Railyard Stewards

Eliza Kretzmann, our Executive Director, is a native Santa Fean with experience in environmental project coordination and regional planning. Eliza believes that community urban space is vital for healthy communities, and she is passionate about environmental community-based work.  Eliza served as the Community Stewardship Coordinator at Earth Works Institute and she provided environmental education, community event coordination and field science at River Source. She also worked with at-risk youth as an Urban Ecology Instructor in New York City, empowering residents to improve their neighborhoods and providing educational programming to inner-city schools. At a United Nations non-profit she collaborated with diplomats, United Nations staff and nonprofits in work on global issues ranging from violent conflict prevention to indigenous forums. Eliza has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Pitzer College.

Carol Schrader, our Volunteer Coordinator, is an educator and advocate for building community engagement in parks and open spaces.  In her previous work as an environmental educator she helped coordinate the New Mexico No Child Left Inside movement.  She has also taught English as a Second Language, GED prep and writing courses at SFCC and coordinated the college’s reaccreditation in 2001. In her spare time, she organizes her own neighborhood park group and the adjoining stretch of the Santa Fe River.  She enjoys playing in the river with her daughter Ada.  Carol has a Masters in multicultural education from the University of New Mexico and an undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University.

Gaelle de Tassigny, our Horticultural Specialist, brings her passion for plants and her keen eye for beauty to her job as the park horticultural specialist.  Her skill with plants comes from experience at Design with Nature, a local landscape company, and a lifetime of gardening.  She graduated from the University of Oregon with a BFA in fine art photography and minors in Spanish and Anthropology.  When not at the park Gaelle can be found in her own garden, in the woods hunting mushrooms, or with her eye glued to the view finder of her camera.