Welcome back to our blog series of Q&As with our staff. As our team has grown in recent years, this is a chance to get to know some of our stories and quirks. Caring for creation and equipping others to do likewise is so much more meaningful — and fun — when done as a team!
Photo caption: A Rocha USA 2025/26 Conservation Intern Dylan Richardson befriending a lizard.
What drew you to A Rocha?
I love that creation care is the primary ministry of A Rocha — our mission holds true to the reality of creation care as central to Christ’s mission for believers.
When did the connection between faith and environmental work first “click” for you?
This connection largely first clicked during a January term study in the lowland forests of the North Cascades with one of my Whitworth professors, Jonathan Moo. We spent that month immersed in our community, human and nonhuman, while studying theology of creation and the ecology of montane forest ecosystems. This was the experience that showed me the scale of our biblical commission to love our place.
What’s your favorite species and why?
The Arroyo Lupine (Lupinus succulentus). This species of lupine is native to my home in Southern California chaparral. It’s a pioneer species in the face of the frequent disturbance innate to its ecosystem, and it ushers in successional species by fixing nitrogen and improving clay-rich soil.
Arroyo Lupine (Lupinus succulentus), by Ken-ichi Ueda, on iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0)
What places are near and dear to your heart?
I consider Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area one of the most special places in the entire world. I guide back-country youth treks there and consider it a great privilege to show kids why the place I love is so amazing.
What training/background do you bring to this work?
I have a bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental studies from Whitworth University. My professional background ranges from backcountry conservation to public policy, environmental education, nonprofit management, and more. I bring a unique and diverse set of experiences to A Rocha’s work, and I love finding ways to connect what I do now with my past jobs.
What are the most challenging aspects of your work?
I find myself frustrated by the world’s lack of urgency for environmental conservation. Progress is commensurate with peoples’ values, and those are hard to work with sometimes!
What are the most rewarding aspects of your work?
Working with people is one of the most fulfilling parts of being with A Rocha. I love drawing people into caring for the natural world and sharing in a love for God’s creation.
What keeps you going when faced with all our overwhelming ecological problems?
Stubbornness and hope.
What is a little-known but fun fact about you?
My first A Rocha experience was all the way back in 2011, when I participated in the brief A Rocha Santa Barbara project. I was in 3rd grade, and we spent our time studying watersheds and aquatic species.
What would be your creation-oriented book recommendation?
Wendell Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace.
Click here to learn more about our Conservation Internships, and click here to view 2024-25 Conservation Intern Mary Bonnell’s video about her experience of the program!