Our Team

Crista co-founded CoalitionWILD in 2013 after an invitation from the WILD Foundation to address the lack of support and visibility available to younger generations in the environmental sector. She continues to lobby for a stronger integration of youth voices and empowerment in organizational and business decision making, and has achieved this through recently co-publishing an intergenerational leadership toolkit for conservation and leading multiple projects that accelerate and further initiatives around the world being led by young people for nature. Crista is the North American Focal Point for the World Commission on Protected Areas Young Professionals, was named Wyoming’s Top 40 under 40, and is on the Executive Committee for the 11th World Wilderness Congress.

Yen is a firm believer in the significant influence of the youth in creating a better future for the planet. She is advancing youth empowerment as the Community Organizer of CoalitionWILD. Prior to joining CoalitionWILD, she was a Researcher at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and a Small Island Developing States Research and Communications Intern at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Her experiences and learnings in the Philippines shaped Yen’s deep-rooted foundation as a sustainability advocate. Yen holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. At the present, she proactively pursues her passion for ocean conservation and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU).