Dr. Becky Ball is a Professor of environmental science at Arizona State University, which she joined in 2010. Her research focuses on the impacts of human activities on soil biology and biogeochemistry, particularly in ‘extreme’ ecosystems. Her research in the rapidly urbanizing Sonoran Desert in and around Phoenix, AZ is part of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP-LTER) program.
For most of her career, Sharma has worked for nonprofit organizations and to conserve agriculture and/or natural resources, which are her passions. Having just joined the White Tank Mountains Conservancy (WTMC) as the Executive Director, Sharma seeks to help WTMC further its mission to inspire all to enjoy and conserve the White Tank Mountains, balancing population growth and the need for responsible development and conservation of regional wildlife corridors.
A native Arizonan, born and raised in Phoenix, where she still resides, Sharma received a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University. She worked as a Wildlife Biologist for various nonprofit organizations and other entities, leading her to attend law school focusing on environmental law. She interned at three nonprofit conservation organizations and received her J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Sharma practiced law as a civil litigator in AZ, CA, and DC, but unfortunately, not in environmental law.
With a desire to return to her passions, Sharma gave up practicing law and returned to conservation. She worked for Arizona Land and Water Trust and the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) when she opened her own company, Ag-Conserve Consulting, LLC, five years ago. As a consultant, she also works for the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts and Central Arizona Land Trust, two nonprofit organizations that conserve agriculture and natural resources.
She graduated from Project CENTRL (Center for Rural Leadership) and is a member of the International Leadership Alumni Conference Advisory Board, the Bureau of Land Management Arizona Resource Advisory Council, and AZDA’s Food and Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee.
Sarah Rose Webber is the Deputy Director of Arizona Parks and Trails, the state agency that oversees, preserves, and protects over 33 state parks and natural areas, and includes the State Trails Program, the State Historic Preservation Office, outdoor-related grant programs, and statewide outdoor recreation planning.
Prior to this position, Sarah served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the State of Arizona under Governor Ducey. In that role, she managed the governor’s cabinet and oversaw all state agency operations. She also served as the State Infrastructure Coordinator for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation and Director of the Government Transformation Office while COO.
Sarah earned her master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Southern Utah University. Sarah previously worked at a rural shelter.
Sarah currently serves as a Trustee on the Arizona Retirement System Board and as a board member of the Phoenix Theater Company. She is a member of the 2023/24 Arizona Forward Emerging Sustainability Leaders cohort. Sarah recently was selected to serve on the CAZA Steering Committee and National Forest Fund Northern Arizona Forest Fund Advisory Council.
Sarah has a great love for Arizona’s diverse ecosystems and enjoys hiking, running, rock climbing, mountain biking, camping, backpacking, triathlon and all activities outdoors. Sarah is a certified yoga instructor and she enjoys teaching yoga at nonprofits and outdoor nature spaces in her spare time.
Dawn Collins joined the Arizona State Parks and Trails team in 2006 as a Research Project Manager. Since then, she has been able to deepen her knowledge about grant administration, natural and cultural resource protection, state fiscal and procurement processes, partnership development and maintenance, process evaluation and improvement and project management, working alongside colleagues and partners. She leads statewide outdoor recreation planning efforts and participates in other agency strategic initiatives.
Claire Miller started her Natural Resource Management career in the City of Phoenix in 1987 as Park Ranger – one of the first mounted patrol rangers in a newly developed program for the City of Phoenix mountain parks and preserves. She is a nationally certified mounted officer. In 1999, she left the City of Phoenix to become the first Preserve Manager for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve. In the Scottsdale manager position, she was integral in the development of several trailhead facilities and a network of approximately 200 miles of natural surface trails. She returned to the City of Phoenix in 2014, as a manager (and now Supervisor) for the 21,000-acre Phoenix Sonoran Preserve system.
Miller received her B.A. in Outdoor Recreation from the University of New Mexico in 1983, and attended graduate school at Arizona State University in Natural Resource Management. Throughout her career, she has served on many boards, including CAZCA, the Arizona State Committee on Trails, the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association, the Network for Arizona Trails and the North Valley Outdoor Network.
Laurel Arndt is an environmental and urban planner with over 25 years of experience in natural resource management, research and policy analysis, open space planning, conservation advocacy, community engagement, collaboration and coalition building.
Over the course of her career, she has served in many roles as a planner. She has sat on County and State Parks Boards as a Commissioner or Board member advocating for open space conservation since 2000. She has a wealth of experience and knowledge in environmental planning, state trust land management, transportation, land use planning and development, sustainable recreational planning and environmental review processes (NEPA).
Laurel is an avid outdoorswoman who enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking.
Laurel holds a B.S. in Business and a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning, both from Arizona State University
Jarod Rogers began his career at the City of Phoenix in 2004 as a Trails Coordinator. He had the pleasure of overseeing the design and construction of well over 60 miles of trails in the City of Phoenix Mountain Parks and Preserves system. From 2004 to 2016, he managed the design and construction of multiple award winning projects ranging from inner city parks to new trailhead and trail development projects. As a registered landscape architect, Jarod has enjoyed the challenging process of developing new natural setting recreational facilities throughout Phoenix and loves the collaborative process such projects require. From 2017 to 2021, he worked as the Principal Landscape Architect in the Office of the City Engineer on a variety of projects including the renovation of the Piestewa Peak trailheads. Now the Deputy Director of the Natural Resources Division of the Parks and Recreation Department, Jarod is excited about the future of the Mountain Parks and Preserves in the City of Phoenix and the sister parks and preserves managed by other agencies throughout Arizona.
Rogers is a valley native who received his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Arizona State University in 2003 and became a registered landscape architect in 2008. He enjoys hiking and camping with his wife and children.
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