CREC Staff

a product of beautiful Western Massachusetts. After obtaining a hard earned Associates degree in Liberal Arts in 2007 he made the fateful and spontaneous decision to relocate to Flagstaff and join CREC. After a year of amazing experiences, hard work, and “unique” people the decision to return was an easy one. He has since led crews for NACC and YCC, as well as The Southwest Conservation Corps Tucson and Durango. He soon came to the realization that he was a “lifer” and had the privilege to join the staff in 2012. He enjoys Bikram Yoga, dogs, watching his beloved New England Patriots, reading, and the community here in Flagstaff.

The Arizona OHV Ambassador Program is group of volunteers that enjoy responsible off road motorized travel. The program will monitor and maintain motorized areas, roads, trails and facilities; provide a recognizable presence on public lands; model appropriate riding behavior; and provide educational and informative materials. Robert joined CREC after serving as an Engineer for twenty-six years for the City of Mesa Fire Department. A lifelong resident of Arizona, Robert enjoys riding motorcycles, mountain biking, waterskiing. He also enjoys time with his family, including wife Dorinda, children Jennifer, Marcy, Michael and Blaine and grandchildren Owen and Zachery. To learn more about Arizona State Parks Off-Highway Vehicle Ambassador Program, please visit www.azstateparks.com/OHV/ambassadors.

Monique was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She loved being out doors as a kid and traveled a lot as well. She took a break from school and started working in Downtown Los Angeles and after many years decided she needed a change in pace and moved with her family to Williams, AZ in 2002 where she had vacationed every summer to visit family. While in Williams, she worked for the school district and coordinated an After School program. Soon after she started working for the County Emergency Services and learned about the CREC program. She loved meeting all the great CREC'ers coming through, and in 2007 she decided to join the CREC staff. She still continues to volunteer in the community and for the schools here in Flagstaff. She took another big step recently and decided to go back to school to further her education in “she will let you know as soon as she decides."

Russell grew up in the burgeoning metropolis of Phoenix, AZ. In search of a cozier and less sweltering place to live, he moved up to Flagstaff in 2003 to get his degree in History Education from NAU, and spent his summers as a camp counselor in nearby Prescott. After finishing up with school, he decided to put the ideas and knowledge he had gained from his education and camp experience to practice by taking a job with CREC in September of 2008. Between the stunning locations, rewarding work, appalling caloric intake, and lifelong friendships here at CREC, he would have a hard time doing anything else. When he's not out saving the world, one trail at a time, he likes to eat Mexican food, hike, canoe, play sloppy blues riffs on his guitar, root around in the garden, ride his bicycle, play astonishingly nerdy games, and most of all, sit out on the front porch with good friends and a grill full of brats.

Megan was born and raised in northeast Ohio and never misses an opportunity to show her Ohio pride. Megan attended the University of Akron, and received her B.S. in e-Marketing and Advertising with a minor in Media Productions and immediately jumped into the workforce as an Account Manager at an elite Interactive Agency in Cleveland, Ohio. It didn't take her long to grow restless in the cubicle world, and she soon found herself in Flagstaff working as a corps member for CREC and later joining the staff. When not working, Megan enjoys kicking the soccer ball around, cheering on the Cleveland Browns and singing her favorite Celine Dion songs as loud as possible.

When he wasn’t running around climbing trees and playing with trucks in the back yard, Ryan was generally found in the kitchen “helping” to make cookies with his parents. Ryan’s connection to the land started early; his grandfather, an Iowa dairy and timber farmer is who he has to thank for his initial interest in land ethics and conservation work. He fondly remembers walking down the long gravel road with his small hand enveloped in his grandfather’s leathery warm hand listening to stories of life on the farm in the 1920s and ‘30s. Throughout his upbringing and high school experience he continued to develop his “sense of place” within the natural environment. During his college years he developed on his idea of conservation through his studies at Earlham College where he spent his time learning about International Human Rights as well as Outdoor Education. During an off campus program Ryan fell in love with the Southwest, and from that day forth knew he would end up there somehow. Ryan started with CREC in January 2009 and held various leadership positions as he worked his way up the ladder. At work Ryan enjoys numerous opportunities to think outside the box and engage with the land in a way which has lasting and tangible impacts, he hopes that his grandchildren will some day walk the trails he has worked on. When not out working with crews, he enjoys rock climbing as well as improving his horsemanship skills.

