The CLC Team

Sean M. Watts

(he/him/his)

Acting Executive Director

Dr. Sean M. Watts is owner of SM Watts Consulting – empowering communities to drive environmental policy and helping historically white-led organizations move from awareness to action on diversity, equity and inclusion. Sean has spent his career bridging gaps between conservation science, policy and society as faculty at Santa Clara University; as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation and as founding Director of the UW Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. Sean is also a founding member of the Council on Community-Centric Fundraising and the University of Washington’s Nature and Health Working Group. Sean received his BA in Biology from the University of Virginia; and PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Andrea Arenas

(she/her/hers)

Acting Development Director

Andrea Arenas is founder and principal, Andrea Arenas Consulting. She is an advocate for reimagining fundraising and philanthropy through community-driven approaches. With over 18 years of nonprofit experience, she is the founding Co-Chair of Community-Centric Fundraising. Now a consultant, Andrea previously worked for a philanthropic foundation, leading equitable grantmaking practices for communities in the Puget Sound. As the Director of Development at Seattle Parks Foundation, she led individual, corporate, and institutional giving programs and supported 80 neighborhood-led fiscally sponsored groups with their fundraising. Andrea aims to support organizations as they explore how fundraising and philanthropy practices can better embody equity and collective community.

Sapna Sopori

(she/her/hers)

Acting Director of Programs

Sapna Sopori is Founder & CEO of Sapna Strategies and manages the Community Review  Committee and the Green Equity Alliance for CLC. She is a teacher, facilitator and consultant who specializes in helping organizations with diversity, equity, inclusion and justice work. She is a first generation Indian-American, and her experiences as a light-skinned woman of color being raised by a single immigrant mother have shaped her understanding of the intersections between race, gender and immigrant status. Sapna has spent 20 years working in the social sector, helping organizations decolonize their programs to ensure that the good work they hope to achieve is not undermined by how they do it. Before consulting, Sapna was an educator and taught pre-K through graduate students for 15 years. She is a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program and in 2017 Sapna was honored with the Kitsap YWCA’s Mission Award for Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women.

Nancy Huizar

(they/them/theirs)

Acting Operations Manager

Nancy is a longtime South Seattle resident with leadership experience in environmental justice. They are principal of their business, NHuizar Consulting. They hold a degree in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington. Nancy has experience in research, policy, community organizing, and education and outreach. They have led campaigns advocating for a Green New Deal in Seattle, accessible green jobs, and healthy communities for all. In their free time, Nancy can be found walking their dog or munching at local eateries and restaurants.

Brad Brickman

(he/him/his)

Brad is a Social Venture Partners board member, a founding supporter of Front and Centered, promoter of New Economy Washington Funder’s Collaborative & Peoples Economy Lab, and enthusiast for NW Conservation Fellows, and an Impact collaborator. His passion is working to increase social capital in terms of relationships, shared values, and mutual understanding.  The end goal of which is to help move more resources to advance equity and justice in communities that have been historically disenfranchised and impacted by systemic racism. He is energized when working on open space projects, place-keeping, environmental justice, and social enterprises.

Lylianna Allala

(she/her/hers)

Emeritus

Lylianna is the Climate Justice Director at the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment after previously serving as lead staff on environment and climate policy and outreach for U.S Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Lylianna is a trained wetland ecologist with experience in upland forests and prairie habitat, and her experience includes trail-building for the U.S Forest Service in Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness, employing prescribed burning in forest and ecosystem management in Michigan, and facilitating leadership development workshops for environmental and social change leaders nationwide. She co-created the RAY Diversity Fellowship, the nation’s first fellowship program aimed at increasing representation of people of color in marine conservation, and the Growing Old Project podcast.

Niesha Fort-Brooks

(she/her/hers)

Emeritus

Niesha Fort-Brooks has lived in Washington state over a decade. Her work here began in 2015 when she witnessed the intersection of health disparities, the built environment and the lack of open space. In 2018, Niesha earned her Master’s in Urban Environmental Education from Antioch University- Seattle. Niesha is a current member of the King County Conservation Future Advisory Committee. Her work has led her to participate in King County’s Open Space Equity Cabinet, the Metro Mobility Equity Cabinet and the Climate Equity Community Task Force. Niesha lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter.

Paulina Lopez

(she/her/hers)

Emeritus

Paulina has over 25 years of experience working on issues of civil rights, social environmental justice, equity, education, and diversity. She is keenly in tune with the strengths and challenges of this community as it moves toward environmental health and social and climate justice. Paulina has developed expertise in multi-sector stakeholder engagement, networks, collaborative problem-solving, and building power with BIPOC communities of color, immigrants, and refugees. Paulina emigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador and has made Seattle her home for the past 18 years. Paulina is the Executive Director for the Duwamish River Community Coalition where she has been advocating in her community for access to a safe, clean environment for South Park’s families.