopold Shack and farm and on private lands throughout the region, I enjoyed the hands-on training in the restoration and management of our endangered tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. Today, I am a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I am researching domestic cattle grazing on restored tallgrass prairie. I am excited to be part of a much larger movement toward combining agriculture, forestry, and conservation on our working lands—practices that can help foster both the health of the land and vibrant human communities across the urban-to-wild land use spectrum. Email Craig

Emily Williams, Gainesville, FL

Emily had her first taste of SCA in the summer of 2008 working as an interpretation intern for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge located on Alaska’s stunning Kenai Peninsula. After having exhausted her family, friends, and professors with tales of petting moose and catching 60-lb halibut, she is thrilled to have an excuse to discuss her SCA experience even more as part of the Alumni Council. Emily is currently a third-year English and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation dual-degree student at the University of Florida in Gainesville. With two more years to finish her B.A. and B.S. degrees, Emily hopes to take advantage of her last remaining summers of freedom in serving with SCA as often as she can. She will be interning again this summer at Yellowstone National Park as a Native Trout Conservation Intern. Emily also enjoys volunteering with the UF Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society as Vice President, attending conclave, visiting federal and state refuges, parks, and wildlife management areas, and stalking the occasional turkey. A bonafide tree hugger, Emily enjoys canoeing, reading, hiking, photography, and baking. She is excited to spread the good word of SCA in connecting alumni and instilling concern and involvement in the Great Outdoors. Email Emily

Jane Murawski, Poughkeepsie, NY

Ever since I was a young child in Rochester, NY, I have had a close kinship with all kinds of animals and a love of the outdoors. Growing up, my absolute favorite hobby was visiting a local park to watch the tadpoles turn into frogs and toads, day after day, throughout the summer. I had a “secret spot,” a big pond that was about a mile into the park. I hiked there every year throughout my childhood but when I hit that “tween” age I stopped because my friends at the time didn’t share my interest. However in high school, I wondered about the tadpoles and decided to return to my secret spot. To my surprise, the pond looked the same but there wasn’t a frog or tadpole in sight. By this time I knew that amphibians were having some big problems worldwide. Something inside me changed that day and I wanted to make it my goal to help these critters somehow. Over the next ten years I got a degree in Zoology and Animal Behavior and a Master’s in herpetology. I held several seasonal field biology jobs, including a fun one involving massasauga rattlesnakes. I also discovered a love for teaching along the way. In 2006, I did a 10-month SCA internship as wildlife outreach educator. I realized that teaching others about animals and nature was how I could help protect the environment. My SCA experience directly led to my position as a Program Coordinator at the Fresh Air Fund’s Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY: 2,300 acres of beautiful woods where 3,000 underprivileged children from New York City camp for free every summer! Email Jane

Jesse Stanley, Seattle, WA

Jesse Stanley is originally from rural Ohio where he spent his childhood playing in the woods and fields surrounding his home and going on yearly family roadtrips to National Parks and public lands across the country. He graduated from Earlham College with a degree in History. Jesse served as an SCA Intern from 2002 to 2004 with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada and California, the National Park Service in Nebraska and the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Idaho. In late 2004 he joined the Admissions Department staff at SCA's New Hampshire Headquarters. Jesse now lives in Seattle, WA and works for the NW Energy Coalition, an alliance of environmental, civic, and human service organizations, progressive utilities, and businesses that promotes development of renewable energy and energy conservation, consumer protection, low-income energy assistance, and fish and wildlife restoration on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Jesse provides outreach and support to member organizations, plans Coalition events, maintains the website and is the primary graphic designer for Coalition publications. When not at work, Jesse can be found traveling, hiking, skiing, practicing his photography or volunteering about town. Email Jesse

Katie Kovach, Durham, NC

Katie Kovach’s SCA service was as a conservation intern for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy January to March 2006. As an intern she fought the fight against invasive plants and spent a lot of time hiking around Catalina Island, off the coast of California. This further rooted plans to pursue a path in natural resources and she entered the Forestry Department of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the fall of 2006. Katie finished a Master of Science degree in Forest Biology from Virginia Tech in the Fall of 2008. Her project emphasizes the importance of exploring genetic variation of native and commercially valuable tree populations in the Southeastern United States. Katie previously earned a Bachelors of Science in Botany and Biological Sciences from North Carolina State University in 2005. Katie has worked in various research capacities spanning different aspects of plant biology. Katie is eager to continue contributing to the SCA, an organization that has made a positive impact on her life. Email Katie

Lindsay Ruprecht, Pittsburgh, PA

Lindsay was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and has just recently returned to her hometown. She earned a B.A. in Spanish and a Certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and recently finished her Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy in May 2009. She served as an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Team Leader in 2005 when she deepened her passion for physical labor in the outdoors. She built upon her AmeriCorps experience as an SCA Community Crew Leader in Pittsburgh during the summer of 2007 and as a substitute in 2008. She continues her mission of environmental service as Sustainable Community Development Coordinator for ACTION-Housing, Inc. She is committed to service learning and hopes that all people can find a way to strengthen their communities as active members. Email Lindsay

