The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is proud to welcome the 2026 Class of the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), while also celebrating the 2025 ELP graduates. This year-long program is designed to grow the next generation of conservation leadership while building networks of support and local impact.
2026 Class of the SWCS Emerging Leaders Program
SWCS is thrilled to announce the 2026 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program! This class will begin their learning journey in September and the program will culminate at the 81st SWCS International Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, this summer.
Throughout the year, participants will engage in interactive learning modules to gain professional skills like communication, time management, event planning, and building community. They will network with and receive guidance from peers and leaders across disciplines to develop their leadership style, build confidence in their roles, and advance conservation in their communities.
2026 Class of Emerging Leaders
Alisha Adams, CA
Grace Adams, IN
Kaushik Adhikari, TX
Benjamin Aerts, WI
Nawab Ali, MI
Joel Alicea Hernandez, PA
Justine Anderson, OK
Ayomide Animasaun, Nigeria
Collin Ankton, MO
Cassandra (Casey) Arthur, IN
Jordan Atmore, CA
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh, KY
Alexis Barnes, IL
Alyssa Barroso, CT
Logan Baum, MO
Sarah Beckerman, IN
Nicole Bell, MA
Alexia Bertholon, VA
Prajwal Bhosale, CA
Roberta Bianchin Rebesquini, IA
Jacob Black, NJ
Gabrielle Bolwerk, MN
Hannah Booms, MI
Katie Bowden, IA
Ben Brooks, CO
Allie Brown, MO
Joshua Brown , KS
Lauren Brown, MO
Megan Brown, MO
Joseph Burke, TX
Ashley Burson, MO
Sophie Byde, UT
Christin Byrd, MO
Amanda Camacho , NJ
Morgan Cauble, IL
Jose Cesario Pinto, IA
Gillian Chesnut, IL
Arjun Chhetri, TN
Alysse Cleasby, NH
Molly Clemons, CA
Mara Cloutier, SC
Tammy Cody, MO
Zoë Colatarci, KS
Ariel Coleman, VA
Alyssa Comer, IA
Chelsea Cook, MO
Adrian Coppage, WI
Karen Cossi Kawakami, ND
Krista Council, IA
Katrina Danzinger, AK
Crystal Denney, AK
Babak Dialameh, OH
Colleen Dickey, WI
Kaitlyn Dozler , NE
Marina Duarte de Val, NE
Karleigh Duffield, MI
Teagan Duffy, WI
Gregory Eckley, IA
Daniel Egerson, MS
Adesuwa Erhunmwunse, ID
Michael Ewing, MI
Antoine Favors , NC
Paige Fehr, Canada
Olivia Feldmann, IA
Kayla Fenning, NJ
Elizabeth Feth, MO
John Fisher, OH
Cole Flatt, IN
Laura Floyd , IN
Kade Flynn, MN
Robert Fowler, MN
Izzy Franks, MI
Nat Gaffney, CA
Elizabeth Garcia, CA
Sarah Gentry, MO
Valerie Gibertini, IA
Amare Gojjam, Ethiopia
Felicity Guttmann, MO
Claire Hambrick, CA
Ellen Harrell, MS
Christopher Hart, AZ
Amanda Harvey, WI
Christopher Harvey, SC
Sydney Hassfurther, IN
Eleanor Haworth, TX
Alexandria Hecht, MO
Veronica Helming, IN
Ethan Hershberger, IN
Claire Hetzel, WI
Eric Hogan, MO
Torri Holder, MO
Betsyjo Howe, WI
Brody Huff, MO
Emma Hunter, IL
Chisara Iwuchukwu, IN
Julia Jenikejew, SC
Matthew Jenkins, MO
Shelby Jenkins, MO
Hailey Jessup, SC
Frank Johnson, MS
Gabriel Johnson, IA
Brynn Jones, IA
De'Nonna Jones, MO
Divya Kandanool, MO
Elizabeth Kelley, MI
