The Public Lands Alliance (PLA) is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to the Board of Directors.
Joining the Board of Directors
Aileen Utterdyke is the President & Chief Executive Officer at Pacific Historic Parks
Aileen Utterdyke joined the Arizona Memorial Museum Association in 2007 as a member of the all-volunteer board of directors. During this time, her focus was to help build a stronger organization and help with the growth and stability of Arizona Memorial Museum Association. She began her career in Public Accounting where she spent 25 years building her specialization in Not For Profit tax and accounting. Her transition from accounting to the Not For Profit sector allowed her to build and utilize the skills needed to run not for profits.
In 2012 she joined the Arizona Memorial Museum Association (now known as Pacific Historic Parks) as its Chief Financial Officer. In this role she was able to build the strong corporate structure of the organization that current stands today.
In 2017 she was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. She has been able to bring diversity, structure and sustainability into our ever changing Not For Profit organization. Pacific Historic Parks is the Cooperating Association to the National Park Service and similarly to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in the State of Hawaii. PHP partners focus on World War II in the Pacific and has partner relations in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. In addition, she has focused on building and expanding PHP’s relationships with other entities and organization in this region, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska and Midway, and with partnerships with museums in Japan.
Ian Stafford is the Director of Stewardship and Policy at Rocky Mountain Conservancy
Ian Stafford was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina where he learned at an early age that his career goal was going to be focused on helping others discover a love of the outdoors. After completing his bachelors in Recreation Management at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he made his way west to explore the Rockies and be a Summer Camp Director. After 7 years in the high country, Ian moved to the Front Range to obtain a Master’s in Environmental Policy from the University of Colorado Boulder. Ian now works with Rocky Mountain Conservancy and strives to increase access to public lands and waters across the country. Ian can frequently be found rafting or camping by rivers across the west, frying chicken, and enjoying the sunshine with his partner Andrea and their dog Petey.
Sevag Kazanci, Co-Founder & Chief Impact Officer at Parks Project
Sevag Kazanci, Co-Founder & Chief Impact Officer at Parks Project grew up skateboarding, snowboarding, and camping, taking every opportunity to escape the city life. Post college he had the pleasure of working for notable action sports brands like O’Neill, Rusty,…Lost, Volcom, and went on to head up all apparel & accessories at TOMS Shoes.
After a weekend volunteering in the Santa Monica Mountains, Sevag and fellow TOMS employee Keith Eshelman were struck by the challenges facing America’s underfunded and underappreciated National Parks. They set out to harness consumer power to help support underfunded projects in our national parks.
Parks Project is an outdoor inspired brand that designs products which celebrate our National Parks and the wonders of nature that they preserve. Following the mantra “leave it better than you found it” Parks Project has given over 2.5 million dollars to park conservancies and contributed over 6,000 hours of hands-on volunteer work.