Our Dedicated Staff

Woodbine Ecology Center would be nothing but a dream if it were not for the committed people who have been working hard over the last couple of years to make this dream into a reality. While each of us has a specific set of responsibilities, we all bring and give much more to this project than our job titles and task lists imply. Woodbine is all of us–staff, community working groups, and core volunteers–working toward a shared vision. Together we make Woodbine what it is, a community oriented, mission-driven project, building a better future for ourselves, our children, and seven generations to come.

Cassandra Medrano
Financial Manager
Cassandra maintains the financial records for Woodbine and prepares the financial reports. She grew up primarily in the Denver area, graduating from Antioch College with a B.A. in Education in 1982. Before coming to WEC she taught elementary, middle and high school, managed a food co-op, and ran a bookeeping business and has served on non-profit boards. She lived in Bolivia as a child and in Japan as an adult. She likes to travel—prefers to wave from the beach and stay off the boat.

Cheryl Clark
Volunteer Coordinator
Cheryl comes to Woodbine with a potpourri of experience.  She has worked in the non-profit industry for over 20 years with the majority of that time spent in youth and family work.  Cheryl was the Director of Community Relations for Metro Volunteers and the Volunteer Coordinator for both Excelsior Youth Center and Denver Children’s Home. Cheryl currently serves on the national Neighboring Task Force sponsored by the Hands on Network, the programs committee for Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA) an active member of Single Mothers of Color (SMOC).
Cheryl is the single mother of three amazing boys and graduated from the School of Professional Studies at Colorado Christian University in Business Management/Human Resources.  She conducts Neighboring trainings/workshops throughout the metro and area and teaches a fundamentals class for Re-evaluation Counseling.

Francelia Sevin
Marketing Director
In 1993, Francelia Sevin left a writing job with a major publisher in her native New York City to move to Twin Oaks, an intentional egalitarian community in Virginia. This first attempt to live authentically would not be her last. Her search for truth would wind its way through employment with nonprofits (Literacy Volunteers of America and Boulder County Safehouse) and publishers (Scholastic, Sopris West, Sounds True), activism (Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and Left Hand Books), healing arts (Herb School of the Rockies graduate and reiki practitioner), and ceremony (Celtic-inspired ceremonialist, certified wedding celebrant, and Nine Gates Mystery School staff). Yet, despite the richness of these endeavors, she says, “That deep call for truth, it did not yield.”
Today Francelia is a freelance writer and editor and the copy editor of Pilgrimage (a literary journal for the Greater Southwest). The expertise she gained in her many years as a professional writer, editor, and marketing director are now engaged in her work with Woodbine. Being part of Woodbine, she says, “is like returning home after a long journey.”

Glenn Morris
Indigenous Project Coordinator
Glenn Morris is an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Denver, where he is also the director of the Fourth World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics. He holds degrees from the University of Colorado and Harvard Law School, and has been named a President’s Teaching Scholar, the highest teaching/scholarly award granted by the University of Colorado. He is a member of the Colorado bar (inactive), and has been involved in the international struggle for human rights for indigenous peoples for over twenty-five years.
Glenn has also served as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Glenn is of Shawnee Indian and Irish descent, having been raised with a strong understanding and respect for both traditions. He has served on a number of boards and commissions and continues to serve on the Leadership Council of the American Indian Movement of Colorado.

Pavlos Stavropoulos
Sustainability Coordinator
Born and raised in Greece, Pavlos grew up bilingual and bicultural. Before moving to Colorado Pavlos served on the board of the Oregon Public Interest Research Group, and was the publications coordinator and also served at the board at the Institute for Social Ecology in Vermont. Since moving to Colorado he has served as the publications coordinator for the Fourth World Center, been the publisher and associate editor of Democracy and Nature, the international journal for inclusive democracy, and taught at Escuela Tlatelolco. His years of experience in environmental and wilderness education include being a Wilderness First Responder, a certified permaculture designer and instructor, undergraduate work in environmental studies/social ecology, and graduate work in indigenous studies and wilderness ethics. Pavlos is a certified small water systems operator and the father of three children.

Robert Chanate
Groundskeeper
Robert Chanate is a member of the Kiowa Nation and has lived in Denver, Colorado for several years. Robert volunteers for various non profits both locally and regionally.

Shannon Francis
Indigenous Permaculture Coordinator & Instructor
Shannon Francis is Dineh (Navajo) from Shiprock, New Mexico, and Hopi from Kykotsmovi, Arizona. Shannon is Towering House clan born for Red Running through the Water clan. Her Hopi clans are Massau’, Bear Sand, and Snake Clan. Shannon has been a member of the Denver Native community since her early 20s and has served on various native nonprofit organizations, boards and councils within the native community. She is a mother of six children and is a certified permaculture designer and instructor with ongoing work in indigenous permaculture.

Tere Magnuson
Office Manager
Tere manages the office and handles all duties related to the business of running Woodbine Ecology Center, including inquiries, some bookkeeping, research, floating tasks, and some event management. She grew up primarily in the Denver area and lived in Bolivia as a child. She spent the summer of her sophomore year there and continues to have a love for travel. Her work experience has been in the field of customer relations and account management. Most recently, she was account representative for Aggregate Industries Inc. on the five-year TREX highway project in Denver. She focused on scheduling, mix design, and complying with CDOT and all environmental regulations.