Ahmad Khan, Pakistan
Weston King, KS
Kyle Knehans, MO
Madelyn Kunzler, UT
Samuel Kwakye, FL
Annalise Lallana, MO
Larissa Lapak, MI
Samantha Laswell, IA
Alyson Levig, MN
Abigail Levin, IL
Ciara Llave, IL
Saul Lopez Molina, Venezuela
Michaela Lubbers, GA
Erica Lujan, AK
Nicholas Lund, NJ
Rachel MacDowell, CA
Swarnali Mahmood, FL
Engr Muhammad Danish Majeed, Pakistan
Cassidy Marquis, MD
Camila Martinez Sanchez, PA
Tim McNAir, NC
Kamira McNeal, MI
Devyn McPheeters, PA
Lakota Mcroberts, AK
Hannah Meert, MO
Sushant Mehan, SD
Brianna Miles, NC
McKinley Morris, PA
Rose Mumbi, MN
Adriana Murguia, CA
McKenna Nally, IN
Ravi Neelipally, TN
Ashley Neill, MO
Abigale Nicholson, WI
Floyid Nicolas, OR
Brenda Norris, IN
Emilee Novak, ND
Spencer Ostergaard, CA
Dana Pendley, KY
Matthew Pereira, NJ
Lara Periard, NJ
Emily Perrott, IA
Christopher Pinkos , IN
Carlos Pires, ND
Kirthana Pisipati, CA
Alice Prates Bisso Dambroz, Brazil
Frances Preston, KY
Nadia Racz, IN
Brett Ramer, PA
Kel Richards, VT
Maiya Rizzo, IN
Logan Root, MO
Bailey Russell, IN
Maryam Sahraei, SD
Gwen Saliares, WI
Hayden Sater, IN
Camille Sczerbowicz, IN
Katrina Seaman , TN
Emily Sekelsky, MI
Jaleel Shujath, DC
McKenzie Slack, WI
Christian Spinler, MO
Emily Stambaugh, PA
Shelly Stewart, IA
Tina Sullivan, KS
Anna Swearengen, MO
Pamela Taylor, MO
Hannah Thompson, AK
Charles Thorpe, AZ
Serene Tomaszewski, WI
Amanda Trakas, IN
Mariah Underwood, IN
Casey Venable, IN
Ian Virtue, Canada
Lisandra Vitorino, CA
Abigail Wadzinski, WI
Kaela Walton-Sather, TN
Michelle Weaver, KY
Sophie Westbrook, KS
Wyatt Westfall, IA
Madeline Wilson, CO
Sarah Wilson, MN
Taylor Wilson, IN
Cassidy Winn, CO
Maggie Woods, OK
William Yoder, IN
Kendra Young, UT
Matt Young, CA
Tyler Young, NC
Hongxu Zhou, IL
Celebrating the 2025 Graduates
The 2025 Emerging Leaders Program graduates demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing conservation in their communities. Among the graduates, 100 earned their Certified Conservation Event Planner credentials by hosting a total of 109 events and activities across 39 states, regions, and territories. These events collectively drew nearly 7,000 attendees and involved partnerships with 283 organizations, significantly amplifying the reach and impact of their conservation efforts.
From here, they join the 2024 cohort of Emerging Leaders to make up the ELP Alumni Network. These alumni are already volunteering with the Society and its chapters—meaningfully contributing back to the organization. They are also providing valuable time and feedback for program enhancements, which help shape and improve the experience for future participants.
"We continue to be amazed by the passion and talent of the next generation of conservation professionals," said SWCS CEO Clare Lindahl. "Through their involvement in the Emerging Leader Program and their work in their communities and with farmers they are leaving this world a better place."
Thank you and congratulations to these leaders! SWCS looks forward to continuing to support them and their conservation careers. Read more about the 2025 Emerging Leaders Program in the 2025 Post-Program Report.
