Our Board & Staff
Our board, officers, staff, and leaders have a diverse range of experiences and qualifications including technical expertise in trail building and wilderness management, leadership in youth development programs, managerial and business foundations, and a strong commitment to environmental stewardship.
Our Staff
Agnes Vianzon
Founder and Executive Director
Hello! I'm Agnes (she/they), I am a first-generation, queer filipinx, who grew up in the San Fernando and Simi Valleys of Southern California. I currently call Bishop home, ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute and Eastern/Western Mono Monache. My parents would take my brother and I on too-long road trips to National Parks and Monuments which, at the time, I did not appreciate. However, after completing an environmental studies degree from UCSB, I joined the California Conservation Corps AmeriCorps Backcountry Trails Program to live and do trail work in a National Park for 5 months, my perspective completely shifted. Those 5 months in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park launched the next chapter of my journey, 10 years of seasonal work - snowboarding and bartending on Mammoth Mountain in the winter and leading young people working trails each summer. Over those 10 years, I worked my way up in leadership positions on both fronts; including becoming Food and Beverage manager, SEKI Trails Foreman, and eventually promoting to program coordinator for the Backcountry Trails Program. My past experiences became the driving force behind my ambition to start ESCC and expand access and inclusion in the conservation world. With the help of close friends, my community and my supportive partner, I started laying the foundations for ESCC. By 2017, ESCC was a 501c3 nonprofit organization, with an all-women crew being the first boots on the ground. Since then, we have served over 100 alumni and nearly double our programing each year.
Paola Flores Núñez
Program Manager
¡Hola todxs! Soy paola (she/her), the daughter of Mexican immigrants, granddaughter of Mexican farmworkers, and sister to four. I’m a queer self-proclaimed simpleton who loves communing with nature and learning alongside all species on this planet. My lived experience and formal education have equipped me with the tools necessary to build community and organize for local environmental justice. I have devoted my career to addressing systemic issues that prevent low-income BIPOC communities from thriving and founded an organization, Recreate Educate Coadapt (REC), which focuses on community beautification, wilderness restoration, and environmental justice education. Through my work in the environmental field, I strive to cultivate a consciousness of connectivity while also fostering hope for change.
Ash Weil
Field Operations Coordinator
I'm Ash Weil (she/they) and I am a queer Floridian who's been bopping around the west coast for 11 years. This upcoming season will be my second year as a WILDlands Technical Crew Supervisor for ESCC. In 2013, after living the Big Easy life in New Orleans and having never been camping, I got an offer to join the Backcountry Trails Program in the Shasta Trinity National Forest. Since then, I've worked in natural resource management in the Santa Cruz District, trail crew and hazard trees in Kings Canyon, back to Santa Cruz to focus on Forestry and Fire management. I'm passionate about fighting for justice and equity, which is why ESCC is the perfect home for me. I love backpacking, dancing, activism, my plants, diet [redacted- FREE PALESTINE], laughing and serving looks. I can't wait to share a piece of my heart and places I love dearly with you all while helping you develop as a trail worker, land steward, leader and active member of the community!
Our Board of Directors
Marisa Gierlich
Board President
Marisa Gierlich began her career as a travel writer and guide, focusing on culturally and environmentally sustainable tourism. As a leader and Hiring and Training Manager for Backroads Active Travel and as a Coordinating Author for Lonely Planet, she managed and coordinated staff, content, and budgets on a global platform.
Having spent extensive time in the French and Swiss Alps and in her native California’s Sierra Nevada, she has a deep love for mountains and is dedicated to their stewardship. Her current position as a Business Development Executive for a small, restaurant-only financial management company allows her to combine her love of numbers with her passion for people.
Philip Lafollette
Vice President
Philip LaFollette recently retired from over 33 years of service with the California Conservation Corps serving in a variety of positions from Cook to Conservationist I, Project Coordinator, Backcountry Supervisor and Backcountry Program Director. He is a recipient of Salmonid Restoration Federation’s (SRF) Restorationist of the Year Award as well as their Lifetime Achievement Award. He also serves as an advisory member to the Watersheds Stewards Program as well as continuing trail work today.
Adam Somers
Secretary
Adam Somers has over 40 years of extensive nonprofit and corporate management experience. He served as the Executive Director of the PEN Center USA and is a graduate of UC Berkeley. He is an avid backpacker and spends time volunteering with the CCC Backcountry Trails Program.
John Matthew Newman
Treasurer
Matthew Newman was born in Hot Springs National Park and grew up surrounded by woods and water. He earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Accounting from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. While in college, he found a deep love for the outdoors in the Ozark Mountains and surrounding areas. Since graduating, Matt has served for 10 years as Controller for Athena Manufacturing, a 150 employee company in Austin, TX. Matt contributes to the team a wealth of financial knowledge and business experience.
Steven Addison
Board Member
Steven began his journey with the California Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1994 on the first AmeriCorps crew at the Del Norte Center, where he discovered his love for outdoor working and living. In 1998, he joined the Backcountry Trails Program, serving on the Yosemite II crew and continuing trail work in Yosemite and Big Bend National Parks. He later became a Field Supervisor with the East Bay Conservation Corps, giving back to his home community and applying lessons from the CCC. After working as a Project Manager with the Northern California Resource Center, Steven is thrilled to return to his roots as Civicorps’ Job Training Coordinator.
Paul LaMartina
Board Member
Paul LaMartina is an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. Paul moved to California in 2010 to attend law school, and decided to stay after falling in love with California’s wilderness. Paul enjoys backpacking, climbing, and skiing throughout California.
Stacy Corless
Board Member
Stacy Corless is a longtime resident of Mammoth Lakes, CA, and serves on the Mono County Board of Supervisors. She has a background in nonprofit management and communications, and has worked to steward and protect wild places in the Eastern Sierra, as well as to create educational programs and opportunities for people to connect with and explore the mountains. One of her best summers in the Sierra was spent updating a backpacking guidebook for Wilderness Press; though she has to go to lots of meetings these days, Stacy gets outside as much as possible to hike, run and ski on the public lands around Mammoth and beyond.
Larissa Fullmer
Board Member
Larissa was born and raised in the Mojave Desert of CA, at 18 years old, she embarked on what would become the greatest adventure of her life by joining the California Conservation Corps in San Luis Obispo. She fell in love with nature, conservation, trails, and community which led her to spend the last decade working on trail crews in various national parks as a National Park Service trail crew member and CCC Crew Supervisor.
In addition to Larissa’s passion for the outdoors, she has gathered further achievements in the field of professional diving, teaching and guiding underwater excursions as a scuba dive master. She has explored, worked, and volunteered around the globe in over 20 different countries. She believes in learning and growing by connecting with other cultures and communities and getting out of your comfort zone.