our Alumni
GrizzlyCorps now has a network of over 100 alumni, living and working in California and beyond!
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Over 75% of alumni are currently working in a natural resources field related to forestry, fire resilience, agriculture, food systems, watershed health, and environmental education.
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30% of GrizzlyCorps members have been hired as staff by their service site after graduation
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14% of our alumni have attended graduate school
Meet Our Alumni Advisory Board!
Our Alumni Advisory Board draws from the expertise and experience of our alumni from the last four cohorts, now offering their perspectives as natural resource professionals in California. The Board works to advance the GrizzlyCorps program through promotion efforts, program support, supporting networking and connection opportunities for fellows, and guiding our Alumni Mentorship Program.
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Elliot Grant
Elliot is the Central Coast Project Manager for Sustainable Conservation. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2020 with a double major in Economics and Environmental Studies, concentrating in Agroecology. He joined the first cohort of Grizzlycorps shortly after graduation and was placed with Sustainable Conservation. His fellowship was focused on researching how soil health practices can impact California’s agricultural watershed, and interviewing farmers about the relative barriers to adoption. Elliot’s fellowship helped scope a new program for Sustainable Conservation, around water and soil health, called The Solution in our Soils. He joined the staff as a project associate in 2021 and is now managing the Central Coast Solution in our Soils team. Their focus is on groundwater quality, and address nitrate leaching in the root zone through the use of cover crops, and high carbon amendments. The team works on increasing the pace and scale of research, supporting the adoption of more established practices, and engaging in water quality policies like the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. Elliot currently resides in Santa Cruz where he enjoys surfing, fly-fishing, and growing flowers.
Petra Silverman
Petra comes from a background in evolution and ecology, with an emphasis in plant ecology, ecosystem dynamics, & evolutionary genetics. During her GrizzlyCorps Fellowship term, she served with the Resource Conservation of Tehama County, where she gained substantial skills and experience in watershed management, beneficial fire, and tribal collaboration.
Petra is now the Wetlands & Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Coordinator for the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, where she is directly facilitating natural and cultural resource stewardship on Tribal lands. Leading the development of the Tribe's Wetlands Program, Petra prioritizes the intersection of cultural wellness and environmental health, as they are intrinsically bound. She is also playing her part in increasing the Tribe's capacity for beneficial and cultural fire. Throughout the U.S and especially in California, tribal-led and tribal-collaborative land management is on the rise, making these perspectives distinctly important for growing environmental professionals. Petra looks forward to offering her unique insight as part of the Alumni Advisory Board.
Hannah Tikalsky
Hannah is so excited to formally reconnect and contribute to GrizzlyCorps as an Alumni Board Member. Hannah has worked across various social sectors developing and administering community impact programs and feels she's found her home at the intersection of climate/ag/natural resources - thanks in large part to her GrizzlyCorps Fellowship.
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Michelle Feng
Michelle (she/they) is a facilitator, researcher, and advocate dedicated to bridging gaps between policy and lived experience. After supporting the program's inception, coordinating day-to-day operations, and building training curriculum at GrizzlyCorps for over 3 years, she has continued to work across California to steward climate resilience and organize public infrastructure projects that center participatory community planning. Some of this work has included supporting regional disaster relief efforts, trauma-informed care in public health, affordable housing policy development, and mobility justice in public transportation. Michelle hopes to continue the pursuit of placemaking and decolonized design to foster spaces that affirm life, honor the land, and memorialize the legacy of cultural histories for those residing on it.
Alaina Bensching
Alaina is currently working on her first year of her Master's in Environmental Sciences and Management at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Her master's project explores documentation of forest management practices for carbon sequestration in the US. She also is an assistant in the Graduate Office of Education part-time.