CactusToCloud Contributors
CactusToCloud began as a project of four friends who became certified California Naturalist and UC Climate Stewards together, and who share a passion for the California Desert and the plants, animals, and people, who live here. Find out more about the California Naturalist and Climate Steward programs here, and scroll down to meet our team!
Tracy Bartlett
A native of the Midwest, Tracy and her husband Gary have been fulltime Coachella Valley residents since 2014. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Tracy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Health Promotion. Being active in the outdoors has always been a focus of Tracy’s life and after retiring in 2016, Tracy determined that her second “career” would involve the natural world. Tracy is a volunteer scientist with the Center for Conservation Biology, and a volunteer with the Desert Sands and Sky Islands California Naturalist program at University of California-Riverside, Palm Desert Center. Tracy is happiest volunteering for conservation efforts in the Coachella Valley, scouting for lizards, and traveling with Gary in their teardrop trailer.
Colin Barrows
Colin is a Coachella Valley naturalist and desert advocate who works to promote conservation of natural open spaces and native species. He works with local agencies to advance habitat conservation, recreational trails planning, and education about desert ecosystems. He also serves on the board of the Mt. San Jacinto Natural History Association.
Sendy Hernández Orellana Barrows
Originally from Jalisco, Mexico, Sendy grew up in the sunny Coachella Valley. Her work has always centered around the land, from real estate to operations management, to leading acquisition efforts resulting in the protection of 5,200 acres of conservation land in the Coachella Valley.
She is a passionate advocate for land conservation, diversity & inclusion in the outdoors and is also the Conservation Program Manager at the Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM). Sendy is a certified California Naturalist, and UC Climate Steward and holds a Professional Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Fundamentals from UC Riverside.
Melanie Davis
Melanie lives in Joshua Tree and is a research field ecologist and botanist at UC Riverside's Center for Conservation Biology in Palm Desert. She has been working in the California deserts since 2017. Her field research brings her to remote corners of the Colorado, Mojave, and Sonoran deserts to study the effects of climate change and human disturbance on desert ecosystems, as well as the distribution of rare native plants. She is also an artist and has published illustrated field guides to several groups of native desert plants. Melanie holds a bachelor’s from The Evergreen State College and the Desert Ecologist and Naturalist certifications from College of the Desert and is passionate about introducing the public to the value and wonder of our biodiverse deserts.
