Who We Are
Kristen Redd, Program administrator
Kristen Redd is the Program Manager at the Canyonlands Research Center and provides essential administrative support to the NATURE Program. She considers herself fortunate to live at the Dugout Ranch and works closely with her husband Matt Redd, Program Director for the CRC, to run the cattle operation. At the CRC, Kristen can be found doing anything from herding cattle on a horse, presenting to groups, driving backcountry roads through the ranch, organizing events, and caretaking the CRC and Dugout. Kristen has spent her career working with people as a counselor, advocate, and mentor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University.
Kristen Redd is the Program Manager at the Canyonlands Research Center and provides essential administrative support to the NATURE Program. She considers herself fortunate to live at the Dugout Ranch and works closely with her husband Matt Redd, Program Director for the CRC, to run the cattle operation. At the CRC, Kristen can be found doing anything from herding cattle on a horse, presenting to groups, driving backcountry roads through the ranch, organizing events, and caretaking the CRC and Dugout. Kristen has spent her career working with people as a counselor, advocate, and mentor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University.
Alix Pfennigwerth, Program coordinator & instructor
As the NATURE program instructor, Alix develops the program curriculum, serves as a mentor on student capstone projects, and coordinates program activities, guest speakers and other logistics. She has a decade of experience working in science engagement, conservation and research, including with the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Science Moab. She has been working to conserve, learn from, and connect others with the amazing landscapes of the Colorado Plateau since 2017. She enjoys coordinating hands-on and immersive learning opportunities with the NATURE Program and learning new perspectives and knowledge from students and partners. Alix holds a master's degree in Ecology from the University of Tennessee and currently lives in Moab, Utah with her husband and rescue pup.
As the NATURE program instructor, Alix develops the program curriculum, serves as a mentor on student capstone projects, and coordinates program activities, guest speakers and other logistics. She has a decade of experience working in science engagement, conservation and research, including with the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Science Moab. She has been working to conserve, learn from, and connect others with the amazing landscapes of the Colorado Plateau since 2017. She enjoys coordinating hands-on and immersive learning opportunities with the NATURE Program and learning new perspectives and knowledge from students and partners. Alix holds a master's degree in Ecology from the University of Tennessee and currently lives in Moab, Utah with her husband and rescue pup.
Danielle Smiley, Student coordinator
Dani Smiley was a NATURE intern in 2021 and returned to the program in 2022 to work on the team! As student coordinator, she serves as a mentor to our interns and handles various day-to-day logistics to keep the program running smoothly. Dani is pursuing the nursing program at Utah State University-Blanding and hopes to get a Bachelors of Nursing and a Bachelors of Science in Health Education and Promotions with a Community Emphasis. She has lived on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County, Utah, most of her life.
Dani Smiley was a NATURE intern in 2021 and returned to the program in 2022 to work on the team! As student coordinator, she serves as a mentor to our interns and handles various day-to-day logistics to keep the program running smoothly. Dani is pursuing the nursing program at Utah State University-Blanding and hopes to get a Bachelors of Nursing and a Bachelors of Science in Health Education and Promotions with a Community Emphasis. She has lived on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County, Utah, most of her life.
Nichole Barger, Program founder and director, 2021-2022
Dr. Nichole Barger, Lead Global Scientist for the Nature Conservancy and professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, helped found the NATURE Program in 2021. As an ecologist, Nichole's work supports sustainable land management and restoration of a broad variety of ecosystems globally. Barger partners with diverse governmental entities in the U.S. on land degradation and restoration issues (i.e., ecological risks of fire mitigation treatments, historical drivers and biogeochemical responses to woody plant encroachment, forest decline and regeneration, restoration of degraded dryland ecosystems and soils). She also has extensive research experience working on conservation and management issues in dryland ecosystems across the globe. She has worked with international research teams in Inner Mongolia, Venezuela, South Africa, and Namibia.
Dr. Nichole Barger, Lead Global Scientist for the Nature Conservancy and professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, helped found the NATURE Program in 2021. As an ecologist, Nichole's work supports sustainable land management and restoration of a broad variety of ecosystems globally. Barger partners with diverse governmental entities in the U.S. on land degradation and restoration issues (i.e., ecological risks of fire mitigation treatments, historical drivers and biogeochemical responses to woody plant encroachment, forest decline and regeneration, restoration of degraded dryland ecosystems and soils). She also has extensive research experience working on conservation and management issues in dryland ecosystems across the globe. She has worked with international research teams in Inner Mongolia, Venezuela, South Africa, and Namibia.
Gustavo Ovando-Montejo, Faculty mentor
Dr. Gustavo Ovando-Montejo is an assistant professor in the Dept. of Environment & Society at Utah State University-Blanding. His research and teaching focuses on natural resource management, human-environment interactions, landscape ecology, and Indigenous communities. He serves as a faculty mentor for the NATURE Program and teaches geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing portions of the program. 
Brooke Osborne, Faculty mentor
Dr. Brooke Osborne is an assistant professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University in Moab. She uses biogeochemistry to study the ways in which terrestrial ecosystems respond to and shape our changing world. Her favorite ecosystems to study are drylands of the western US, where she works to better understand how climate change (e.g., warming temperatures and increasing drought frequency and severity ) and land use change (e.g., grazing and energy development) impact ecosystem structure and function. Brooke is motivated to produce actionable science and values partnerships with land managers and policy makers. She can typically be found hiking and biking around Moab with her dog Cholla. 
Aurea Cortés-Palomec, Faculty mentor
Dr. Aurea Cortés-Palomec is a senior lecturer in the Biology department at Fort Lewis College. Prior to joining Fort Lewis, Aurea was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to conduct her graduate course work at Ohio University. Aurea’s research has primarily focused on endangered species, ranging from epiphytic orchids to long-lived trees to understand their population genetics in order to prioritize certain populations for conservation. Most recently, she has been involved in conservation research with the genus Astragalus in the Four Corners region working in collaboration with her husband, Dr. Ross McCauley. 
Ross McCauley, Faculty mentor
Dr. Ross McCauley is a professor in the Department of Biology at Fort Lewis College. His research focuses on understanding the ecological and organismal factors that contribute to the evolution of plant biodiversity. Ross’s research has spanned from the central and southwestern United States, to Mexico, where he was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), to Ecuador, where he studied the evolution and conservation of plants in the Galapagos Islands as a Fulbright Scholar. His current projects focus on documenting the flora of southwest Colorado and understanding the diversification of Astragalus across the Colorado Plateau, work he performs in collaboration with his wife, Dr. Aurea Cortés-Palomec. |
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