Chapter hires conservation coordinator Jennifer Robinson joins staff

The Chapter has hired a Conservation Program Coordinator. Jennifer Robinson, 32, was hired last month to take the place of Johanna Zetterberg, who left in July. Robinson will be responsible for helping volunteers carry out the regional environmental priorities of the Chapter.

Chapter leadership has determined those priorities to be the Santa Clara River watershed, the San Gabriel River watershed, and the last remaining open spaces, wild places in Orange County. A new priority area is urban Los Angeles.

Robinson was previously employed as a wildlife management specialist for the Pasadena Humane Society. She was in charge of the injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals that were brought into the facility. She also helped human residents learn to co-exist with wild native critters such as skunks, deer, raccoons, and coyotes, that, she would gently point out, were here first. Once she answered a call from someone who had a sick mountain lion in their backyard (she handed the case over to the Department of Fish and Game).

Robinson hails from Milford, New Hampshire, and has a B.A. in biology from Middlebury College in Vermont. She worked at Middlebury after graduation as the environmental coordinator. She ran the recycling program on campus, working to encourage recycling and expand the items the campus diverted from the waste stream.

She came to Los Angeles 10 years ago with her now husband, David. Her favorite natural place in the area is the Santa Monica Mountains. She is also a frequent participant in the Club's Griffith Park hikes.

Robinson sees air quality and sprawl as two of the most pressing issues facing the Angeles Chapter region. She is excited about taking on the challenge of making the environment better here. 'I want to see what we can do to create green space, conserve what green space is left.'

Robinson can be reached at 213-387-4287, ext. 204 or jennifer.robinson@sierraclub.org.