Demis Foster, Executive Director

A veteran conservationist, Demis Foster has more than two decades of experience as a grassroots organizer, environmental advocate and consultant. Demis grew up on a four-generation family ranch in southern Idaho. She spent her childhood exploring the high desert by horseback where she developed a lifelong love for wildlife and nature. In the shrub steppe desert that unfolds next to the Boise National Forest, she nurtured a deep appreciation for the land and water that sustained all the families in her rural farming community.
 
An avid outdoor adventurer, Demis moved to New Mexico in 2010 to explore some of the last wild and remote public lands remaining in the West. She was drawn not only to the unique natural landscape, but also to the culturally rich communities of people that have been rooted to these lands for generations. A passionate advocate for protecting her high desert home, Demis has worked hard to ensure protection for places such as Chaco Canyon and our newly designated Rio Grande del Norte National Monument near Taos.

While earning a bachelor of arts in English and creative writing from Boise State University, she worked for the Wolf Recovery Foundation—the first organization in Idaho dedicated to the restoration of wolves in the Rockies. After graduating with honors, she moved to the Pacific Northwest where she spent the next 18 years working on environmental issues while exploring the backcountry of the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In 2004, Demis was awarded the National Leadership Award for outstanding leadership in protecting public lands for her work as the Director of the Ancient Forest Roadshow—a year-long outreach tour with two teams traveling across the nation with a 1,000-lb. crosscut section from an old-growth Douglas Fir tree.

Leanne Leith, Program Director

Leanne has worked in a variety of advocacy roles in different issue areas, but has dedicated most of her professional work to environmental advocacy.  Most recently, she served as the Environmental Program Advocate for New Mexico Public Interest Research Group (NMPIRG), where she led successful issue campaigns on water conservation and transfers of development rights for preservation of open space.  She has also worked collaboratively with other constituencies on issue campaigns for regulation of domestic wells, protection and restoration of the Rio Grande, and planned growth in Albuquerque.  Prior to coming to New Mexico in 2002, Leanne established a diverse coalition in support of watershed restoration efforts in a large urban/rural fringe community outside of Vancouver, British Columbia.  She also developed a successful pilot project for a municipal wildlife habitat strategy for urban/rural areas, working with federal and provincial government agencies, local governments, First Nations, and grassroots and community-based groups and individuals.  She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations, before pursuing graduate studies in Forestry and Conservation Biology at the University of Toronto.

Thomas Lawley, Business Administrator

Thomas is our Business Administrator. Previously, he was the Executive Director of the Carbondale (CO) Council on Arts & Humanities (CCAH), as well as being the Director of the Carbondale Mountain Fair, a 3-day extravaganza of arts/crafts/music & international food. During his tenure of 17 years CCAH received the prestigious Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Carbondale Mountain Fair was selected as one of the top 200 Arts & Crafts Fairs in the U.S. Thomas has actively confronted and defeated proposals to build huge power lines and an enormous coal-fired power plant in Colorado. He also successfully worked to rein in the local electric cooperative’s plans to expand unneeded facilities in Delta County, CO.

Molly Brook, Program Manager

Molly Brook is our Program Manager. Previously, she was the Global Warming Program Associate for Environment New Mexico, where she worked to mobilize public and grasstops support for clean and renewable energy in New Mexico. During her time there, she also worked with local groups on urban sprawl issues, and directed a canvassing operation during the 2008 Presidential Election. Prior to coming to New Mexico in 2008, Molly received her Bachelors degree from the University of Minnesota in Geography with a concentration in Environmental Systems, and Sustainability. During her undergraduate studies, she also collaborated with several professors, organizations, and the City of Minneapolis conducting research on the public's attitudes and perceptions of environmental action to help shape the city's growing sustainability program. In her spare time, Molly enjoys camping, hiking and skiing.