Margaret LaBorde, Fond du Lac, WI

Margaret was born and raised in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Summer family adventures meant lots of time exploring, fishing, canoeing, and camping around the lakes and northwoods of Wisconsin, fostering a deep appreciation and curiosity for the natural world. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, pursuing degrees in Environmental Studies, International Studies, and Spanish while remaining very active within the campus community. In 2005 she was an SCA Intern at the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. She returned to the Hoh in the summer of 2007 to hold a seasonal position and has been itching to get back ever since. Margaret most recently served as an Environmental Education Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador, where her main focus was combining environmental education with youth leadership development opportunities. She tries to maintain a personal philosophy from something once stated by Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Margaret currently lives just outside of Madison, WI and holds a bilingual healthcare position at Planned Parenthood. She loves yogurt, hammocks, fresh air, and forests. Email Margaret

Matt Young, New Mexico

Matt Young is a junior at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, majoring in Environmental Studies and English. He is originally from Shaftsbury, VT. Currently, he is studying abroad at Massey University-Palmerston North in New Zealand. He has worked with SCA for the past three summers. He spent the summer of 2005 on a backcountry trail crew in Glacier National Park, MT, rerouting trails through alpine meadows and constructing stone staircases. During the summer of 2006, he served on the Yakama Indian Reservation on a Fire Education Corps teaching fire safety & prevention, and even was a certified wildfire fighter for a couple months. Last summer, he worked as an environmental interpretation assistant in the Lake Alpine-Calaveras Ranger District of Stanislaus National Forest. He had the incredible fortune of leading day hikes and interpreting cultural and natural history through vistas, mountain lakes, and the pine forests of the High Sierra. SCA has proven to be a gateway agency of personal & professional growth & humility of self, and always a remarkable experience. After graduation, he wants go to graduate school and study American & Documentary Studies, doing documentary writing/photography/radio/film work of Americana stories. He is doing his senior project on on Aldo Leopold's "Round River Essay," in a documentary fashion and using more than a fair share of his SCA experiences along the way. He is also hoping to start a documentary radio show on his college radio station, KSLU. Email Matt

Ryan King, Madison, WI

Ryan was born and raised in Iowa. He studied geography at the University of Iowa, and elementary education at Northern Arizona University. Since graduation, Ryan has completed a watershed research internship in the Sierra Nevada, worked as an urban environmental restoration crew leader in Seattle, led private tours of the Grand Canyon, and had the honor of participating in a variety of SCA programs. For the past two summers he has been a workskills instructor, teaching trails and tools to new SCA crew leaders. As a kid, Ryan was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to hike and build trails in the southern Rockies. His experiences outdoors were liberating and life-changing. Ryan believes in SCA's mission to provide authentic outdoor opportunities to youth. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife and baby girl Ceci. He teaches 5th grade science and reading at a public middle school. Email Ryan

Sarah Mistak Caughron, Dallas, TX

Sarah was born in Pennsylvania to outdoor-loving parents who moved the family to Maryville, Tennessee, when she was just four years old because their enjoyment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park inspired their choice to raise their children nearby. Sarah received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of West Georgia where she discovered her interest in archaeology and how past human populations adapted to changing environments. She then attended Mississippi State University and received a master’s degree in applied anthropology. In 2006, SCA came calling, and she was given the opportunity to head “home” and work her dream job, as an Interpretation Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This sparked an interest in cultural and natural resource stewardship and led her into her current career, Lead Educator of Earth and Space Sciences at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, where she conducts in-house and outreach science programs to Dallas area students grades K-12. Sarah enjoys digging holes and filling them back in (the basic premise behind archaeology), Fall colors, coffee, birding, hiking, scuba diving, and chatting-it-up around campfires. Email Sarah

Tom Tidyman, Longbranch, WA

Tom Tidyman Tom has worked in the fields of Parks, Recreation and the Environment since he was in High School. Tom got his BA in Political Science and his MS in Ecology, both from the University of Florida. Along with taking classes, he worked full-time for the City of Gainesville managing recreation centers, after school programs and summer camps. In 2005, Tom was awarded the Unilever Environmental Policy Internship through SCA and worked a summer at Channel Islands National Park. After some initial research and interviews with park employees, he formulated a new vision and mission for the Southern California Research Learning Center. Then in the fall as part of his internship, Tom went on to do some environmental policy work for US Representative Ron Kind (WI-03) on Capitol Hill. While he fell in love with the DC work and lifestyle, in 2006 this true Florida Gator returned to Gainesville to study agrciultural ecology. During graduate school, he was awarded a fellowship funded by a National Science Foundation GK-12 program to teach science in a middle school classroom for two years. Currently, he is a Director at YMCA Camp Colman in the Southern Puget Sound area of Washinton State. In his free time, Tom likes to hike, bike, ski and kayak. He is excited to be a part of the Alumni Council. Email Tom