Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance

Will Emerson is the President of the Board of the Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance. In that role he directs the group’s efforts to initiate and support projects that repair the damaged ecosystems of the region while improving the economies of local communities through workforce development and job placement. Will also serves as the Fire Chief of the Bell Springs Fire Department, a small community volunteer fire company which protects a 100 square mile area of Northern Mendocino County. He also is a registered EMT who responds to medical emergencies in the area.

Jessica Martinelli is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance (NM-ERA). She brings nearly three decades of experience as a land steward in Mendocino County and specializes in workforce development, youth mentorship, grant writing, and strategic project management. A Certified California Naturalist and holistic wellness practitioner, she integrates ecological restoration with community empowerment, education, and healing. Jessica also contracts with the Eel River Recovery Project on outreach, education, and event planning, and serves on the Advisory Council to the Board for the Community Foundation of Mendocino County.

Candace Reynolds is HANA’s grants program coordinator. She works with clients to develop and secure grant funding for conservation, habitat restoration and invasive plant projects. She has extensive experience with every stage of the habitat restoration process: project development and planning, restoration plans, permitting and regulatory compliance, funding and budgeting, project management, habitat design for specific outcomes project implementation, development of performance metrics and site monitoring, data management and analysis, stakeholder outreach, and public education and engagement.

Jessica Roemer has lived at Tan Oak Park for 30 years. She moved into the area to develop Tan Oak Park as a retreat and respite center for people impacted by AIDS. Jessica is a founder and currently the President of the Board of Directors for Families and Friends United by AIDS. Jessica is a responding member of the Leggett Valley Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.). She serves as Vice Commander of American Legion Post 815, Leggett Valley. She was also the Board President of the Leggett Valley Unified School District School Board from 2018-2025.

Jessica served in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman during the Vietnam War. She graduated from Los Angeles City School District Nursing School, becoming a California Licensed Vocational Nurse. Jessica attended Limbaugh Real Estate School, becoming a California Licensed Associate Broker and Professional Property Manager.

Colin Gillespie graduated from UCSC with a BA in Sociology before apprenticing at the Bullock Brothers permaculture farm on Orcus Island, WA. He then moved to Mendocino County in 1997 to rural oak woodlands, where he worked as a carpenter of natural buildings and studied ecological forestry with Native Good-Fire practitioner Dennis Martinez and regenerative silvicultural manager of Windhorse Farm and Mill, Jim Drescher. He now co-operates a round-pole timber frame manufacturing shop, Polecraft Solutions, and is employed by Dances in Wood Construction Contracting. His deep fascination and commitment to empowering nature’s potential continues with his work in community organizing and facilitating workshops, and by tending his 28-acre rural land where he resides.

Dorje Bond is the retired business owner of In Tents, an event shelter and decor provider, serving Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. She is also a partner of Black Oak Ranch, an economic engine for our area that provides and builds event spaces for Camp Winnarainbow, The Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium, and the Kate Wolf Music Festival, among other largescale events that draw talent and dollars into our neighborhood. Black Oak has been home to Bioengineering Associates where she learned about river restoration working on Evan Engber’s first projects moving rock, wire and live cuttings to preserve stream banks.

Dorje has been on many boards and volunteered with many groups. She helped to start Trees Foundation, She served on the Long Valley Health Center Board, the KMUD radio advisory board, founded the Redwood Project, and was an original funder of the SEVA Foundation which has returned sight to five million people worldwide. In recent years she has been involved in environmental education in local schools and environmental restoration and monitoring projects.

Vincent Brown is a member of the Northern Mendocino Ecosystem recovery Alliance (NMERA) and has over three decades of grassroots experience in watershed management, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, and environmental job training. In recent years the primary focus of his environmental work has been in reclaiming forest health, forest fire fuel-load reduction, and the utilization of Douglas fir and Pine poles for making furniture and other natural building structures. He has extensive experience in environmental assessment for compliance with Local, State, and Federal regulations as well as water rights, permitting, and annual reporting to the California State Water Board. Specific to this project, between 2019 and 2022, Vincent was a consultant in the cannabis industry in property management planning, environmental assessment and permitting for both new cannabis cultivation applications and responding to landowner Letters of Violations.

Amanda Scopen brings over 20 years of dedicated experience as a youth educator specializing in outdoor skills development, creative arts and crafts instruction, and experiential learning programs. With two decades of experience working across diverse populations, Amanda understands the unique challenges faced by rural, Indigenous, and economically disadvantaged youth. Her culturally responsive teaching approach ensures that programming honors different backgrounds while creating inclusive learning environments where all participants can thrive. Amanda’s long-standing commitment to youth development in rural Northern California provides valuable insight into local community dynamics, family structures, and the specific barriers facing disadvantaged youth in accessing transformative outdoor experiences.

Joe Smith is a Tribal member of the Cahto Tribe, and a proud father and husband. He is deeply committed to ecological preservation, cultural continuity, and the restoration of Indigenous ecosystems. Grounded in respect, honor, and responsibility, Joe brings to NMERA a community-centered perspective rooted in his relationship to both his people and the land he serves. Joe is developing an LLC focused on cultural burning, traditional ecological knowledge, fire stewardship, reforestation, native plant propagation, and the restoration of Indigenous landscapes. Through his role with NMERA, Joe presence with NMERA grounds the organization’s work in the voices of his people and the living knowledge of the land.