Board Members

Erin Capuchino joined the Yosemite Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council (Y/S RC&DC) in February 2022 as an Outreach Coordinator and quickly ascended to the role of Director by May of the same year. A California native with deep roots in Tulare County, Erin has called Oakhurst, CA, home since moving in 2010 to be close to her in-laws. She recently earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Fresno Pacific University, a testament to her dedication and drive.  Erin is passionate about making a positive impact in her community and beyond. She dedicates her time to various nonprofits, including the Wildland Firefighter Foundation and other local organizations, through her active involvement in fundraising efforts. Beyond her professional commitments at Y/S RC&DC, Erin coached the local High School Water Polo teams for seven years. Her commitment to community service is personal too, as her husband serves as a Forest Service firefighter, giving her a firsthand understanding of the challenges and importance of wildfire prevention and management.  Outside of her professional and community engagements, Erin cherishes moments with her friends and family, where her love for good food and entertainment shines through. With three children keeping her busy, Erin embraces a multifaceted life driven by her commitment to service and leadership.

Hazel is the Program Coordinator for YSRCDC, offering general support and project management. She originally served as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) to the YSRCDC several years ago, bringing her to the area where her love affair with the Sierras began. Hazel attended the University of Wisconsin, where she studied English, focusing on Literature and Writing. She’s worked for several tribes in the past and Forest Service and has a passion for the outdoors and the preservation thereof. In her free time, Hazel enjoys shooting her bow, hiking, camping, and anything else that gets her outside.

Raini leads fire resiliency and forest health programs in our 5-County region by engaging with communities and partners and supporting project needs. She holds an M.Sc. in Earth Sciences from University College London, graduating in 2019. After deferring her Ph.D. plans, she volunteered on permaculture farms in Southern France, where she developed a passion for sustainable and equitable access to natural systems through hands-on projects and groundwork. Growing up in Louisiana and experiencing Hurricane Katrina fueled her interest in Earth systems, leading her to earn a degree in Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Missouri. Raini moved to California in 2020 and fell in love with the Sierra Nevada Mountains, its dramatic landscape, and its communities. From 2020-2022, she worked with the East Merced Resource Conservation District as a rural climate specialist, enhancing landowner relationships and building program capacity for land and water restoration. From 2022-2023, she trained as a project manager through the Sierra Nevada Alliance Forestry Fellow program with the Y/S RC & DC. Raini is dedicated to supporting communities impacted by environmental crises and injustices, building relationships, and implementing best management practices for conservation.

Mi-Ling is the Social Media Specialist for YSRCDC. She currently attends Fresno State and is in her second year of college studying Mass Communication and Journalism. With her dream job of being a digital marketer, Mi-Ling loves all things about social media, even the editing part. She has lived in Fresno all of her life and even though she has an occasional bike ride or hike, she loves the outdoors. Mi-Ling enjoys dedicating the rest of her free time to the gym. She enjoys weight training and body building specifically, with cardio on the side when she feels like it. She enjoys trying new restaurants, loves good eats, and enjoys day trips to Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Francisco.

Colleen is Y/S RC&DC’s Forest Health Project Coordinator through the Sierra Nevada Alliance's Forestry Fellow Program. In this position, she contributes to project management, leads fire resilience workshops and helps coordinate partnerships. Originally from Illinois, Colleen has been ambitious with her exploration of the U.S. and the world. Some of her adventures include earning a bachelor's in geology and environmental studies in Ohio, completing a resource assistantship in conservation education with the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, monitoring forest soil health in Oregon's Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and earning a double degree master's in environmental sciences from the University of Hohenheim and the University of Copenhagen. She is drawn to the Sierra Nevada by the opportunity to help protect the unique and epic landscapes of the region and to work within the communities that call the region home. In the long-term, Colleen aspires to facilitate landscape-scale environmental resilience projects that bring together people from all walks of life to create positive change, locally and globally. Beyond work, Colleen loves hiking, looking at cool rocks, crocheting, and cooking with friends.