2026 Speakers
We're bringing together an incredible lineup of voices committed to protecting Utah’s wild places. From a powerful keynote by Winona LaDuke, to speakers representing Tribal Nations, conservation groups, recreation communities, and policy circles, the day is stacked with people who know these landscapes best and are fighting to defend them. Their stories, expertise, and vision will fuel a day of learning, collaboration, and action.
WELCOME KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Winona LaDuke
We're thrilled to welcome Winona LaDuke as this year's keynote speaker! LaDuke is a Anishinaabe from the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, or Akiing, the Land to Which the People Belong. She is an author, rural development economist, farmer, and long time environmental and Indigenous rights activist. She began work in the late 1970’s on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations, worked extensively on energy policy issues from uranium and coal strip mining to pipelines and dam projects, with a strong background in community and environmental impacts and experience with the political repression associated with resistance.
In her community, she’s worked on oral history and land rights issues, environmental advocacy and renewable energy projects, including a pending half a megawatt project for her own village of Pine Point on the White Earth reservation. She’s been arrested and sent to the White House, and was a two-time Green Party nominee for the office of Vice President of the United States. She also holds the distinction of having received an electoral college vote for the office of US President. She’s thankful she is not President, and in her long and colorful career has authored seven books, including a novel, Last Standing Woman, works as a curator at the Giiwedinong Museum of Treaty Rights and Culture, and grows fiber hemp. She‘s a graduate of Harvard University and has a Masters Degree in Rural Development.
Additional Speakers
Elizabeth Nagengast-Stevens
Elizabeth Nagengast-Stevens, PhD, RPA Park Manager, DNR Archaeologist Fremont Indian State Park & Museum Liz has been at Fremont for over 5 years now, first as the curator/archaeologist and now as the park manager. She also serves as the compliance archaeologist for State Parks and other sister Divisions. She hails originally from Montana, but has traveled all over the world for her Doctorate studies in biological anthropology and bioarchaeology. Already during her short tenure with State Parks, she has become a Board Member for the Utah Museums Association, completed several archaeological surveys across the state, and continues to collaborate on several local community projects and programs, while sitting on the Sevier County Tourism Board. Her passion for history, Indigenous cultures, and Southwest Archaeology has greatly contributed to Utah State Parks. When she is not at Fremont wearing one of her many hats, you can find her out on the Harley with her fiancé or in Clear Creek Canyon where she resides on a ranch with plenty of donkeys and chickens to keep them occupied.
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Lenise Peterman
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.
Anthony Sanchez Jr.
Mr. Sanchez’s clans are Eagle and Child of Crow, and he is the Head Councilman for the Pueblo of Zuni. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. He has 19 years of experience in Public Safety. He started his career in 2002 with the Zuni Correctional Center, where he served for four years before joining the Zuni Police Department as a 911 Telecommunicator. He worked as a 911 Telecommunicator from 2006 to 2008 with the Zuni Police Department and the McKinley Metro Dispatch Center in Gallup, NM. Starting in 2008, he began his career as a police officer with the Zuni Police Department and also spent two years with the Isleta Police Department. From 2017 until present, he moved into the Criminal Investigations Division as a Criminal Investigator with the Zuni Police Department.
Autumn Gillard
Autumn Gillard is the coordinator for the Grand Staircase Inter-Tribal Coalition. She is also a cultural anthropologist who is the founder of Nuwu-Insitu an independent consulting firm that focus on the advocation and sustainment of Indigenous voices on the Colorado Plateau. Nuwu-Insitu stands for Nuwu meaning Southern Paiute and insitu a term meaning to stay in place. Autumn believes that social science teachings should first come from tribal voices. She believes that advocation through education is the driving force for representation. Autumn has secured a lifelong passion for cultural from being raised in a traditional Native American home by her mother and grandmother. Throughout her career she has worked with many federal, state, tribal and non-governmental agencies on many projects that include Southern Paiute culture.
Billy Palmer
Billy Palmer currently serves as the Community Outreach Organizer at Stewardship Utah. With more than two decades of experience in grassroots organizing and public advocacy, Billy has built coalitions and led campaigns at both the local and national levels. His work has advanced economic equality, voting rights, environmental protection, human rights, gender equity, Indigenous and racial justice, youth empowerment, and support for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Beyond advocacy, Billy has a diverse creative background in filmmaking, music promotion, and the performing arts. As a swing dance choreographer and performer, he has long believed in the power of art and culture to bring people together and strengthen communities. Billy is a proud resident of West Salt Lake City and the father of three adult children. When he's not organizing or advocating, he enjoys spending time with family, attending live performances, traveling, and exploring the people and places that inspire stronger, more connected communities.
