Shared Leadership
Here at Rocky Mountain Wild, we have long known that solving conservation problems involves being in right relationship with the land, species, and communities in our region. As such, our research, community science projects, and legal actions operate from a place of ecological justice—a view that recognizes that 1. everything is interrelated, 2. alone, we don’t know everything; together we know a lot, 3. social justice is part of and interconnected with environmental work, and 4. wild lands and wildlife are entitled to what they need to survive and thrive.
Ecological justice must involve a cooperative process that is interconnected and comprehensive in order to be effective. While we understood this to be true when it came to our conservation work, we now understand it is true for our organizational structure as well. To better achieve ecological justice internally, Rocky Mountain Wild has transformed from a hierarchical model to a shared leadership model.
What does this look like? Our staff are all members of a Leadership Team. Together, we will fulfill the executive functions based on our individual strengths. Learn more about our Leadership Team members:
Alison Gallensky (she/her), Conservation Geographer, Leadership Team
Alison Gallensky is our Principal Conservation Geographer. What this means is that she has found a way to play with computers and maps all day while saving the planet. At an early age, she was handed the map and given the responsibility of navigating when her family went on camping vacations. Visiting places ranging from the isolated highland bogs of far eastern Canada, the peaceful forests of Virginia, and the magnificent Canadian Rockies cemented her love for wild places. After taking a detour into the joys of computer programming, including trying to apply principles of artificial intelligence to telephone network design, Alison discovered that it is really fun to make maps on computers. She is now passionate about using her map-making and geographic analysis skills to help protect fantastic wild places in the Rocky Mountains.
alison@rockymountainwild.org
303-619-0509
Chris Talbot (they/them), Communications Director, Leadership Team
Chris has a BFA in Fine Art with a 2-D emphasis, a certificate in DEI in the Workplace, and twenty-three years of experience working and volunteering with environmental and LGBTIQA2+ nonprofits in various capacities. They are the membership co-chair of Next 100 Colorado — a BIPOC-led coalition of civil rights, environmental justice, conservation, and community-based organizations and individuals working towards outdoor equity in Colorado.
Chris spends their free time editing and designing art and literature compzines, editing Community-Centric Fundraising’s Content Hub, writing and illustrating educomics and a graphic novel about nonbinary identity, writing a nonfiction book about white supremacy embedded in the nonprofit industrial complex, quad skating the Cherry Creek Trail, spoiling their cat, Kusama, and executing ridiculous creative projects.
chris@rockymountainwild.org
720-577-5575
Matt Sandler (he/him), Legal Director, Leadership Team
Matt was born and raised in upstate New York. After graduating from Syracuse in 2000, Matt moved to the mountains of Colorado. After a few years of studying gravity (skiing, rock climbing, and waiting tables) he decided to go to law school to learn how to fight for the places and values he had grown to love. After graduating from the University of Denver School of Law, Matt clerked for a state District Court Judge and then spent a few years working as a Colorado State Public Defender. He was then ready to pursue his dream of fighting for the environment and in 2010 began working as the Staff Attorney for Rocky Mountain Wild. Matt enjoys skiing, rock climbing, cooking, spending time with family, and since he’s had kids: sleeping.
matt@rockymountainwild.org
303-579-5162
Megan Mueller (she/her), Conservation Biologist, Leadership Team
Megan grew up in the small 200-person town of Phippsburg, Colorado. You might be under the impression that there isn’t much to do in such a small town, but Phippsburg is surrounded by wild country just waiting to be explored. Megan’s parents took her and her siblings backpacking and backcountry skiing before they could even walk, giving her a lasting love of wildlife and the outdoors. Whenever she gets a chance, she heads off with her husband and two dogs to wander in wild places, ideally where there is a chance of seeing carnivores. She is particularly fascinated by wolverines, river otters and other members of the mustelid family. She counts seeing a wolverine and six grizzlies while backpacking on her honeymoon in Alaska’s Denali National Park as one of her favorite experiences. Megan focuses on finding innovative, science-based solutions to the conservation challenges that face wildlife in the region. She enjoys working collaboratively to tackle tough problems and giving people an opportunity to contribute to wildlife research and conservation efforts through RMW’s community science programs.
megan@rockymountainwild.org
303-704-9760 (Mon-Thurs)
Paige Singer (she/her), Conservation Ecologist, Leadership Team
Born and raised on the western slope of Colorado, Paige spent her childhood acquiring a lasting love of Colorado’s wildlife and wild places. She left northwest Colorado to pursue a BA in Psychology in California and an MS in Environmental Studies in Montana, only to return to Colorado. Today, as our Conservation Biologist and GIS specialist, Paige specializes in maintaining and restoring wildlife corridors throughout our region. She has spent countless hours alongside some of Colorado’s busiest roads, clambering through culverts and under bridges, investigating potential safe crossing opportunities for wildlife, advocating for new crossing locations, and monitoring the wildlife that could potentially use them. She, like her co-worker Megan, has a particular fondness for carnivores, including Canada lynx, wolverines and other spirited members of the mustelid family.
paige@rockymountainwild.org
303-454-3340 (Mon-Thurs)
Robbin Meneses (él/he/him), Fundraising Director, Leadership Team
Robbin worked as an engaged philanthropy officer at The Denver Foundation, leveraging communities and individuals to invest in high-need areas while creating learning opportunities promoting racial equity. He has spent years fundraising and community organizing for various nonprofits across the globe focused on health, education, immigration, and the environment. Robbin draws on his passion and experience with social equity work to help individuals, businesses, and nonprofits realize their full impact as changemakers and effective altruists through a multifaceted community empowerement approach.
He holds an Executive Master of Public Administration degree with a focus in Nonprofit Management from Florida International University. Outside of work, Robbin works with other Latino leaders across Denver through Latino Outdoors and by providing collective grant opportunities through the giving circle, Latinos Impacting Our Future Together.
robbin@rockymountainwild.org
305-301-4913
Samir Sirk Morató (they/he),
Colorado Bat Watch Intern
Samir is an artist, scientist, Zoology major, and jack of all trades. They’ve worked at various nonprofit organizations around the Denver area—including Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Denver Botanic Gardens, Dinosaur Ridge, and the Denver Art Museum—and done a variety of field work with birds, infauna, plants, and small mammals. Samir is focused on community-building in conservation. They’re also passionate about environmental justice, combining art and science, and public outreach. Whenever Samir isn’t collaging or birdwatching, they’re tending to their cacti.
samir@rockymountainwild.org
334-796-5459
Consultants and Contractors
Rocky Mountain Wild staff recognizes that we can’t do this work on our own. Our talented and dedicated community is what makes our work possible and successful. We’d like to recognize the following consultants and contractors for their work and ongoing support:
Beka Whitson, Whitson Strategies
Crystal Egli, Crystal Egli Consulting
Sofia Corley