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Staff Profiles
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Wildlands Restoration Volunteers' professional staff leads project management and program development efforts, and provides a central clearinghouse of information on restoration and volunteer work. Dedicated volunteer leaders manage most WRV restoration projects and are an invaluable force in driving the organization forward. Click here to learn about ways to contribute your skills to WRV's success!
Mary Eldred, Volunteer Manager |
Mary Eldred, Volunteer Manager
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John Giordanengo, Projects Director (Ft. collins office)
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Angie Francis, Program Coordinator
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Katie Renga, Outreach and funding Director
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Jessica Evett, Developement Coordinator
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Jarret Roberts, Community Programs Director
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Diane Rieck, Bookkeeper
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Ed Self, Executive Director
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Mary has her finger on the pulse of WRV - her responsibilities include a little bit of everything – organizing project materials, correspondence, management support and keeping up with volunteer requests to make sure your experiences are as good as they can be! Most recently Mary returned from Peace Corps service in Madagascar as an Environment Volunteer. Even there she did a little bit of everything – built a school and a drinking well, started a women’s association, developed sustainable ecotourism in a national park and taught English among other things! Previously, she was a trilingual video editor and producer for Reuters Television in Washington, DC where she managed a very busy international satellite tape room and traveled with a crew to cover domestic and international news events. Her love of the Colorado mountains stems from childhood family vacations in very remote places along the Rockies from Glacier down to New Mexico. Finally living here is a dream come true for Mary. Her interests include biking, hiking, handmade arts, reading, cooking, having friends over, seeing movies (just about anything) and spending time with her dogs, Annie and Phoebe. 
John's responsibilities include: project scheduling, identifying future projects with local agencies, project management, managing the monitoring and native seed collection programs, fundraising, and more. John began his restoration career as a volunteer planting shrubs and trees along the Green River in Washington State and he's been hooked ever since. Before finding his way to WRV, he worked for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting, and the City of Boulder. His passion for restoration lured him to Colorado State University, where he earned his Master's Degree in Rangeland Ecology. John is a committee member for the High Altitude Revegetation Workshop and and is a member of the curriculum development committees for the Outdoor Stewardship Institute. Hiking partners beware, it can take John 2 hours to walk a ¼ mile--there are just too many magnificent plants out there to look at. Aside from his love of plants, he has an addiction to unpopular music and a knack for bad puns. 
Angie is responsible for engaging the community in the work of WRV. She holds a deep love for the Boulder area as a native and as a youngster, she tromped around the mountains of Boulder following her father, a ranger. This is where her love for the natural world began to flourish. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from and a M.S. in Ecological Education from . Her passion is in helping to empower others to be stewards of the land and she believes strongly in the healing power of service learning and has lead backcountry conservation crews in the N. Cascades and Alaska. She enjoys pottery, skiing, sea kayaking, berry picking, fishing and spending time with her family and friends. One of her greatest accomplishments is hiking the Colorado Trail with her husband. 
Katie comes to us as an AmeriCorps VISTA placement and is excited to help increase WRV’s capacity to reach a more diverse body of volunteers and youth. Her passion for connecting others to the outdoors began as a child living on a farm in the Appalachian Mountains and growing up in and around her family’s childcare center. Katie holds a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University and an M.Ed. in Field Science Teaching from a joint program between the Teton Science Schools and Montana State University – Billings. Most recently, Katie taught high school biology and research in her home town of Blacksburg, VA. Currently, she is enthusiastic about her return to CO and her work with WRV. On her spare time Katie enjoys bird watching, plant identification, hiking, gardening, spending time with her friends and family, backpacking and home-brewing with her husband. 
Jessica's duties include grant writing, research, and other development activities. An Idaho native, Jess became convinced she wanted to live in a tent at an early age. After graduating from the College of Idaho, she spent three years as a crewleader for the Montana Conservation Corps and Northwest Youth Corps building trails and working on other natural resource projects. Jess also worked for several seasons as a Forest Service wilderness ranger tramping around the River of No Return and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Areas. Her desire to spread the good word about the importance of stewardship on our public lands brought her to the University of Denver, where she is currently finishing up her master's thesis on aspects of relationship quality between the Forest Service and different types of volunteer organizations. Before finding a home at WRV, she worked as the Volunteer Manager and Development Coordinator for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. Jess enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and Australian Cattle Dogs; puttering around in the garden; sliding on snow; and lecturing people on the evils of burning tin foil in backcountry fire rings. 
Born and raised in Boulder, Jarret has become versed in the amazing lands that surround the city and committed to helping maintain their serenity. He brings with him over ten seasons working on trail systems from as far away as Texas and Wisconsin to as close as Boulder's own Open Space and Mountain Parks. By combining his love for the outdoors with a B. S. in Business Marketing and another in Journalism and Communication he hopes to be able to connect people of all walks of life to the trials and public lands he is so fond of. When he not writing the next press release, and if you can pry the rock bar away from him, you can find Jarret with a paddle or a fly rod in his hands. 
Diane re-located to Boulder from New York City in 2002. She quickly found WRV and has been involved with the organization since inception. She served as President of the Founding Board of Directors for two years and then happily turned to the bookkeeping side of the operation, which allowed her to get back to using her basic accounting skills. Prior to Boulder, Diane worked for American Express in NYC and has a broad expertise in the financial services arena in marketing, finance and strategic planning. She has an MBA from New York University where she created a small business in recycled office products and was an active volunteer for NRDC. At the end of the day, she loves balance (with a side order of volatility and creativity) - that need for balance is a theme she sees compatible and necessary in both accounting and nature- so it's a great fit. Diane lives in Boulder with her adorable son and husband and enjoys biking, gardening, knitting, and reading, the list goes on and on.... 
Ed Self is the Founder and Executive Director of Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. He has a Master's Degree in Volunteer Program Management with an emphasis on ecological restoration and environmental education. Ed moved to Boulder nearly 20 years ago. He has always had a passion for volunteerism, especially activities that build community, benefit the environment, and help people connect with nature. Ed has over 15 years of related experience with project management, event planning, restoration ecology, environmental/experiential education, fundraising, organic farming, horticulture, and the natural history of Colorado. Ed's Master's thesis looked closely at the wide range of benefits that communities and individuals derive from involvement in habitat restoration work, and included a nation-wide survey of over 300 Forest Service employees involved in community-based restoration projects. In his spare time, Ed enjoys playing with his son Elias, gardening, hiking, cooking, hosting community potlucks, and travel with his wife Amy. 
