Grasstops Collective
The Outdoor Alliance Grasstops Collective is a leadership and advocacy development program that trains grasstops advocates to build relationships with policymakers and advocate for Outdoor Alliance’s conservation priorities from an authentic, local perspective. Grasstops leaders are unique for their meaningful voice in their communities, whether they are in business, nonprofit, or local government. They are the unofficial mayors—the ones who know everyone at the crag, trailhead, or put-in. Once trained and educated on the basics of outdoor policy, advocacy, and congressional operations, these grasstops leaders will bring their local perspective to positively inform conservation, recreation, and climate policy at a national level with local authenticity.
The Grasstops Collective program trains these community leaders on conservation-based advocacy skills, like building meaningful and trusted relationships with decision makers, including policy makers and their staff, identifying opportunities for others in their community to advocate for public lands and outdoor recreation, and legislative terminology and process. Advocates that graduate from the program will go on to advocate for conservation and recreation policy for years to come.
Learn more about our 2025 Grasstops Collective cohort below and about our 2024 cohort here.
Sydney Anderson
Sydney Anderson is the Mining and Policy Manager at Idaho Rivers United, a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Idaho’s rivers and fisheries. Her work focuses on safeguarding public lands and waterways from harmful mining practices through policy advocacy and community engagement. Outside the office, she enjoys exploring Idaho’s outdoor spaces through camping, rafting, biking, running, and hiking.
Kait Boyle
Kait Boyle is a professional mountain bike athlete based in Teton Valley, Idaho. She is a world champion, record-holding ultra-endurance cyclist and leader in bikepacking and backcountry riding. Kait co-founded Bikepacking Roots, the first 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advocating for bikepacking and the landscapes in which bikepackers ride, serves on the board of directors for Mountain Bike the Tetons, and is a member of Protect Our Winters Athlete Alliance.
Drew Brodhead
Drew Brodhead has been with the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance since 2020, serving as the Anchor Maintenance and Advocacy Coordinator. He advocates for sustainable climbing while working to improve fixed anchors and expand climbing access throughout Utah.
Adrianne Burke
Adrianne Burke is a kayaking and yoga instructor located in the Washington, DC Area. She takes a mindful approach to teaching people environmental awareness and climate adaptation, mixing her background in leadership development theory with her ancestral connection to the water of the east coast. Adrianne is committed to helping fight climate change, by protecting our lands and waters through recreation and participation in nature based activities.
Katie Cleek
Katie Cleek is a dedicated ocean conservationist and serves as Chair of the Florida Keys Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. She is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and currently works in coral reef restoration throughout the Florida Keys. When she's not championing ocean protection and outdoor access, Katie enjoys paddleboarding, yoga, and hiking.
Austin Corbett
Austin Corbett is a trail runner and photographer based in Flagstaff, Arizona. He works for Kahtoola as their Events and Community Engagement associate where his passion for conservation blossomed and led him to becoming an ambassador for Runners for Public Lands. His love of the American Southwest and specifically the Grand Canyon inspires him to protect the lands he is lucky to recreate on.
Allen Jircik
Allen Jircik is the director of the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative, a non-profit in North Central Washington State that builds relationships, improves trails, and acts as an educational resource for multiple trail user groups. He moved to this region in 2018 to maintain trails. Initially, he stayed for the rock climbing, but loves the vast Wilderness areas and winter recreation.
Connor Koch
Based in Bozeman, Connor Koch is a writer, community leader, and mountain endurance athlete for Arc’teryx Equipment. Both on the road and at home, he spends his time in wild and high spaces, seeking out long walks and untouched snow.
Amy Kolor
Amy is a Seattle transplant who serves on the board of the Washington Canyon Coalition where she is also the Co-Chair of the Advocacy and Stewardship Committee. She is an active instructor and volunteer with the Mountaineers and the Cascade Grotto. Outside of her volunteer work, Amy is always seeking the perfect mixed-discipline adventure, and she is perpetually attempting to balance canyoning, caving, climbing, mountaineering, dry tooling, rockhounding, skiing, and hiking within her schedule.
