Speakers
The Lineup
We're thrilled to introduce the many speakers we will get to learn from throughout the summit. Learn more about them and their work!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Tommy Caldwell
Tommy Caldwell is a master climber. Accomplished in sport, traditional, big wall first ascents, and speed records, there is nothing he can’t do. His entire career has been spent navigating extreme challenges, including a harrowing hostage situation in Kyrgyzstan and an accident which resulted in the loss of an index finger. Tommy has climbed through it all, proving that with resilience one can achieve impossible feats. In 2015, Tommy and his climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson completed the first-ever free climb of The Dawn Wall. The 19-day ascent received worldwide praise and attention (over 34 billion media impressions), including recognition from President Barack Obama. The journey was chronicled in the documentary The Dawn Wall and in Tommy’s 2017 memoir The Push: A Climber's Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond Limits. Beyond climbing, advocacy is a central part of Tommy’s work. He has spoken to Congress and testified for the Senate in support of several pieces of climate legislation. Tommy fights for the world and the people he believes in in everything he does. Reflective of his resume, Tommy’s speaking sessions are a masterclass in perseverance. Drawing from his experiences, he shows how facing adversity head-on builds the capacity for meaningful change. Tommy believes that passion fuels us to defy the odds, and his infectious intensity inspires audiences to rise in the face of hardship, no matter the challenge. Whether addressing a packed TED Talk auditorium or leading an intimate Google engagement, Tommy delivers a powerful message of resilience, risk, and reward. He encourages each listener to find their own “Dawn Wall”—that seemingly impossible challenge worth the climb. Tommy inspires audiences to put in the work and savor the view from the top.
Additional Speakers
Andrea Hassler, Access Fund Stewardship & Education Director
Andrea Hassler (she/her) is a conservation, stewardship, and environmental education professional with a 15+ year career working for non-profits in Colorado and Tennessee. She earned her Master's Degree at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs where her thesis work focused on post-fire restoration, utilizing interviews, field surveys, and GIS analysis to understand values and motivations in community-focused watershed restoration. She currently serves as the Access Fund Stewardship & Education Director, facilitating place-based education and climbing area stewardship projects across the country. Her work has taken her to work in recreation-based communities to support public land access and mobilize outdoor recreation stewardship and place-based education.
Tara Benally, Community Organizer & Developer
Yá’át’ééh! I’m Tara Benally, a Community Organizer/ Developer. I’m thrilled to share my journey growing up in southern San Juan County, Utah, within the Navajo Nation, where the teachings of both Navajo tradition and the Bible have deeply influenced my values and sense of purpose. Over the past seven years, I have been actively involved with the Rural Utah Project and Stewardship Utah, advocating for voting access and supporting local candidates, while also partnering with organizations like Good Trip Adventures and Rise Outside to develop a transformative program for Native youth in foster care, teaching traditional Navajo foraging practices that instill pride in identity and strengthen cultural connections. My advocacy work extends through collaborations with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Grand Canyon Trust, and Advance Native Political Leadership,( just to name a few) focusing on public lands, building capacity, and uplifting Indigenous Nations, as seen in our successful establishment of the Bears Ears National Monument and our key role in electing a Diné majority to the San Juan County Commission. In addition to my advocacy, I have experience in construction and the food service industry, but my greatest joy comes from the love I share with my children, family, friends, and community, and I remain dedicated to their well-being while looking forward to connecting with others who share my passion for community and cultural heritage.
Cody M Perry, Rig to Flip
Co-founder
Cody M. Perry is a land and water advocate specializing in grassroots organizing and conservation storytelling. Cody has worked for a number of conservation organizations including the National Parks Conservation Association, Colorado’s Western Slope Conservation Center, and currently works for Living Rivers and the Colorado Riverkeeper based in Moab, UT. Cody is co-founder of Rig To Flip, a creative media house specializing in storytelling about the Colorado River Basin’s land, water, wildlife and people. Cody has worked with non profits, federal land agencies, outdoor brands and an array of communities across Colorado Plateau to inspire awareness and promote cultural exchange. Cody originally comes from a ranching family in southern Arizona. He’s worked as a ski patroller, a river ranger, an outdoor educator, a professional filmmaker, and wild-land advocate. His passion is telling stories about the West.
