Our Amazing Team
Leadership
Jennifer Mueller
Chief Executive Officer
(she/her) Before joining the the Ember Alliance, Jennifer worked with The Nature Conservancy for a decade leading prescribed fire crews. She was also a lead instructor at Aerie Backcountry Medicine. She holds B.A. degrees from the University of Colorado in Environmental Biology and Anthropology.
Sean McCormick
Chief Operating Officer
Sean started his fire career after graduating from the University of Montana. His focus on wildfire suppression changed shortly after working on prescribed fire crews in the Southeast Coastal Plains of North Carolina. Since then, Sean has been working diligently to increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire on western landscapes. You can catch him mountain biking, traveling, or soaking up the river life with his dog June.
Resilient Communities and Ecosystems
Mary MacDonald
Resilient Communities and Ecosystems Director
(she/her) Mary is a nonprofit strategist and partnership architect with a passion for advancing innovative services that provide equitable, sustainable, and resilient community opportunities. She has worked for some of the country’s top environmental NGOs where she developed expertise in sustainability, marketing, climate justice, and fundraising. Mary enjoys horseback riding, hiking, and playing the mandolin.
Kenzie Hartt
Program Manager
(she/they) Kenzie strives to innovate ways to build teams, facilitate difficult conversations, and share knowledge among partners. Before entering the wildfire realm, Kenzie worked in conservation, stewardship, communications, and volunteer management for conservation organizations, specializing in Rocky Mountain ecosystem restoration. In their free time, Kenzie enjoys backpacking, pottery, sewing, playing with their cats and dog, and DnD.
Corrina Marshall
Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative Manager
(she/her) Corrina has extensive experience working with partners and communities on wildfire preparedness, education and engagement, plan and grant writing, and project management and development. Currently coordinating the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative, she is passionate about fostering community to develop unique solutions to our current wildfire crisis. When not on zoom meetings, she can be found gardening, kayaking, and playing with her dog Rhubarb.
Dr. Meg Matonis
Senior Wildlfire Analyst
(she/her) As a Wildfire Analyst with The Ember Alliance, Dr. Matonis conducts risk analyses, supports community engagement, and prepares holistic and actionable CWPP documents. She has a PhD in Forest Ecology from Colorado State University and formerly worked with the Colorado State Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Research Station. Meg has been an on-call wildland firefighter with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office for eight years.
Cary Gooding
Project Manager
(she/her) Cary received her Master’s degree from Colorado State University in Conservation Leadership. Her professional background includes complex, adaptive project management and she has a passion for wildlife and ecosystem conservation. Cary is committed to learning and sharing knowledge in interesting and accessible ways. In her free time, she enjoys baking, crafting, and getting lost in the worlds of fantasy fiction.
Aimeé Artigues
Project Manager
(she/they) A Colorado native, Aimeé leverages her M.S. and PM degrees to make an impact on her community by promoting awareness about climate resiliency/sustainability. Prior to this role, she was a science/math teacher for 26 years. She transitioned to PM work and serves on The Coalitions & Collaboratives CNP Advisory Initiative helping ecosystems and communities thrive together through grant funding. When not at her computer, Aimeé enjoys her family, conducting controlled burns on her property, and being outside riding her horses or gardening.
Jon Henry
GIS Specialist
Jon Henry has extensive expertise in wildland fire management, specializing in fire suppression, fuel mitigation, and GIS analysis. They have played crucial roles as a GIS technician, IT specialist, and operations guide. Outside of work, Jon enjoys fixing electronics, sewing, baking, and working on mechanical projects.
Evan Briscoe
Project Manager
(he/him) Evan graduated from Purdue with a B.S. in Chemistry and
received his master’s in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State
University. Through his experiences as a
Peace Corps volunteer and teacher/coach, he realized his passion for community
outreach and youth engagement. He is interested in working with people and
communities to develop creative solutions to complex social-ecological issues. In
his free time, Evan enjoys soccer, waterskiing, snowboarding, and reading.
Fire Management
Greg Gilbert
Planning and Implementation Program Manager
Greg has 25 years of diverse operational experience. He earned a Bachelor’s from Oklahoma State University, Master’s from the University of Colorado – Denver and is working towards a PhD through the University of Idaho. Greg is committed to finding innovative solutions to challenges, developing leaders of leaders, and preparing the future generations of wildland professionals.
Leah Mathys
Training Program Manager
Leah has spent most of her professional career using her education degrees to teach about upkeeping outdoor spaces. She currently resides in Montana, where she enjoys ALL the outdoor activities that come about each season.
Kristin Leger
Community Capacity Program Manager
(she/her) Kristin received her Master’s degree from Colorado State University in Conservation Leadership. She is passionate about landscape-scale forest restoration including the reintroduction of fire into the ecosystem. She spends her free time rock climbing and cuddling with her dog Otis.