Chaitna Sinha
Chaitna was raised in Utah and spent much of her time exploring its spectacular mountains and canyons. She recognized early on that she wanted to help ensure these places remained preserved for future generations. Chaitna received her undergraduate degree in environmental studies from the University of Utah and holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School and an MBA from Gonzaga University. Prior to joining the Trust, she worked in the nonprofit and government sectors. Chaitna is driven by a desire to understand and foster legal, social, and economic systems that support healthy landscapes and Indigenous communities.
Chelsea Duke
Chelsea Duke is the Wildlife Lands Coordinator for the State of Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources, where she works at the intersection of conservation, land acquisition, public policy, and public access. She has successfully closed more than 30 land acquisitions for DWR, representing over $100 million in conservation investment and protecting thousands of acres for wildlife and the public. Her work includes the landmark acquisition of more than 50,000 acres in Utah’s Book Cliffs Roadless Area—one of the largest and most significant land conservation projects in DWR’s history. Chelsea brings a practical, partnership-focused approach to conservation, with a particular interest in finding creative ways to bring diverse interests together to achieve lasting outcomes for people, wildlife, and the landscapes they share.
Denise Peterson
Denise Peterson is the founder of Utah Mountain Lion Conservation, an initiative dedicated to increasing social tolerance of mountain lions through education, collaboration, community engagement, and research. She has a background in Film & Video Production, Natural Resources Management, Wildlife Biology, and Geographic Information Systems. She has worked with mountain lions for over a decade, studying them in both North and South America. An experienced wildlife cinematographer, Denise has worked on natural history productions including The American Southwest, with additional films currently in production. She uses both Browning and DSLR camera traps to reveal the hidden lives of mountain lions in Utah — combining science, storytelling, and fieldwork to shift perception around these powerful predators.
Elizabeth Sodja
Elizabeth is the Assistant Director of Outreach and Education at USU's Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. She coordinates the Gateway & Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Initiative. She has a decade of communications and community outreach experience, and has worked with federal, state, and local government agencies. In the past, she worked for USU's Center for Community Engagement and the National Park Service. She grew up in a small town in Utah where most family vacations were either camping, fishing, or in a National Park, and has a passion for helping small towns around the west preserve what is special about them. When she isn't working, you can usually find her and her husband chasing their toddler, climbing a rock, living out of a tent, or driving down a dirt covered in dog hair.
Drew Cooper
Drew Cooper is a community organizer at United Today, Stronger Tomorrow. He's spent the last 6 years building winning campaigns on a wide range of issues from voting rights to healthcare access. He spent 3 years with Rural Utah Project, registering voters and building the Rural Addressing program in San Juan County. You're likely to find him driving US 191 somewhere in the eastern Utah desert on his way to or from his home in Bluff, UT.
Caroline Gleich
Caroline Gleich is a professional ski mountaineer, longtime Patagonia ambassador, and climate advocate from Park City, Utah. A former U.S. Senate candidate, she organizes on public lands, water, and voting access and speaks about how athletes and everyday people can turn conviction into lasting civic power.
Nat Williams
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.
Joanna Bettmann Schaefer
Joanna Bettmann Schaefer is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Utah. She is also a court-rostered mediator and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received B.A. with honors from Dartmouth College in 1993, MSW from the University of Utah in 1999, and Ph.D from Smith College School for Social Work in 2005. Dr. Schaefer has received numerous honors, including the 2025 Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science, the 2025 Eagle Award from the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council, the 2023 Betty van der Smitten Distinguished Researcher Award from the Association for Experiential Education, and the 2019 Council on Social Work Education’s Scholarship for Harvard Institutes of Higher Education. Dr. Schaefer’s research focuses on the effects of nature-based interventions to improve mental health. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Experiential Education.
Matt Behrens
Matt Behrens is a fire ecologist and former U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter currently pursuing his PhD at Utah State University. His research examines how prescribed fire shapes soils and ecosystems, building on his master’s work with Denali National Park and Preserve. A naturalist at heart, he draws on experience both on the fireline and in the field, Matt works to connect science with practical land stewardship.