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Lenise Peterman, Stewardship Utah Rural Director
Lenise Peterman graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in sociology from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Her work background is extensively tied to the litigation support industry and she has worked with companies such as General Motors, Ford Company, Dow Chemical Company, Exxon and more. She previously served the community as Helper Arts, Music and Film Festival Co-Director and Helper Revitalization Committee Co-Chair. Entering her second term as mayor in 2022, she continues to focus on those areas previously determined during the Sustainable Design Assessment in 2017. Her skills include documentation strategies, process definition, organization, creative problem solving and grant writing. Those skills have led to over $10 million dollars in grant funding which has been distributed across Helper City for Main Street restoration and beautification; river restoration, water infrastructure and more. She has participated extensively with Carbon County as well, chairing the Carbon Tax Advisory Board and delivering projects such as kiosks, wayfinding and the Carbon Power Plant memorial. Lenise’s objective for the city is to create a sustainable community via our historic, artistic and recreational assets and to bring the community together to be all we can be.
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Nate Blouin, Utah State Senator, District 13
Senator Blouin represents District 13 in the Utah State Senate, covering parts of Sugar House, Millcreek, Murray, West Valley City, and South Salt Lake. He earned a Bachelor's from the University of Utah and a Master of Public Affairs from Brown University. As a strong advocate for environmental and sustainability initiatives, he focuses on clean energy, the Great Salt Lake, affordable housing, and air quality. He serves on the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, the related Appropriations Subcommittee, the Business and Labor Committee, and the Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Interim Committee. In the 2023 General Session, he sponsored legislation to restore the Great Salt Lake and incentivize commercial energy storage. Outside of the legislature, you can often find him in the Wasatch canyons on foot, skis, or bike.
Toya Eastman, National Team Manager, USA Climbing
Toya Eastman is a passionate advocate, coach, and connector in Utah’s climbing community. She works with USA Climbing to support athletes and open doors for more people to discover the joy of climbing. As a youth coach for Momentum and a woman of color in climbing, she cares deeply about helping young climbers see themselves outdoors and feel they belong. She also serves on the board of the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA), working to protect local crags and the public lands we all share. Whether on the wall or in her community, she’s all about lifting others up and keeping the places we love wild and welcoming for everyone.
Patrick Belmont, Professor, Utah State University
Patrick Belmont is a Professor in the Department of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University. His research spans water, dirt (soils), wildfire, and climate science. He was USU’s Faculty Researcher of the Year in 2018 and served as President of the Faculty Senate from 2018-2021. He has a recent TEDx talk on redefining and overcoming climate change denial. Patrick served five years as Vice Chair of Logan City’s Renewable Energy and Sustainability Advisory Board, is co-founder of a community organizing group called Our Community—Cache Valley, and has run twice for the Utah state legislature.
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Patrick Morrison, Recreation Program Director, Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation
Patrick Morrison is a Recreation Program Director with the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation. He currently serves as the board chair for the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and member of the Central Wasatch Commission Stakeholder Council. A Utah native, he is an avid climber, fly fisher, gravel rider, and backpacker. Before his current role, he served as Trails Director for the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, an environmental stewardship non-profit in Salt Lake City. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree from New York University. A former political professional in New York City, the natural lands of Utah are where he belongs.
Nicole Milavetz, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Utah Grassroots Organizer
Nicole is a conservationist who believes in the protection of public lands and wilderness quality areas. She supports the power of wilderness preservation and activism work when it comes to managing the climate crisis. Her work at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) as the Utah Grassroot Organizer centers around issue-based organizing that engages the public in protecting redrock wilderness across the state. Prior to joining SUWA, Nicole attended CU Boulder and after graduating worked in the fields of conservation and environmental education in Wyoming and Oregon. Nicole spends her free time exploring the incredible landscapes she works to protect across the west, by foot, boat and skis!
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Perry Hall, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) - Utah Chapter Chair
Perry is the Chapter Chair of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) - Utah Chapter. He began volunteering with BHA in 2017 after realizing the importance of public land in Utah. A Massachusetts native, Perry has been in Utah since 2010 and developed a deep love for the wild places he hunts, fishes, skis, mountain bikes, and trail runs. He can be found on public land all fall chasing game that provides for his family.
Brad Parry, Vice Chairman & Natural Resource Officer, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
Brad Parry serves as the Vice Chairman for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and is employed by the Tribe as the Natural Resources Officer, where he is the Director and Program Manager for the Wuda Ogwa Restoration Project. Brad also serves on the Weber River Commission, the Bear River Commission, the Jordan River Commission, the Great Salt Lake Advisory, and on the University of Utah’s Board for Native Excellence and Tribal Engagement. Brad grew up in Syracuse, Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. Prior to working for the Tribe full time, Brad worked for the United States Department of Interior - Reclamation from April 2003 to November 2019. Most of his time was spent as the Program Coordinator for the water quality improvement program, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, for eleven years (2008-2019). Mr. Parry received a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication, from the University of Utah (UofU), in 2005. Brad likes to golf, fish, play guitar, listen to music, and spend time with his nieces and nephews.