2025 Graduates of the Emerging Leaders Program
Sky Adams, MI
Paige Allen, ON
Beverly Alvarez Torres, ND
Lindsey Anderson, MO
Katherine Angelopoulos, NJ
Samuel Bamidele, TX
Sougata Bardhan , TN
Ashley Barry, IL
Laura Bates, NC
Zach Bates, MI
Joshua Becker, WI
Chelsie Bobbitt, NC
Emma Bodnarick, IN
Mallory Bowman, KY
Amanda Bunn, PA
Brendan Campbell, KY
Erica Carnes, IA
Jazmond Carter, GA
Kate Chamberlin, MI
Jemila Chellappa , ID
Zahoor Mujdded Choudary, Pakistan
Riley Christensen, IA
Alexandra Clark, KS
Emma Colburn, OR
Michelle Conner, GA
Caro Cordova, NE
Danielle Cottrell, KY
Keegan Cougill, IN
Floreal Crubaugh, MS
Arlene Culpepper, LA
Kasey Cummings, NJ
Juwonlo Dahunsi, MB
Jamie Davenport, IN
Catherine de la Pena, CA
Willow Dean, MN
Diego Della Lunga, AR
Nicholas Detter, KS
Carolina Diaz Garcia, IL
Callie Dickman, KY
Sarah Dixon, LA
Drew Donahue, OR
Mary Dossett, KY
Gerson Drescher, AR
Cassandra Druhl, IA
Stefani Duarte , FL
Murad Ellafi, MN
Bronc Finch, AR
Allisen Freihage, IA
Hanna Garriott, IN
Marlee Giacometti, IL
Kandrea Green, MS
Ashley Grubb, NC
Trevor Grubb, AR
Papa Gueye, NC
Susannah Harris, OK
Myranda Hentges, KY
Kelly Herfendal, MN
Sarah Higgins, MO
Autumn Hill, AL
Erica Hinz, IL
Arin Hornung, NC
Allison Howell, AR
Isabel Isabel Rojas, OR
Neetha Iyer, CA
Jateya Jackson, OK
Michael James, IA
Samantha James, NC
Umar Javed, TX
Arjun Kafle, TX
Johnathan Kelly, HI
Rose Keyathe, DC
Lall Khan, Pakistan
Olivia Killey, MI
Whitney King, VA
Amanda Kirby, NC
Rowan Kuechenmeister, IA
Julie Lakatos, ID
Noah Lane, KY
Ashley Laveriano, MA
Rachel Lechuga, NA
Amanda Linville, IL
Esther Lofton, CA
Davonne Long, IL
Jacob Luken, IN
Katie McGrath Novak, CO
Damianna McKenzie, LA
David McNeer, OR
Shannon Moeller, IA
Teresa (Teri) Nehls, GA
Abby O'Bryant, HI
Felix Ogunmokun, TN
Christianah Oladoye, IA
Ekrem Ozlu, NC
Emm Poellet, MI
Terra Polite, LA
Mason Quiram, KY
Sarah Ramirez, HI
Sheyla Ravelo Perez, Fl
Zane Redman, GA
Sarah Reilly, IN
Elise Rose, WY
Kathryn Cydne Schulte, NM
Elizabeth Schwab, IA
Thomas Shea, NC
Heather Silvanik, KY
Shannon Speir, AR
Zackery Spiekerman, MI
Ricardo St Aime, SC
Tyler Stotland, DC
Phelan Stover, NY
Taylor Stubblefield, CA
Haleigh Summers, IA
Etienne Sutton, MI
Christine Svidal, KY
Maxwell Swiatowy, MI
Bailey Tangen, MN
Oleksandra Tryboi, VA
Mary Vandenbosch, NY
Camille Verendia, IN
Emmanuel Wallace, NC
Jacari Washington, LA
Brooke Webb, IA
Alexandria Wilcher, MS
Abbie Williams, IA
Trevor Winston, IN
Minna Wong, TX
Halimah Wynn, NC
Chris Yohannan, CA
For More Information:
For more information on the SWCS Emerging Leaders Program, visit www.swcs.org/ELP. Contact renee.bouldin@swcs.org with any questions or to learn how to support leaders in your region.