Olivia Giaccio
Olivia Giaccio is a 2x Team USA Olympian and World Cup Athlete competing on the FIS Freestyle Moguls World Cup Tour. She finished the 2025-26 season ranked #1 in the world. Beyond her accolades, she has made a strong impact on the mogul skiing community, both globally and domestically, as she was the Stifel US Ski Team's 2025 Buddy Werner Award Recipient (denoting her outstanding sportsmanship and character). In her time off the slopes, Olivia has also earned her BA in Psychology at Columbia University, graduating Magna Cum Laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa Society Member (a distinction given to graduating students in the top 10 percent of the class, as well as on a basis of merit, character, and excellence beyond the classroom). Throughout the entirety of her time at Columbia, she successfully balanced a full course load with the strenuous everyday demands of training and competing on the World Cup Tour. She is now one year into completing her Master's in Social Work - also at Columbia University. Olivia’s interests lie at the intersection of investing in the welfare of future populations and conserving the outdoor spaces she loves to recreate in. Currently, she is a member of the Protect Our Winters Athlete Alliance, works as a Research Assistant at the University of Utah's HEART Lab, and volunteers at Read Ahead as a student mentor. In her free time, she adores skiing, mountain biking, camping, reading, doing yoga/pilates, cooking, baking, and spending time with friends.
Alma Baste
Alma Baste is the Public Lands Policy Associate for Stewardship Utah, advocating for 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.
Redge Johnson
Redge Johnson was appointed as a DNR Deputy Director in August 2022. (The Legislature changed the title to "Deputy Commissioner" May 6, 2026.) He also serves as the Director of the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Johnson brings extensive experience in public lands, natural resources, planning, policy, and leadership to the DNR team. Previously, Johnson was the director of strategic initiatives at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Prior to that, he served as the county liaison and natural resources planner for the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Johnson also worked at the Utah DNR and The Nature Conservancy as a land and water acquisitions specialist. A native of Utah, Johnson was born in Lost Creek, Utah and has lived all over the world, from metropolitan areas in Yokohama, Japan, Aix-en-Provence, France and Washington, D.C., to rural settings including Jean Lake, Nevada and Johns Valley, Utah. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in pre-law from Utah State University and a passion for Utah’s public lands and natural resources.
TJ Ellerbeck
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.
Ryan McGoldrick
Ryan McGoldrick is the Interim Executive Director for Conservation Voters for Idaho and has worked for CVI since 2019. As Program Director, Ryan served as CVI's lobbyist and oversaw the organization's public lands, clean energy, and voting rights programs.
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David Garbett
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.
Shelby Bazan
Born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, Shelby has a great passion for the city, land, and culture. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Mexico where she grew a fondness for ecology, stewardship, organismal biology, and environmental justice. Shelby came to New Mexico Wild in December 2024 as the Wyss Fellow Conservation Organizer where she aided in their public lands campaign and defense work and connecting communities to the land. Recently, they moved into the role of Outreach Manager, continuing their work with statewide public lands campaigns and managing statewide outreach efforts. In her spare time, you can find her crafting, biking, hiking/birding/herping, or attending live music.
Tara McKee
Tara is deeply committed to ensuring outdoor recreation is accessible to every Utahn. A passionate advocate for the physical and mental health benefits of getting outside, Tara champions initiatives that help families swap digital fatigue for "Vitamin N" (Nature). Crucially, she and her team spearheaded Utah’s Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) Adventure Challenge, a program designed to help children ages 3–17 leave their screens behind, reduce anxiety, and experience the grounding power of the outdoors. In her role as Deputy Director, Tara leads the division’s grants and youth engagement team, overseeing more than $50 million in funding for community recreation infrastructure, including trails and campgrounds on both local and federally managed public lands. Her involvement at the state level began with the 2012 writing of Utah’s Outdoor Recreation Vision and the 2013 establishment of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, which transitioned into the Division of Outdoor Recreation within the Department of Natural Resources in 2022. Over the years, she has played a key role in launching major initiatives, including the Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit, the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant program, the Utah Trails Forum, and the Mountain West Trails Conference. While Tara continues to support Utah’s outdoor product industry by helping companies navigate state or federal grant opportunities, her primary focus is fostering the next generation of outdoor stewards and helping to connect all communities to nature. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography with an emphasis in Travel and Tourism from Brigham Young University.
