Our Team

MASCOT

Born and raised on the shortgrass prairie, this dedicated team member has spent a lifetime creating homes for wildlife, enriching soils, feeding predators, and helping entire ecosystems thrive. Prairie dogs are a keystone species whose colonies support hundreds of other plants and animals, from burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks to swift foxes and countless native insects.

BOARD PRESIDENT
Deanna is a long time environmental activist. Born and raised in Colorado, she gained a deep appreciation for the land and living communities and recognized that everyone she loved was under attack.  In 2015, she began her fight for prairie dog colonies up and down the Front Range as she launched a campaign to protect a large prairie dog colony from extermination in Castle Rock. She has been campaigning and advocating for numerous colonies and prairie communities ever since and intends to do whatever it takes to save this keystone species and the communties they support.

BOARD MEMBER
Hailed as the philosopher poet of the environmental movement, Derrick Jensen is the author of more than 25 books, including A Language Older Than Words, Endgame, and The Myth of Human Supremacy. He holds a degree in creative writing from Eastern Washington University, a degree in mineral engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines, and has taught at Eastern Washington University and Pelican Bay State Prison. He has packed university auditoriums, conferences, and bookstores across the nation, stirring them with revolutionary spirit.

BOARD MEMBER Sandy discovered her passion for preserving and restoring native ecosystems in Colorado after earning two degrees, in business and architecture, and needing more. Her activism and prairie dog relocation work began with saving prairie dogs over 25 years ago. As a Wildlife Photographer, she collaborated with Con Slobodchikoff, PhD, who researched prairie dog behavior and language for over 30 years, to produce and contribute photography and video content for 4 prairie dog educational YouTube videos, Prairie Dogs: America’s Meerkats 1. Ecology, 2. Social life, 3. Language, and 4. Conservation. More of her fun prairie dog videos are Prairie Dogs Jump-Yip!, Prairie Dog Pups Jump-Yip!, Prairie Dogs Chatter!, Zany Prairie Dogs and Zany Prairie Dogs 2.

BOARD MEMBER
Lierre Keith is the author of seven books, including The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, which has been called “the most important ecological book of this generation.”  She is coauthor, with Derrick Jensen and Max Wilbert, of Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It. She is the founder of WoLF (Women’s Liberation Front), a radical feminist nonprofit which is suing the state of California on behalf of women forced to share prison cells with men. She lives in the redwoods with an enormous pack of enormous dogs.

BOARD MEMBER Born/raised in the Midwest, Dave has always been fascinated with wildlife and wild places. With a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Iowa State University, and a passion for all creatures great and small, he continues to learn more through his regular forays into the backcountry as an outdoorsman, naturalist and all-round nature enthusiast. Dave has especially enjoyed wildlife photography via trail cameras and combined with camping, hunting, fishing and wildlife/bird-watching, is never bored!

Dave is an empty-nester residing in somewhat rural Weld county with his wife, 3 dogs and a small flock of chickens. He has enjoyed watching a Prairie Dog town form from no known individuals to hundreds in the past 15 years less than a mile from his home, but understands the oft-hostile survival these keystone species face due to ignorance and sprawl.

BOARD MEMBER Micheala Hinerman has dedicated her life to the protection and healing of Colorado’s wildlife. A passionate and hands-on wildlife caregiver, she has been at the forefront of wildlife conservation, combining knowledge with tireless fieldwork to bridge the growing divide between urban development and the natural world.

Since the founding of Prairie Protection, Micheala has been a driving force within the organization. As a board member and committed on-the-ground activist, she monitors wildlife across Colorado’s suburban communities, where animals increasingly face the harsh realities of human expansion. From bringing awareness and care for cases of mange to ensuring rehabilitation of victims of vehicle collisions and other human-related injuries, Micheala works daily to rescue, heal, and return wild animals to their habitats, often in the most challenging conditions.

LEGAL TEAM Mr. Lane has represented numerous individuals in First Amendment freedom of speech cases. His civil rights practice includes lawsuits against the police, prisons and jails alleging police brutality, lack of medical care and other constitutional violations of human rights. He represents plaintiffs who have alledged race, age, sex, disability and religious discrimination in the workplace.   Mr. Lane has been an adjunct professor of law at both the University of Colorado School of Law and the University of Denver School of Law, having taught Criminal Trial Advocacy, Professional Responsibility, and Death Penalty Jurisprudence for many years. Mr. Lane has appeared in the national news media as an expert commentator on civil rights and criminal defense issues. He has received many awards for his work.

BOARD MEMBER Mr. Frandina’s litigation practice includes representing clients in environmental, tribal and natural resource practice areas, as well as litigating general civil matters such as breach of contract and other business claims, health and employment law matters, and regulatory issues. He is also committed to representing pro bono clients.  Mr. Frandina is authorized to practice law in Colorado and New York.