Olivia Juarez, Green Latinos Public Lands Program Director
Olivia Juarez is a lifelong Utahn living in Salt Lake City. Olivia is the Public Land Program Director at GreenLatinos, and Co-Founder of Of Salt and Sand, and Host of Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories podcast. Olivia’s career nurtures nuestra herencia y querencia en tierra pública--our inheritance, heritage, and love of public lands.Olivia holds an Honors Peace and Conflict Studies degree from the University of Utah. Favorite pastimes include camping with family, loud music, playing in the snow, bicycling, and gazing at cryptobiotic soils.
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Melisa Ruiz, Multiple Para Climbing World Cup Winner
This is Melissa Ruiz. She’s an NYC native whose climbing journey started about 6 or 7 years ago when she walked into Movement LIC for the first time. Melissa was born with Cerebral Palsy, so her climbing looks a little different from the average climber. She uses her arms more because her legs are stiffer and don’t have much strength as the average person’s, which means she has to be way more deliberate about where she's placing her limbs. Upon walking into that climbing gym that first day, she was told about the world of competitive para climbing. Two months after that, she went to her first nationals. A few years later she started her path to competing on the international stage, and is still going strong! In the last few years, she’s learned so much about how to train, and in the last year alone she learned how to make that training transfer over to her everyday life. Para climbing has taught her that not every day can be perfect, but that doesn't mean the good days are gone forever. She's learned to listen to her body, and react appropriately to what it's telling her. This recent progress has helped her gain an appreciation for climbing both indoors and outdoors.
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Alexis Pickering, Conservation Voters for Idaho
Alexis grew up with the rugged beauty of the Clearwater River and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness as her backyard in Kooskia, Idaho. Her professional experience has intersected with conservation and/or policy change throughout her career, including roles in wildland firefighting, county-wide elected office, public health and now leading Conservation Voters for Idaho as their Executive Director. She earned her Masters of Health Science & Health Policy from Boise State University, following a B.A. in English from BSU and an Associates in English and Political Science from Walla Walla Community College. Alexis is proud to continue CVI’s nearly 20-year success of working to elect conservation champions, keeping our elected officials accountable, and protecting Idaho’s cherished public lands, energy independence, and democracy. When she isn’t in the CVI office, she can be found riding in Idaho’s public lands on the back of one of her horses and spending time with her husband and son.
Jonathon Klein, Executive Editor, RideApart
Jonathon Klein has been riding motorcycles since he was 17 years old, as he snuck home a 1986 Kawasaki Ninja 600 while his parents were on vacation. Since then, he's traveled the globe riding all manner of on- and off-road machines in far-flung locales. He now resides in the wilds of Utah, loving life, writing about the powersports and OHV worlds, passionately defending public lands, and enjoying watching his kids learn how to ride their own off-road machines.
Nat Williams, Democracy Policy Associate, Stewardship Utah
Nat Williams is the Democracy Policy Associate at Stewardship Utah, where they advocate for electoral reform and work to ensure a representative and responsive political system. Since 2019, they have been actively involved in shaping policy at both the state and local levels in Utah, playing a key role in stopping harmful legislation that would have restricted voting rights and access. Outside of their policy work, Nat enjoys reading autofiction (currently), crocheting gifts for others, and rock climbing. They are passionate about continuously learning and contributing to a bright and just future.
Terry Willis, Price City Council Member
Terry Willis is a local artist living in Price Utah. She has been painting Utah landscapes for over 30 years and is a self-taught painter. She is currently serving on Price City Council and running for Price City Mayor. Terry has lived in Utah since 1978 after she left the US Navy. She came to Price area in 1980 and has lived here ever since. She has had a wide and varied career including establishing the Carbon County Family Support and Children’s Justice center and time as a reporter for both the Sun Advocate and ETV News. She is currently retired but active in community and local politics. She is married and has two grown daughters and three grandchildren and a black lab named Kala. Her love of our wild and scenic lands in Utah is what inspires her art. She works with her husband Dennis to protect and advocate for our public lands with the state and beyond.
Logan Christian, Wildlife and Habitat Specialist, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators
Logan Christian hails from Utah and currently works as the Wildlife and Habitat Specialist with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. He received a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Utah State University before working as the Outreach and Development Director for Yellowstone to Uintas Connection (Y2U), a nonprofit focused on improving habitat connectivity between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Uinta Mountains of Utah. After a year with Y2U, Logan completed a M.S. in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan, where he studied rural communities in the western United States that are working to build environmental stewardship into their long-term economic and community development activities. During this time, Logan was also selected as a Wyss Conservation Fellow, a program supporting students working on land conservation issues in the American West. In his current role with NCEL, Logan supports a non-partisan network of state lawmakers working on environmental issues in all fifty states. As Wildlife and Habitat Specialist, this includes policy focused on habitat connectivity, strengthening state wildlife agencies, enabling human-wildlife coexistence, and stemming the biodiversity crisis. When he's not working, Logan spends his free time hiking, fly fishing, kayaking, and enjoying the beauty of Utah and the Intermountain West.