Liliana Castillo, Communications and Outreach Manager

Liliana’s career has centered on giving a voice to the voiceless, creating accountability and a world centered on truth. She has done so through journalism and working for non-profit organizations that help others. Liliana earned her B.A. at the University of North Texas in photojournalism with a minor in social sciences. Born in Montana, Liliana was raised with respect and love for nature, specifically the mountains. She is on a continuous quest to capture and preserve the natural beauty of the world in photographs and words. She is elated to be able to help protect the environment through her work at CVNM. ‘Go to Nature in all singleness of heart, rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing.’ – John Ruskin

Board of Directors

Jon Goldstein, President

Jon is Senior Energy Policy Manager with the Environmental Defense Fund where he helps lead EDF’s state-level oil and gas regulatory efforts in the mountain west. Jon was previously appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as Cabinet Secretary of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department on January 1, 2010, and he was unanimously confirmed by the State Senate as New Mexico's sixth EMNRD Secretary on February 13, 2010. As Cabinet Secretary, Jon oversaw the State Parks Division, the State Forestry Division, the Oil Conservation Division, the Mining and Minerals Division, and the Energy Conservation and Management Division. He also served on the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, Finance Authority and Water Trust Board.

Jon previously served as Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department where he was elected chair of the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission and Mining Commission. He was also appointed by Governor Richardson as New Mexico's state liaison with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jon received a Masters in Public Policy from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs where he was honored with the MPP Award for academic achievement and commitment to public service. He is also a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Trinity College with honors in history.

Michael B. Casaus, Vice-President & Treasurer

A native of Silver City, New Mexico, Michael has been an environmental advocate, community organizer and scientific researcher for over two decades. He studied Biology and Anthropology at New Mexico State University and Cornell University, where his graduate research in Mexico and Venezuela investigated the current state of traditional botanical and medical knowledge in a globalized world. While at Cornell, Michael was a Gates Foundation Millennium Scholar, served on the Graduate School Minority Council and was President of the Latino/a Graduate Student Coalition. He has received numerous awards including the prestigious Anne Chatham Fellowship in Medicinal Botany. He has a strong commitment to public service and currently serves as Co-chair of the Recuerda a César Chávez Committee and Board member of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and Conservation Voters New Mexico. Michael has held key positions on several political campaigns and is the former Senior Field Organizing Manager with the Sierra Club. Michael is currently the New Mexico State Director for The Wilderness Society and resides in Albuquerque. On his spare time, he enjoys camping, backpacking, fishing and playing soccer.

Bernard Ewell, Director

Bernard Ewell is a lifelong naturalist and committed environmentalist who served in leadership roles in Colorado for many years. As the President of the Colorado Open Space Council (later Colorado Environmental Council) he lead (with the help of a great many people) many campaigns which transferred 4.5 million acres into the US Wilderness System; expanded the organization, staff and budget several times over; forged links with ranchers and farmers; passed water legislation and opposed oil shale development; fought James Watt; made the organization truly state-wide and supported a superb staff.

As President and Board Member of The Nature Conservancy Colorado Chapter, he played a key role in purchasing the 13,000 Mueller Ranch and developing it into a State Park with a complete environmental inventory and restrictive plan. He owns the private Westerness Wildlife Preserve on the west side of Pikes Peak and has a daughter who is the (PhD) Wildlife Ecologist for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks.

For over forty years Bernard has been an Accredited Senior Appraiser of fine art with an international practice and a reputation as the international expert on the art of Salvador Dalí. He is a widely-recognized art detective who specializes in finding fakes and forgeries and testifying in federal court. He is a published author and public speaker known as the ARTPRO-ON-THE-GO. He lives within Pecos National Historic Park Cañoncito Unit with his wife Melinda and a tribe of cats and dogs.

Javier Benavidez, Director

Javier Benavidez serves as Communications Director for the Center for Civic Policy, a non-profit organization dedicated to innovation in the civic engagement sector and connecting underrepresented communities to the public policy processes that leverage change. Previously he served as Outreach Director for Conservation Voters New Mexico and also as Speechwriter and Communications Liaison to then U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich (NM-01). Aside from work, Javier has hosted various radio shows dedicated to public affairs and has held leadership positions on the boards of various community organizations, including the SouthWest Organizing Project, the Sawmill Community Land Trust, the Southeast Team for Entrepreneurial Success, 1000 Friends of New Mexico, and the Barelas Community Coalition. Javier and his wife Ann Marie live with their three young children in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Santa Clara University and dual master’s degrees in Public Administration and Community Regional Planning at the University of New Mexico.