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Cory MacNulty
Cory MacNulty’s role as Campaign Director for the Southwest Region of National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is to serve as a lead strategist in protecting the scenic views, air and water quality, natural quiet, dark night skies and visitor experiences in the national parks of the Southwest Region with an emphasis on the thirteen national parks in Utah. She specializes in stakeholder collaboration, particularly with gateway community, state and regional leaders, to identify opportunities and creative solutions to threats facing our parks. Cory’s deep commitment to conservation and love of national parks has grown from many years of working with the National Park Service (NPS) as a park ranger at Isle Royale National Park, several years conducting wildlife research in multiple NPS units, and finally advocating for park protection for over 20 years – first in northern Minnesota for Voyageurs National Park Association then with NPCA in the Southwest. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota.
Jack Stauss
Jack Stauss grew up in rural Vermont and moved to Utah in 2008 for college, skiing, and the open space of the West. He has worked on conservation of the land and water of Utah and the Southwest since 2016. He spends seasons exploring the Wasatch Mountains on foot, bike and skis. He’s the executive director of Save Our Canyons, whose mission it is to protect the wildness and beauty of the range. He lives and works in Salt Lake City.
Mitch Dumke
Mitch Dumke is a co-founder of 3 Springs Land and Livestock, a regenerative ranch in Utah producing pasture-raised chicken and grass-finished beef. He is an Associate Educator with the Savory Institute and works with landowners to improve soil health and profitability through holistic management. His work increasingly connects agriculture, education, and agritourism in the Wasatch Back.
America Fitzpatrick
As the League of Conservation Voters’ Conservation Program Director, America Fitzpatrick directs LCV’s campaigns to advance legislative and administrative goals to protect our public lands and waters. Before joining LCV in 2023, America worked for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) as Senior Energy and Landscape Conservation Program Manager. Prior to NPCA, she worked in government affairs for The Wilderness Society protecting public lands and World Wildlife Fund on sustainable agriculture. America holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis. After a dozen years in Washington, DC and southwest Montana, America now lives with her husband, son, daughter, and their bird dog in upstate New York.
Aaron Bannon
A Wyoming native, Aaron has been driven throughout his career believing that wild spaces are worth conserving, both for the role they play in a healthy planet and the transformative power they hold for people. As Executive Director of the Wyoming Wilderness Association he has returned to his roots to lead the outfit he once volunteered for over 20 years ago. Originally formed in 1979 to bring together voices to pass the Wyoming Wilderness Act, WWA was formally incorporated in 2003 and has matured as an organization that promotes protection of wildlands and Wilderness on public lands across the state. WWA focuses on stewardship, education and advocacy to preserve these last, best wild places. Prior to his work at WWA Aaron spent five years as Executive Director of the America Outdoors Association, representing outfitters across the country, culminating in the passage of the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act, modernizing the commercial permitting process. He came into that role after 12 years at NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School, including five years as the Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Director. He played a key role in the broad coalition that brought about the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which preserved 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range from oil and gas development. Aaron came to NOLS after working in advocacy, communications and development for ForestEthics, the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Greenpeace USA. Aaron grew up camping, backpacking, skiing and biking in Wyoming's world class wilderness and sweeping open spaces. From his Lander home today, he prioritizes fostering a love of the outdoors in his two children.
Judi Brawer
Judi Brawer is a Wildlands Attorney for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) a non-profit conservation group dedicated to preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau. She spearheads SUWA’s Recreation Campaign which addresses the impacts of human-powered recreation on public lands. SUWA’s recreation report, Outdoor Recreation and Ecological Disturbance, A Review of Research and Implications for Management of the Colorado Plateau Province, synthesizes more than 60 years of published scientific research to identify the environmental impacts of non-motorized recreation on the Colorado Plateau and recommends specific management strategies to accommodate growing recreation demands while maintaining ecological integrity. This report is currently being updated with the latest science and data. Judi lives in Moab, Utah with her rescue dog, Callie, where she enjoys all the beauty, wilderness, and outdoor opportunities of southern Utah’s redrock country, including mountain biking, hiking, camping, and paddle boarding. She asks that, as recreationists, we recognize that each of us has an impact on the wildands and wildlife we love, and that we embrace their intrinsic value - that nature has value in and of itself, completely independent of its usefulness to humans.