Chandler Rosenberg, Great Salt Lake Policy Associate, Stewardship Utah
Chandler Rosenberg is a food and water activist from Holladay, Utah, working at the intersection of agriculture and the Great Salt Lake with a focus on community-driven, place-based approaches to systemic challenges. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Public Policy and currently serves as the Great Salt Lake Policy Associate with Stewardship Utah. Guided by a deep belief in the power of coalitions, she cofounded the Utah Food Coalition and Save Our Great Salt Lake, and also serves on the board of Wasatch Community Gardens
Alma Baste, Public Lands Policy Associate, Stewardship Utah
Alma Baste is the Public Lands Policy Associate for Stewardship Utah, advocating for the protection and maintaining access to public lands throughout Utah. She has spent the last 7 years working and volunteering with land advocacy groups across the country and is thrilled to be investing in a career advocating for lands in Utah. Alma has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Policy, both from Georgia State University. Her passion for rock climbing brought her to Utah for the first time 8 years ago, and she’s thrilled to have made it back to help protect the places she loves. Outside her role at Stewardship Utah, she enjoys spending time outside rock climbing across Utah, sewing her own clothes while fending off her cats, and reading.
John Ruple, Research Professor of Law, University of Utah
John Ruple is Research Professor of Law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, and Director of the Law and Policy Program at the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources & the Environment. He has more than twenty years of professional experience with management of Western public lands and the resources they contain, and the environmental review process for actions impacting our public lands. Before joining the University of Utah in 2008, John worked as an attorney in private practice, as a policy analyst in Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.’s Public Lands Office, and as a third-party NEPA contractor. He also served as Senior Counsel in the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 2022-2024. His work appears in journals published by Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, the University of California, and other leading universities.
TJ Ellerbeck, Co Director, Stewardship Utah
Born and raised in Salt Lake County, Utah, TJ Ellerbeck began working on civic engagement and voter participation projects while in high school, and in the years since he managed and worked for numerous political campaigns, organizations, and voter registration efforts. He served as President of the Young Democrats of Utah from 2013-2015 and as Political Director for the Utah Democratic Party from 2015-2017. In 2017, TJ became the founding Executive Director of the Rural Utah Project, a conservation- and civic-engagement-focused nonprofit that registered over ten thousand people to vote across Utah and Northern Arizona. In 2024, the Rural Utah Project merged with O₂ Utah to become Stewardship Utah, which has helped elect over 30 candidates to public office, passed two pieces of major legislation, registered over 12,000 people to vote, and much more in just its first year.
Albert Mason, Graduate Wildlife Researcher, Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
Albert Mason works at the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative as the science director. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with his Bachelor's in 2021, and is currently working on finishing his master's degree. He is an enrolled tribal member of the Eastern Shoshone tribe on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Albert enjoys being outdoors, spending time with his family, and now gets to enjoy working with the buffalo of the Wind River to help WRTBI develop meaningful and lasting management procedures to facilitate the beneficial effects bison have on ecosystems from their presence.
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David Garbett Co Director, Stewardship Utah
David Garbett is the codirector of Stewardship Utah. He worked for ten years as a public lands attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. He regularly spends time on public lands with his family- skiing, climbing, and trying to identify native plants in Utah during his adventures.
Codey Lindsey, Assistant Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Codey Lindsay is the Assistant Business Manager for IBEW Local 354, representing more than 3,000 electrical workers across Utah. A sixth-generation Utahn and third-generation member of the IBEW, Codey brings 25 years of experience in the electrical industry to his role. He works to strengthen the partnership between labor, community, and policymakers, with a focus on fair wages, workforce development, and safe, sustainable energy practices. His perspective reflects both a deep family legacy in the trades and a commitment to ensuring working people have a voice in shaping Utah’s economic and environmental future. Codey is a diehard BYU fan and enjoys spending time at home with his family and animals in rural Utah.
Jessica Wiarda, Indigenous Educator
Jessica Wiarda is a Hopi/Tewa Indigenous educator, civic organizer, and environmental advocate committed to uplifting Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge systems. Through her work in grassroots organizing and environmental justice, Jessica serves as a bridge between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous allies. Educating others on the importance of cultural sensitivity, respectful engagement, and the long-term work of building intercultural relationships rooted in patience, accountability, and mutual respect.