AJ Alvarado
Assistant Project Manager
Andrew Meyers
Assistant Project Manager
Andrew was born and raised in Colorado. He has been involved in wildand firefighting for five years with most of his time focused on wildfire mitigation and prevention around Boulder County. His current passion is teaching and training new sawyers and wildland firefighters. When Andrew isn’t working, he can be found in the Rocky Mountains with his blue heeler, Kota.
Meg O'Brien
Project Manager
Megan graduated with a BS in Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Before her three seasons as a wildland fire fighter, Megan gained several years of experience in natural resource management and fire mitigation working for nonprofits in New York and Montana. In her free time, you’ll find Megan dirt biking and running trails through the mountains of Montana.
Elliot Nauert
Project Manager
(he/him) Elliot’s experience with wildland fire started with seven seasons on a wildland fire module at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. He then worked with North Carolina State Extension developing public outreach programs on the topic of wildland fire. Elliot is currently working on his PhD in Human Factors to support what is his biggest passion in fire these days: training and mentoring new firefighters.
Matthew Buice
Uwharrie Crew Lead
Matt pursued many endeavors since receiving his degree in Marine Biology. While in Florida, he worked as a Surgical Tech at a Veterinary Clinic while simultaneously starting and running a Non-profit Wildlife Ambulance Service that is still going strong today. He opened a home rehab clinic for wildlife, treating and releasing thousands before joining a Texas Gulfcorps crew, introducing him to the world of Wildland Fire.
Killian Farrell
Uwharrie Assistant Crew Lead
(They/them) Killian has several years experience in prescribed fire and land management throughout the U.S. Southeast and Midwest. They have B.S. degrees in Atmospheric & Oceanic Science, and Ecology & Evolution. When not stringing fire through the woods, Killian enjoys hand embroidery, baking, and hiking.
Liz Smith
Uwharrie Permanent Crew Member
Liz (she/her) has worked for several natural and historic resource conservation corps through the Student Conservation Association, followed by stints with the National Park Service and US Forest Service. Her experience with prescribed fire as a conservation tool began in New York and her desire to learn more about the application and effects of that brought her to North Carolina with The Ember Alliance.
James Munn
NOCO Assistant Crew Lead
Tony Armstrong
NOCO Crew Member
Karo Hubbard
NOCO Crew Member
Rebekah Moats
NOCO Crew Member
Integrated Research Management Team (IRMT)
Troy Floyd
IRMT Member
Troy started as a Forest Patrolman in 1984 with the Georgia Forestry Commission. Early in his career he served as a district fire weather station manager, instilling passion for Fuels and Fire Behavior. Troy took that passion and become one of the first FBAN (Fire Behavior Analyst) for the State of Georgia. Troy enjoys being with his wife of 41 years, and seven grandchildren when off duty.
Linda M Chappell
IRMT Member
Linda is interested in all aspects of wildland fire in the interest of creating and enhancing functioning ecosystems across the globe. She has 30+ years experience in many aspects of wildland fire, and is now assisting in developing the National Interagency Fuels Academy, is an Air Resource Advisor & Plans Chief on wildfires, and is works with the IRMT. When she isn’t teaching and preaching pyro-evangelism, she is known to hike, play with her kids and grandkids, rebuild old trucks, travel, and ride her motorcycle.
Tommy Hawkins
IRMT Member
Tommy served in the U.S. Army from 1982-1988 and also has 38 years of Wildland Fire and Prescribed fire experience. He retired from the State of Georgia and still actively serves on the Southern Area Red Team as Safety Officer and Operations Section Chief. Tommy is an Instructor for several NWCG courses for US ARMY IMCOM, and serves on the IRMT as a Safety Officer to help with the research into Fire and Smoke. When Tommy is not on fires or teaching, he enjoys hunting, fishing and spoiling his 3 grandchildren.
Dr. Sue Wilder
IRMT Member
Sue received her MS and PhD in Botany from LSU. She worked for USGS and the USFWS as an ecologist. She participated for many years on the Southern Area Blue Team (Plans) and on many other incident management teams. She recently retired from FWS and now volunteers for conservation organizations and helps teach fire courses. Her work with the IRMT has bridged both her research and fire ecology interests. When not working, Sue enjoys working on her golf game and fun times with her five grandchildren.
Bill Jackson
IRMT Member
Bill retired from the USDA Forest Service after 35 years. He was an Air Resource Management Specialist for the National Forests in the southern US and Air Regulatory Agencies, which involved evaluating and explaining how air pollution impacts our Nation’s forests, and what effect Forest Service management activities had on air quality. Bill’s role with the IRMT will be as the Primary Smoke/Emissions Discipline Lead. He is also available for Ember Alliance projects needing assistance with understanding smoke impacts to communities and other smoke sensitive targets. When Bill is not working on smoke then he is probably out in the gardens growing veggies or weeding the flower beds.