Our Vision
We envision a region that is thriving—our land, water, skies, and all their inhabitants connected in healthy balance with equity and environmental justice for all—as we care for and learn from each other.
Our purpose
Big Bend Conservation Alliance serves the inhabitants of our skies, land, and waters by nurturing reciprocal relationships within our shared environments and cultures and by co-creating inclusive, equitable, and just approaches to conservation with communities throughout the region.
Our Values
Honoring Indigeneity: We are guided by Indigenous thinking and leadership which sees people and nature as one, each with responsibility to the other in a relationship of reciprocity and redistribution through mutual sharing.
Equity & Justice: We acknowledge past harm and inequity. We act knowing that many power structures were designed to exclude and disadvantage some while favoring others. We work towards environmental justice for all.
Healing: We are called to the work of bridging varied cultures and lived experiences, in the spirit of healing, connection, and shared appreciation for the natural world.
Connection & Co-creation: Community voices—across cultures and generations—are the pathway toward conservation. We honor community members as leaders in collectively caring for the region.
Meet our staff
Shelley Bernstein
Executive Director
Shelley came to the Big Bend when she was eight for the first-ever Texas Star Party in 1982 and fell head over heels. She comes to Big Bend Conservation Alliance with experience in nonprofit leadership, audience engagement, community organizing, partnership development, and fundraising. She lives in Marfa.
Elvira Hermosillo
Programs Manager
Elvira grew up in Presidio and has worked serving the community for several years now. She is deeply passionate about environmental stewardship and inspiring others. She established Presidio’s first-ever recycling center in 2012 and has recently taken ownership of it again as a volunteer. She also coordinates the farmers market, is a member of the Convention and Visitor Bureau, and enjoys organizing events for the community. Elvira holds a master’s degree in Design Research from the University of North Texas. Her thesis investigated ways to dissuade people from consuming disposable bottled water, due to its negative environmental impact.
Board of Directors
Adeline Fox
Board President
Adeline grew up in Valentine and Alpine. She has worked in agricultural and Texas water communications for 11 years. She lives in Central Texas and is the Executive Manager of Communications and Outreach for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. She formerly worked as Director of Communications and Membership for Texas Water Conservation Association & Texas Ground Water Association. She holds a B.S. in Agricultural Communications from Texas Tech University and an M.P.S.A. from Texas A&M University. In her free time, she manages a water conservation personality named Water Woman, explores, and photographs scenic landscapes.
Andy Trevino
Board Treasurer
Andy brings sustainability and business development leadership to BBCA with an MS in Sustainability Studies, graduate work in Professional Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, and experience in tech startups. He is an avid outdoors person and professional nature and travel photographer. Andy hopes to inspire and mobilize the urban population of Texas, to take action towards the conservation of the Big Bend, through outdoor recreation and nature therapy. He lives in Austin.Andy brings sustainability and business development leadership to BBCA with an MS in Sustainability Studies, graduate work in Professional Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, and experience in tech startups. He is an avid outdoors person and professional nature and travel photographer. Andy hopes to inspire and mobilize the urban population of Texas, to take action towards the conservation of the Big Bend, through outdoor recreation and nature therapy. He lives in Austin.
Austin Dupree
Board Secretary
Austin discovered the beauty of the Big Bend area as a teenager and has been drawn to the region ever since. After living in different parts of the country, she moved to Alpine and now is finishing a Masters in Education and Counseling at Sul Ross while working in hospitality. Growing up in Dallas, the Big Bend Region stole her heart and she is thrilled to be living here full time.
Jeff Bennett
Board Member
Jeff comes to BBCA with a B.S. in Earth Science from Sul Ross State University and a M.S. in Geology from Northern Arizona. He spent 15 years as a physical scientist and hydrologist at Big Bend National Park where he coordinated binational river science and restoration projects. He serves on the expert science team for establishing environmental flows for the Rio Grande and on the Far West Texas Water Planning Group. He currently works as a Conservation Delivery Specialist for the Rio Grande Joint Venture.
Sophia Hernandez
Board Member
Sophia grew up in Marfa and was always in Ft. Davis and Alpine with her grandparents and cousins. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs and teachers. She pursued a degree from Sul Ross State University. Sophia has been teaching at Presidio Independent School District for seventeen years. She is in charge of the school's yearbook and enjoys teaching the students how to use the camera, especially to capture the beauty of our area.
Roberto Lujan
Board Member
Roberto was born and raised in the community of Alpine, Texas in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Roberto was always intrigued with the surrounding horizons of mountains and would venture into them nurturing his Native-American ancestry. Roberto holds a Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army, a BFA and Masters Degree in Education from Sul Ross State University. He was employed as a social worker and public school educator for thirty three years. Roberto has been involved in preservation of environmental and social impact concerns of the region as well as the recognition and awareness of the sacred indigenous heritage of the region. Roberto tends to his pomegranate orchard in La Junta de Los Rios and his art studio in Shafter, Texas.
Aimee Roberson
Board Member
Aimee is the Southwest Regional Director for American Bird Conservancy. A lifelong student of Earth’s wisdom, she holds degrees in geology and conservation biology. Aimee is committed to reciprocity, community, and environmental stewardship, and partners with people and all our relations to ensure that native grasses grow and rivers continue to flow. Aimee is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and of Chickasaw descent. She and her husband, Rawles, enjoy growing Indigenous foods, such as Chikashsha tanchi homma (Chickasaw red corn) and isito (Choctaw sweet potato squash).
Oscar Rodriguez
Board Member
Oscar was born and raised in Ojinaga, West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. He has lived in and out of Texas since he graduated from Ector High School in Odessa in the late-1970s, including a couple of years in the 1990s when he lived in Marfa and taught at Sul Ross State University. Oscar is also an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe and an avid researcher of Native history in Texas and New Mexico—specifically in the La Junta region. Oscar hosts a radio show on Marfa Public Radio, Caló: A Borderland Dialect, a series that honors the Texas borderlands patois commonly called Caló.
Our History
Big Bend Conservation Alliance formed in 2015 during the midst of the fight to stop the Trans Pecos Pipeline—the first oil and gas infrastructure in the region. The pipeline surfaced many advocates for and against its development and divided communities throughout Big Bend. We recognize that our organization took a side in this fight, helping provide a voice for those who opposed it. Today, our work is still centered on deep community engagement, but we approach it differently with a focus on projects that bring communities together. We serve our skies, land, water, and cultures by nurturing reciprocal relationships within our shared environment and by co-creating inclusive, equitable, and just approaches to conservation with communities throughout the region.
Our Supporters
We are grateful for the support of a growing network of collaborators, partners and funders.