María Lujan
Maria Luján Achirica is a dedicated waterwoman and environmental leader from Orizaba, Veracruz. With a background in environmental studies and policy, she has advanced ocean conservation and coastal resilience efforts from Hawaiʻi to New York. As a master’s candidate at Columbia University’s Climate School, she elevates community-driven climate solutions grounded in ocean and coastal justice.
Matt Mason
Matt has always sought out the wild and natural spaces in the world and encouraged others to do the same. His passion for sharing the outdoors started by leading the neighborhood kids off the playground and into the creeks of southern Iowa. After college, the kids and creeks got bigger as he lead volunteer groups into the Grand Canyon to remove invasive plant species. Currently residing in southern New Mexico, he created the Monumental Loop and a series of group rides designed to connect locals to the newly established Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
Jason McDougald
Jason McDougald is the Executive Director of nonprofit Camp Grier in Old Fort, NC and began his career in the industry working outdoor retail in his father's store. Jason now uses his industry knowledge and position as a nonprofit leader to catalyze rural economic development centered around the outdoor recreation economy.
Josh Nease
Over the last 20 years, Josh’s work has focused on sustainability and community development, and has been charged with meaningful outdoor recreation experiences. Josh currently serves as Executive Director for the Mon Forest Towns Partnership where he works with leaders from 12 towns across the Monongahela National Forest Region of WV to collaboratively grow a strong, sustainable outdoor recreation economy that enhances the quality of life for residents.
Julie Nelson
Julie Nelson was instrumental in establishing both the Shrub Steppe Trails Alliance and The Columbia Basin Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance Chapter in south-central Washington State's desert region. Currently, she proudly serves as their president.
Beyond her leadership roles, Julie is a passionate endurance cyclist who enjoys riding on trails, roads, and gravel alike
Christa Nenaber
Christa Nenaber was born and raised in the Midwest but has lived in Colorado for the last two decades and loves getting outside to mountain bike, ski, trail run and raft. Christa has worked for Patagonia over 14 years and has led their on-the-ground efforts with Time to Vote and other election work in recent cycles, including supporting her county as a pole worker. She is passionate about supporting elections, activating others in the community to get involved and generally just giving a dam about the world and the people in it!
Cody Perry
Cody M. Perry is a land and water advocate specializing in grassroots organizing and conservation storytelling. Cody works with Living Rivers Colorado Riverkeeper where he engages, recruits, and activates individuals to protect land and water resources in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Cody is co-founder of Rig To Flip, a creative media house specializing in storytelling about the Colorado River Basin to inspire awareness and promote cultural exchange.
Eric Phillips
Eric Phillips is an outdoor educator, photographer, mountain athlete, advocate, and social media influencer based in Crested Butte, Colorado. There he holds roles in Local Government, outdoor and housing non profits, is an active member of the Mountain Rescue Team, and is dedicated to serving his community.
Elyse Rylander
Based in Bellingham, WA, Elyse is a national leader at the intersection of equity, outdoor access, and organizational change. As a founder, strategist, and coalition-builder, she brings a decade of experience turning bold ideas into actionable solutions—bridging grassroots insight with high-level influence to drive impact across sectors.
Jon Stamper
Jon Stamper is the River Clean-up Coordinator with Mountain True, a North Carolina-based nonprofit dedicated to clean waters, healthy communities, and resilient forests. Jon oversees an expanding response to Hurricane Helene as the area fights to recover from the storm. Jon is a military veteran with years of experience in the outdoor recreation industry. He cares about ensuring wild places are accessible to all.
Jazzari Taylor
Based in Southern California, Jazzari T. Taylor, MPA is a passionate policy advocate working at the intersection of equity, culture, and environmental justice. As Chair of the Parks Now Coalition and Policy Advocate at Latino Outdoors, she builds power alongside frontline communities to advance inclusive conservation and outdoor access at the state and national levels.