Our Staff The Four Corners regional office is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico; however, we have group coordinators and staff in areas all around the region.
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 Emily Dietrich Millstein, Four Corners Regional Program Manager
Emily is a native of New Mexico, having spent her childhood years on a pet pig farm in Albuquerque. After twelve years of living out of state and overseas she has returned to the desert to become a Roots & Shoots staff member. Previous to working with Roots & Shoots she studied fine arts at the University of Tasmania, in Australia and graduated with a BFA in photography. Along with hiking and horseback riding, Emily continues to practice her art in her spare time.
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 Teresa Gray, Wind River Ranch Coordinator, New Mexico Teresa is a native New Mexican from the Roswell area. She previously taught language arts to middle school students for six years. Teresa has joined the Roots & Shoots team as Environmental Education Coordinator for Wind River Ranch Foundation in Watrous, New Mexico where she lives with her husband Andy, and two daughters Alyssa and Alia. Teresa's goal is to get students outdoors to learn about native ecosystems, area wildlife and environmental stewardship. | |
 Julie Velazquez, Albuquerque Youth Leadership Coordinator, New Mexico
Julie is a native of New Mexico with a background in social work. Julie first became involved with Roots & Shoots as a co-group leader for the Rio Grande Roots & Shoots group in Albuquerque. For almost three years, Rio Grande Roots & Shoots has worked on various projects, such as caring for 10 acres of riparian forest land, adopting a local prairie dog colony and volunteering at a local food pantry. The projects she loves the best are those that get her whole family outside appreciating the natural beauty of the Rio Grande Valley. Her experience with Roots & Shoots naturally led her to helping the Four Corners Office build youth leadership in New Mexico. She accomplishes so much with the support of a great husband, Robert, who teaches high school athletics, and three great homeschooling kids, Roman, Olivia and Marisol. | | Monica Ferreira, Westminster College Coordinator, Utah Monica Ferreira is the Environmental Outreach Coordinator of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. After dedicating much time and good will to the Roots & Shoots groups of Utah, Monica has become the Roots & Shoots Westminster College Coordinator and heads the Roots & Shoots Intern Ambassador program. | |  Monique Schoustra, Santa Fe Coordinator Monique Schoustra has been sharing her love of the outdoors with dogs, children, friends and clients for many years. She and her husband operate a cultural and natural history sightseeing tour company in Santa Fe, New Mexico and she has guided hiking trips in Utah, California, New Mexico and Colorado. Her volunteer efforts include rescuing dogs in need, helping them to find good homes and working with Caldera Action; a citizen's action group working to shape the future of the publicly owned Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez mountains of New Mexico. She lives with her husband, two rescued dogs and two rescued cats in a log cabin she and her husband built together in the Ponderosa Pine forest above Santa Fe. She spends as much time as possible out hiking in the Four Corners and in the redwood forests of northern California. | | 
Renée Gunther, Arizona Coordinator Renée began teaching in The Bronx, New York in 1969. She primarily taught math and science to low socio-economic students who functioned below grade level. As part of her curriculum she emphasized respect for the environment and all living things. This was exceptionally challenging since her students were surrounded by concrete, tall brick buildings and violence. Generally, their neighborhood's wild life consisted of various birds, squirrels and rodents. She interlaced lessons with field trips to parks, zoos, botanical gardens and camping experiences in the natural world. She began introducing her students to Roots & Shoots in 1998. She states that it was the most dynamic teaching strategy she ever used consistently having a profound positive impact on even her most difficult students. Renée's career consisted of being a Middle School Teacher, Teacher Trainer, Science Coordinator, and Director of Middle School Initiatives supervising 23 academies in New York City. Today she volunteers her time to introduce and assist various Tucson Schools with Roots & Shoots. | | 
Kate Shearer, Denver University Coordinator Kate Shearer is a native of Colorado, currently working on her Masters Degree in Social Work with an emphasis in animal assisted therapy and community practice, as well as a Certificate in Humanitarian Assistance and Aid at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. Kate intends to use her skills to promote social work values within conservation and environmental sustainability programs both nationally and globally. She enjoys running, hiking, traveling and exploring with her husband and their two dogs, in addition to advocating for positive social change through the power of human, animal, and natural therapeutic connections. | |  Katie Macaulay,Santa Fe Coordinator Katie Macaulay hails from Canada and has lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico for 10 years. She is an educator, photographer, chocolateer, and passionate outdoors-person. She is the founder of Mountain Kids, a program designed to get kids outside in nature. She has also worked enthusiastically as an outdoor educator, classroom teacher, and has designed service-learning programs in Canada and in Guyana, South America over the years. She enjoys being outside on her mountain bike or playing with kids in nature. She lives in the forest in Santa Fe with her husband, two young children, and their cat, Coco. | | | | |