Alan is fond of saying that he is "kinda' from all over". After stints in MD, VA, MI, and CA, he attended Pomona College, earning a B.S. in Geology with minor concentrations in Ecology and Anthropology. He spent time in ID, CO, MN, NM and VT (plus a few others) before coming to Flagstaff in 1997 to pursue a Master's degree in Forestry from NAU. He has now lived here longer than anywhere else, and considers Northern Arizona his home. Alan's career has been bipolar, flipping between outdoor education and natural resource management. He has led over 100 wilderness trips for Boy Scout high adventure bases in MN and NM, and a wilderness therapy program here in Northern Arizona. He has also worked on a wilderness trail crew, led an integrated pest management crew, and worked for four seasons in fire management. Before coming to CREC, he managed the equipment vehicles and facilities for the NAU School of Forestry. When not at work, Alan pursues his interests in primitive survival skills, Taoist practice (Qi gong, meditation, herbalism), playing music on the banjo and Native American flute, reading copious amounts of science fiction (as well as any other good book he can get his hands on), and spending time in the company of trees and other friends.

Allison has been part of the CREC family since 2006 and has worked with service and conservation corps programs since 2003. Ali was born and raised in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. After earning a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC, Ali moved across the country to Durango, CO and became a Crew Leader with Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC). Ali has served in several capacities with conservation corps programs over the years including a Corps Member on the Leadership Development Program crew with Northwest Youth Corps (NYC), a crew leader, VISTA, and Program Coordinator with SCC, and as a supervisor with American Conservation Experience (ACE). Today Ali serves as the Sr. Projects and Partnerships Coordinator where Ali is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Northern Arizona Conservation Corps program. Outside of work, Ali enjoys spending time with her wife Jamie, gardening, playing soccer, cross country skiing, and traveling.

Olivia grew up in the small farm town of Flora, Illinois but knew from an early age that she would need mountains and snow to be happy. She moved out West to in 2004 to study geography and snow at NAU and fell in love with Flagstaff and the surrounding terrain. Olivia returned to CREC in 2007 after a short summer term on a saw crew in 2005 and since enjoyed learning the ins and outs of chainsaws, crosscuts, trail tools, and working with crews before and after spikes. When Olivia is not covered in grease she enjoys reading, cooking, and traveling to new destinations in hopes of one day setting foot on all seven continents.

Miquelle started life in southern California, splitting her time between the ocean and her horses. After attending several colleges in California, she finished her degree at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. While serving as a VISTA volunteer on the Navajo Reservation Miquelle fell in love the Southwest, its endless blue sky, and all the varied landscapes it has to offer, and knew that it would be her home. It was in Flagstaff that she fell in love, raised her family, and has happily lived and worked for the last 35 years. While Miquelle’s background is in Social and Human Services, her love is youth development, where she has spent most of her professional career developing programs and hoping to make a difference for young persons looking for an opportunity to discover the things that they were meant to do, and to explore this wonderful Southwest that she calls home. When CREC was looking for a home in 1999, Miquelle brought it into the Community Services family of programs, and the development of CREC has been one of the things of which she is most proud.

Judy Tincher, CREC's Youth Conservation Corps Specialist, hails from a few places but considers North Carolina to be home. After studying Education at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Judy made the move west to work for CREC in 2008. She has served in many roles from Corpsmember to Assistant Crew Leader to Crew Supervisor. She has seen the world and spread her wings since her early years at CREC, serving one season with the United States Forest Service and another season in Germany as a ski instructor. She brings a wide range of honed hard and soft skills to CREC including an infectious positive attitude. An avid biker, outdoor enthusiasts and pop music aficionado, Judy can often be found riding the trails singing her favorite Lady Gaga ballads, but don’t let that pop music devotion fool you, she’s got her tough side too and if you don’t see her on the trails keep an eye out for the woman on roller skates, Judy, is also a member of the Flagstaff Roller Derby League.