Jeffrey Parrish, PhD is Freedom to Roam’s executive director. Jeff comes to Freedom to Roam from The Nature Conservancy where he most recently served as Global Director for Mediterranean Habitat Conservation. In that role, Jeff designed and facilitated a diverse gathering of land trusts, academics, government leaders and the wine industry to work together and conserve landscapes across five continents. Jeff has also worked as the Global Director of Conservation Planning for The Nature Conservancy, Technical Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Global Protected Areas Strategy, and Vice-President at Manomet Center for Conservation Science. At Manomet Jeff managed conservation programs, led their strategic planning, and helped to expand financial and political support for global priorities.
Jeff is the recipient of several National Science Foundation and American Association for the Advancement of Science fellowships, holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Ecology from Brown University, and is fluent in Spanish. Known affectionately by his Spanish nickname, Jefe lives with his wife and two daughters in Denver, Colo. and enjoys trail running and telemark skiing.
Matt Wagner joined Freedom to Roam as its Deputy Director in 2010, bringing with him strong business, policy, consumer and integrated marketing communications experience. He earned a double major from Indiana University and a Master’s degree from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, where he finished first in his class. Prior to Freedom to Roam Matt was Senior Counselor at Carmichael Lynch Spong, year after year one of the most highly decorated public relations agencies in the country. There he managed teams supporting brands such as Harley-Davidson, Buell Motorcycles, AG Edwards, and American Humane Association.
Matt also spent time as a Principal at Public Strategies, Inc, a Washington D.C. communications consulting and strategy firm where he supervised an effort to rebuild investor confidence in the capital markets and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 following the stock market’s collapse. Matt also worked as an account supervisor with Weber Shandwick, one of the leading public relations and communications strategy firms worldwide. During his tenure, Wagner supervised the start-up of several multi-million-dollar consumer PR and marketing campaigns, oversaw product launch events, directed teams of event planners and media spokespeople, managed national and international media relations activities and provided other public relations support for such clients as the Green Building Alliance, the USDA’s Milk Mustache/got milk? campaign, Unilever, Circuit City, and Ace Hardware.
Julia Kintsch, Freedom to Roam’s Conservation Science Manager, is a conservation ecologist with more than 10 years of experience in applied ecology and conservation planning. Her work focuses on the development of practical and effective science-based solutions to mitigate impacts on natural systems. Prior to founding ECO-resolutions, LLC, an ecological resource consulting company, Julia was the program director for the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project. In this role she oversaw the Linking Colorado’s Landscapes project, an assessment of high-priority wildlife linkages in Colorado that was designated a 2006 Exemplary Ecosystem Initiative by the Federal Highway Administration. Her work has included wildlife monitoring, small mammal surveys, and conducting ecological assessments to guide natural resource management.
Julia has previously worked creating environmental education programs in Senegal, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and as a conservation planner for the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She has extensive experience in road ecology and the development of guidelines and recommendations for citing and designing appropriate mitigation measures for wildlife. In pursuing this work, she has forged unique partnerships with Departments of Transportation, as well as collaborations with other federal and state agencies, local municipalities, and non-profit organizations. Julia has organized several road ecology workshops in Colorado and Washington to improve communications and cross-disciplinary interactions among biologists, planners and engineers.
Julia brings a creative and resourceful approach to environmental decision-making, while being committed to the application of the best-available scientific knowledge.
