Our Team
Our team is composed of passionate individuals that have worked in a variety of environmental and sustainability fields. We started Together for Nature because we want to help our community improve their social and environmental impacts in holistic manners.
Staff.
Alondra Velazquez
Administrative Assistant for
Community for Nature/Beavers and Resilience for Climate and Coasts
Alondra is a recent graduate of Lake Forest College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Biology and Visual Science Communication and a Spanish minor. She began her involvement with Together for Nature during its founding after completing her involvement with the first Youth Mentorship program cohort and has since continued volunteering for the organization as part of the Education, Mentorship, and Events team. Alondra is passionate about conservation work and finding ways to involve and bridge gaps for underserved and underrepresented communities. As such, she hopes to help expand the organization into other communities such as back in her hometown, Chicago. In the near future, Alondra also plans to continue her academics and seek out graduate education either in ecology/conservation field research or scientific illustration. She believes visuals are an important tool for education and hopes to someday work to illustrate material that can be used to teach science. In her free time, Alondra likes to hangout with friends, draw, play music, hike, and explore the city.
Email: alondra.velazquez@
togetherfornatureil.com
Board.
Alejandro Sobrera is an environmental and climate justice advocate and organizer. He is presently the diversity and justice associate at The Climate Reality Project in Washington, DC, an organization founded by former Vice President Al Gore to promote just climate solutions that accelerate the worldwide transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. At The Climate Reality Project, he focuses on global climate justice policy as well as linguistic and digital accessibility. He is also an active part of the environmental justice movement, having been a part of groups such as the Sunrise Movement and Azul. His accomplishments include securing Irvine's commitment to 100% renewable energy and organizing in coalition to successfully block the Poseidon Desalination Plant in Huntington Beach. Alejandro has studied and spent time living in Beijing and Taipei and currently holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He speaks both Spanish and Mandarin.
Alejandro Sobrera
Board Member
Email: alejandro.sobrera@
togetherfornatureil.com
Bianca Bellino is a dedicated advocate for leveraging education, business, and innovation to advance environmental and social impact. As National Program Director at Resilience Education, she led operations, strategy, and the expansion of in-prison educational programs in collaboration with universities and businesses. At Columbia Business School, Bianca co-founded and co-chaired the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Social Justice (IDEAS) Committee for staff members, spearheaded the school’s first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report using GRI standards, co-founded the Directly Impacted Group supporting formerly incarcerated individuals, and helped launch the ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP) and multiple mentorship programs. Her sustainability expertise includes conducting Greenhouse Gas emissions inventories, leading materiality assessments, and providing ESG recommendations to organizations across sectors, from real estate to direct-to-consumer goods, ensuring alignment with sustainability goals. Previously, as a FEMA Corps Disaster Survivor Assistant, Bianca earned the Congressional Medal and the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her disaster recovery work from President Obama and the US Congress. Bianca holds an MPA from Columbia University, specializing in Advanced Management, Finance, and Sustainability Management, and a BA from Goucher College in Public Policy. She brings her expertise in sustainability, advocacy, and program management to Together for Nature’s mission of improving social and environmental conditions in northeastern Illinois.​
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Bianca Bellino
Board Member
Email: bianca.bellino@
togetherfornatureil.com
Katia Pilar Carranza is a sustainability researcher and organizer focused on improving the reciprocal interconnections between people and nature while increasing equity for underserved and Indigenous people. Sustainability became her passion fifteen years ago when she learned that climate change is threatening the health of our people and environment. Since then, Katia became impassioned to take action, and she has directed transdisciplinary initiatives focused on advancing the environmental and social vision of her communities. Last year, she founded the Together for Nature nonprofit in her hometown that is working on connecting underserved people and youth to nature and sustainability leadership. Katia is now pursuing a Master of Science in Natural Resource Sciences because she wants to better prepare for advancing the vision of her communities in sustainability planning. She is currently collaborating with Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance in conducting research that supports the socioecological resilience of Indigenous people, and she is serving a grasslands Indigenous Working Group in compiling their priorities into strategy and implementing equitable engagement across North America. Katia is committed to continue collaborating with her underserved, migrant, and Indigenous communities to advance their vision for equitable sustainability that heals our social and environmental relationships.
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Katia Pilar Carranza
Founder/Board Member
Email: katia.carranza@
togetherfornatureil.com
Israel “Izzy” Carranza, board member and treasurer of Together for Nature, is a Mexican-American artist and cultural worker based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally from Lake County, Illinois, Izzy brings over 15 years of landscaping experience rooted in the very soil of the community he now works to uplift. His deep connection to the land inspired his commitment to environmental and cultural restoration through Together for Nature. Izzy’s artistic practice is heavily influenced by his Mexican heritage and the rich traditions of Indigenous Mexican art. As an abstract expressionist painter, he uses his work to explore themes of identity, place, empowerment, and resistance, blending personal experience with ancestral influence. Beyond the canvas, Izzy is a community builder known for organizing events that celebrate and uplift culture, creativity, and entrepreneurship through art, music, and markets. His dedication to bridging environmental justice with cultural empowerment drives his work with Together for Nature, where he hopes to foster a more connected, creative, and thriving Lake County. His commitment to cultural empowerment and art advocacy led him to serve as National Leaders of Color Fellow for the Mid-America Arts Alliance and receive the Strengthening Neighborhoods Individual Award from NeighborWorks for community empowerment. Izzy is currently a National Cultural and Art Fellow for the Intercultural Leadership Institute.
Izzy Carranza
Board Member
Email: izzy.carranza@
togetherfornatureil.com
Lindsey Nystrom is a climate resilience professional with 8+ years of experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Specializing in equity-driven vulnerability assessments, Lindsey leverages data analysis and localized insights to empower communities in the face of climate change. Currently serving as a GIS Manager at Fernleaf, Lindsey collaborates with local governments to develop climate resilience strategies that address increasing climate impacts, particularly in underserved and marginalized communities. With a background in Environmental Equity and American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Lindsey brings a deep understanding of the systemic and intersectional challenges posed by climate change to the team. Driven by curiosity and compassion, they have championed campaigns for fossil fuel divestment, coordinated institutional sustainability initiatives at their alma mater UNC Asheville, and worked alongside local governments & Indigenous communities to support culturally-informed climate action. Lindsey’s expertise in GIS, science communication, and compassionate stakeholder collaboration helps to create meaningful advocacy for a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future. In their free time, Lindsey enjoys petting dogs, eating snow cones, and walking along the lake in Chicago.
LIndsey Nystrom
Board Member
Email: lindsey.nystrom@
togetherfornatureil.com
Sandra Davila, board member and secretary of Together for Nature, is an educator with experience teaching pre-K through 6th grade in low income public schools in Illinois and in international schools abroad (Mexico, China, Russia and Spain). She has experience developing play-based curriculum, revising and updating educational policy, creating programming for all ages, and specializes in liberation education. She is also a grassroots community organizer with experience running campaigns, is a practitioner and facilitator of Kingian nonviolence, and works as a diversity, equity, inclusion, and educational abolitionist consultant. She also has experience working as a programming and community outreach coordinator in the nonprofit world.
Sandra Davila
Board Member
Email: sandra.davila@
togetherfornatureil.com