Alice Thomas

Alice is a Staff Attorney with the International Program at Earthjustice, a public interest environmental law firm with eight offices across the United States. Earthjustice’s International Program works with environmental and community groups from other countries to hold polluters and governments responsible for environmental harm, to promote the human right to a healthy environment, and to create strong tools for citizens to protect natural resources and the environment. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Alice served as Deputy Director of the American Bar Association’s Asia Law Initiative, where she managed rule of law and environmental good governance programs in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. From 2000-2001, Alice served as ABA’s environmental law liaison in Uzbekistan, and from 2001-2003, she worked in Bosnia-Herzegovina training government officials, non-governmental organizations, and the media on freedom of information and government accountability. Alice started her legal career in private practice in New York. She is a graduate of Princeton University and received her JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School at Madison.

Bob Harris
Advisor
Email: bob@mongolec.org

Bob is a Civil Engineering graduate of UC Berkeley and has a Masters of Public Administration from University of Southern California. He is a registered Professional Engineer in California. Bob completed a 30 year Federal career with the US Forest Service in 1997, retiring as Forest Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. He is currently in partnership with his wife as C&B Surveying and Civil Engineering. Bob is Secretary of the nonprofit Tahoe-Baikal Institute which sponsors graduate student and young working adult exchanges between the US and Lake Baikal Region of Russia. He has been associated with this program since its beginning in 1991 serving as Chair of the Board 2000/2001 and continues to be actively engaged with alumni and partnerships. Bob has traveled to Russia and Mongolia on four occasions (1998-2009) engaging in TBI capacity building through partnerships and alumni activities, and participation in 2008 Mongolian Environmental Expedition.

Carole Roberts
Advisor
Email: carole@mongolec.org

Carole Roberts consults in the U.S. and internationally on private and public sector projects, with an emphasis in technical assistance in developing countries. She specializes in design and strategic development for organizations, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and implementation of education & technology projects in telecommunications, media, and online learning. Roberts investigates the impacts of emerging technologies on organizations, society, and institutions, through research, assessment and evaluation.Throughout her career, Roberts has supervised and produced a variety of emerging technology projects (network, online, interactive), as well traditional media projects (television, radio, print). Internationally, Roberts works with NGOs, national organizations, and government agencies in: The Americas: (United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Navajo Reservation, Texas). Africa (Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zanzibar, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Asia (Indonesia). EU (France, Andorre, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain United Kingdom). Other Europe: (Switzerland, Balkans, former Yugoslavia). Roberts has a B.S. in Radio/TV/ Film from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA, and an M.A. in Educational Technology from San Francisco State University, California, USA.

Ganbold Duvchigdamba
Advisor
Email: ganbold@mongolec.org

Ganbold works for United Movement of Mongolian Rivers and Lakes as an executive director. Ganbold also works as an executive director of "New World" environmental assessment company and an advisor of "Shim Nakhia" restoration company. He was born in Undurkhaan city, Khentii province. Ganbold graduated from the University of Technology in Irkutsk, Russia with a degree in mining engineering. From 1988 to 1992, he worked for a coal mining company in Bayanteel soum, Uvurkhangai province. From 1993 to 1999, he worked for mining companies in Zaamar soum, Tuv province. He speaks Russian and Korean fluently.

Gary Cook
Advisor
Email: gary@mongolec.org

Gary, director of Earth Island Institute’s Baikal Watch program, has worked to nurture the growth of the Russian environmental movement as a whole, offering particular support to the many activists that are fighting to protect Lake Baikal. Over the last 20 years, Earth Island and Gary have helped with the establishment and support of several dozen environmental groups located throughout Russia. In addition, Gary has served as advisor and partner for many other organizations working around Siberia, including the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility, the United States government, numerous western NGOs (including the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, Earth Corps, Pacific Environment, etc.) as well as each of the eight national parks and nature reserves located within the greater Baikal region. Earth Island’s partners in Russia have used our help to lead a number of campaigns that protect the Siberian wilds, while promoting non-industrial development throughout the region. Earth Island has already conducted some 40 international eco-tours to Russia. In so doing it has brought profits to Russia’s struggling national parks and to local environmental groups. Earth Island also has been at the forefront of confronting oil and gas developments in Siberia, as well as the many uranium and gold mining projects that are spreading to all parts of eastern Russia. Finally, given the fact that over 40% of the Baikal watershed is located upstream in Mongolia, Gary and Earth Island have promoted greater transboundary cooperation between Russians and its Mongolian neighbors to the south.

Meta Mertens
Advisor
Email: meta@mongolec.org

Meta was born and raised in the Netherlands where she received her first round of education and was certified by the Netherlands Board of Examiners in Modern Business Administration. Her interest in a travel and different cultures brought her to the United States where she earned a BA degree in Environmental Studies and a MA degree in Geography at California State University, East Bay. She combines her business and environmental backgrounds as the Finance Director of Treadwell & Rollo, Inc., an environmental consulting firm in San Francisco and teaches in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies of CSU East Bay. In recent years, her interest in horses has brought Meta to the Central Asian country of Mongolia, where she is fulfilling a childhood dream of owning and training race horses. Meta and a team of Mongolian horse trainers gather every summer on the Mongolian steppe to train and prepare their horses for the annual, traditional Naadams, Mongolian horse races.

Paul Robinson
Advisor
Email: paul@mongolec.org

Paul has been on staff with Southwest Research since 1976 and has coordinated energy and natural resource development-related programs since that time. Paul has taught environmental evaluation methods, environmental policy, and sacred sites and environmental protection classes in the Planning Program and Native American Studies program at University of New Mexico. He earned his Masters of Community and Regional Planning Degree with an emphasis on Natural Resource Planning from University of New Mexico in 1992. His Masters project was “Planning for Reclamation of the Uranium Facilities of Eastern Germany.” Paul’s consulting work to support development of solar and wind energy generating systems for the Navajo Nation during the past five years provides a strong foundation for the renewable energy components of the Buryatia-Mongolia portion of the exchange.

Tudevdorj Jamgan
Advisor
Email: tudev@mongolec.org

Tudevdorj was born in Delger village, of Gobi-Altai province at bank of the Zavkhan River. He grew up in a nomadic family that worshiped nature and the environment. He has worked as a chief of Bagh for 20 years. Since 1986, he has been engaged in animal husbandry. Tudevdorj noticed that his province and fellow herdsmen faced environmental issues such as the impact of mining operations—destroyed lands, depleted rivers and mining polluted drinking water since 2001. Therefore, along with the efforts of local people, Tudevdorj established the Salkhin Sandag Movement. He also founded the “Buyany Uglug” local foundation, which aims to assist local poor people. Red Cross Society activities have been implemented in his village. Ever since the establishment of the movement, he has been working to change the lives of Mongolia’s “ninja” miners. He provides them with livestock to improve their livelihood. He also has planted saplings of seabuckthorn fruits in 30 hectares of land in his village.

Cheryl Zook
Advisor
Email: cheryl@mongolec.org

Cheryl is a Manager of Emerging Explorers and Special Projects for the National Geographic Society