Board of Directors
ECOLOGY ACTION IS EXPANDING - BOARD MEMBERS NEEDED
Are you interested in serving on our Board of Directors? Please fill out this form if you're interested in working with us!
Rocío Villalobos, Board President
Rocío Villalobos is an Austin native and graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, where she obtained her B.S. and M.A. in the field of education. She currently serves as the Community Services Program Coordinator (Immigrant Affairs) for the City of Austin's Equity Office. Over the past decade, Rocío has worked to advance various social justice issues as well as
support young people’s leadership development in the Austin area. Rocío brings a commitment to equity and joy to her work in the community.
Lewis Weil, Treasurer
Lewis is a biologist, organizer, entrepreneur, and advocate for ecological restoration. He is the founder and principal financial planner at Money Positive in Austin, TX the first financial planning B Corp in the
state of Texas. Previously he was a molecular biologist in academia and the biotech industry. For 10 years Lewis was an organizer for the internationally
recognized speaker series Nerd Nite. He has been involved in projects to restore forests and blackland prairie habitats in Texas and Northern California.
Chiara Beaumont, Board Member
Chiara Beaumont is a Karankawa Kadla woman from Austin, Texas who works as an Outdoor Guide where she blends her wilderness skills with the spirituality of the Karankawa Kadla Peoples to teach about the connectivity of humans as part of nature. She works with her tribe to protect the land from fossil fuel giants and protect the sacred waters of the Corpus Christi Bay. Chiara fights for indigenous sovereignty, land back, and unification for all peoples.
Noé Elias, Board Member
Noé has lived in Montopolis for 29 years, since he immigrated with his family from Querétaro, México. He grew up exploring and playing in the area that became Roy G Guerrero Park and Circle Acres. Noé is very active in his neighborhood. He has fought against developments that threatened the natural areas in Montopolis and to displace the working-class families that have lived there for generations. Noé earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree from Texas State University in San Marcos and has worked as an elementary school teacher for 10 years. He continues to fight for housing justice, economic justice and environmental justice.
Christopher Brown, Secretary
Chris is a writer and lawyer who has been actively involved in conservation and ecology efforts along the Lower Colorado River for the past decade. Since 2009, he has been restoring a former petroleum transmission pipeline site near Circle Acres where he and his wife and son built their green roof home known as Edgeland House. Chris writes widely about American ecology, including in his novel, Tropic of Kansas, which is slated to be released July 2017. His law practice focuses on working with mission-based financial services technology companies. Chris previously served as General Counsel of NetSpend Corporation and was a partner in the Austin law office of Baker Botts, LLP, where he ran the corporate department.
Chanel Davis, Board Member
Chanel is a program manager at Austin Youth River Watch, a high school and young adult environmental education program that focuses on getting youth of color outdoors. She gained outdoor education experience through working with the New York Department of Conservation, Buffalo-Niagara Waterkeeper, and study abroad trips. She graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY in 2018 with a B.S. in Animal Behavior, Ecology, & Conservation & Environmental Studies and a Masters in Education. She has lived in Austin for 5 years and loves long walks on the hike and bike trail, or taking her paddle board out on the lake. Chanel values time outside and working with young folks in the Austin community.