Name and Title

Susan Ellsworth, Farm and Ranch Education Coordinator
Ext. 103
Online Contact Form

Susan works with beginning farmers and ranchers in Alameda County and the East Bay in her role as Farm and Ranch Education Coordinator. She also works to support and strengthen the local food system.  Susan comes to the Partnership from UC Davis where she worked for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and the City of Davis to help develop a plan for Community Farms. She received her Master’s Degree in Community Development from UC Davis in 2011 and is happy to be working in the beautiful Alameda County.

Amy Evans, Resource Conservationist
Ext. 112
Online Contact Form

Amy has been a Resource Conservationist at the RCD since 1988.  Amy's primary projects include developing educational materials and water quality improvement demonstrations sites for the Equestrian Facilities Assistance Program, coordinating the “Watershed Adventures” program  that serves nearly 5,000 4th graders annually, developing stewardship projects for the Hands-on-Conservation program and working with the Alameda  Creek Watershed Council.  Amy received a  B.A. in Environmental Planning from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and an M.A. in Physical Geography/Environmental Studies from California State University East Bay. Amy is also involved in the Master Gardener program in Alameda County and gardens like crazy on the weekends at her home in Fremont.

Marilyn Harvey, Accountant
Ext. 113
Online Contact Form

 
Marilyn is the accountant who has been with the Conservation Partnership since July 2007.  Previous to this position she as employed for the Farm Credit System doing accounting work for over 25 years.

Leslie Koenig, Biologist
Ext. 115
Online Contact Form

Leslie is a biologist with the Alameda County Resource Conservation District.  She received her B.S. in Biology in 2004 from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Leslie grew up in the mountains of Colorado and moved to California in 2004.  She worked for an environmental toxicology firm as a laboratory technician in Davis before joining the District and moving to Livermore. 

Crystal Simons, Resource Conservationist
Ext. 105
Online Contact Form

Crystal joined the Conservation Partnership as a Resource Conservationist in 2012. She manages projects related to watershed planning, landscape and habitat conservation, and ecosystem service assessment.  She is passionate about connecting resource and conservation science with social values. Prior to moving to the East Bay, Crystal was the Sustainability Project Coordinator at the Park City Municipal Corporation in Utah where she contributed to the city’s GHG emission inventories and wrote their Climate Action Plan. She has two master’s degrees from UC Berkeley in Landscape Architecture and City and Regional Planning, with expertise in Environmental Planning and Design.

Alyson Aquino, District Conservationist
alyson.aquino@ca.usda.gov
Ext. 116

Alyson has been the District Conservationist in Alameda County since 2011.  Before coming to Livermore, she held the same position in Contra Costa County for 3 years.  Alyson began her NRCS career in 2005 working as a Soil Conservationist for the Nevada County office.  She attended Humboldt State University with a major in Environmental Biology and pursued her Master’s Degree in Natural Resource Management from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Katie Bergmann, Engineer
katie.bergmann@ca.usda.gov
Ext. 117

Katie is an engineer with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). She came to the Partnership as an Earth Team volunteer before being hired as the NRCS engineer for both Alameda and Contra Costa counties in 2006. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2001 and worked as an environmental engineer in the private sector for several years. She is a registered Professional Engineer in California.

Jackie Charbonneau, Ecologist
jackie.charbonneau@ca.usda.gov
Ext. 114

Jackie is an ecologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Jackie graduated from California State University Monterery Bay with a BS in Earth Systems Science and Policy and a concentration in Watershed Systems. She has worked for the Conservation Partnership office since 2001. Jackie is the lead for multiple projects in the office, including the Wildlife-friendly Pond Program and the Alameda County Permit Coordination Program.

Ling He, Range Conservationist
ling.he@ca.usda.gov
Ext.110

Ling is a range conservationist with NRCS. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a M.S in Range Management in 2007 and worked as a biologist in the private sector for a year. Prior to her graduate study, Ling worked as a biological science technician at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Neftali Velez, Ag Engineer
neftali.velez@ca.usda.gov
Ext.101

Neftali is an Alameda and Contra Costa counties engineer with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Since the summer of 2007 he was a Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) student with the NRCS in Bowling Green, KY and on the following summer of 2008 he was transferred to Fresno, CA. In 2009 he worked in two field offices in Puerto Rico as a part time employee while finishing his college education. In 2010 he graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus with a double B.S. in Civil Engineering and Land Surveying.