Board Members

Nicole Lawson, Ph.D.

Dr. Lawson is a cultural-environmental anthropologist and experienced educator, working at the intersection of course/program design and DEI (diversity/ equity/ inclusion). Her UCLA dissertation research titled “Doorway to Wonder: Charting New Environmental Education and Place-making Pathways in Urban Los Angeles,” focused on alternative and culturally relevant education methodologies for teaching nature to underserved youth in an urban setting. Nicole participated as an education docent at Ballona Wetlands, and serves on the board of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy.

Margot Griswold, Ph.D.

Dr. Griswold is a restoration ecologist with more than 20 years of experience in native habitat restoration in California. Margot was the founder of the Environmental Education/Restoration Program at Los Angeles Audubon and now, as a founding Board member of NNI, guides the NNI staff as they lead students and community in habitat restoration programs. Margot has led long-term landscape scale restoration for the Nature Reserve of Orange County, and has extensive experience vegetating the Owens Dry Lake to control dust emissions using native plant species tolerant of the extreme conditions posed by the ‘dry’ lake. 


Elizabeth Gray Bayne

Elizabeth Gray Bayne earned her Masters of Public Health from Yale University and MFA in film from the Art Center College of Design. A former research fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, she uses film to promote health and social issues, successfully bridging both worlds to produce PSAs and digital content for numerous institutions, health agencies and nonprofits. Past collaborators include the Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, Nature for All, Climate Jam, LA County Department of Public Health and LAUSD. Her digital content and documentaries range from themes of reproductive, environmental and climate justice to racial health equity. Her work has received grants from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, as well as various awards. 

David McNeill

David McNeill is the Executive Officer of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, which operates under the Natural Resources Agency for the State of California. He oversees the long-term acquisition and planned development of approximately two-square miles of oil drilling fields into much needed parkland for urban Southwest Los Angeles County. With over 20 years of real estate, public outreach, and administration experience, Mr. McNeill has helped re-imagine the outdoor landscape in underserved communities. As a founding member of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, he has been a driving force behind implementing urban environmental initiatives such as the Verde Coalition’s City of L.A. landmark Walking to the Park Report. Through his work, Mr. McNeill strives to bridge community, public and private partnerships to help sustain new park projects and inspire the next generation of open space stewards. David is a graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication and a minor in Human Services.   He has served as a member of the City of Los Angeles Recycled Water Advisory Group, South Coast Air Management District Environmental Justice Advisory Group, L.A. County Appointee to the Community Advisory Panel for the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District Overlay Zone, Board of Directors for the California Invasive Plant Council, Walk n’ Rollers and the Fulcrum Initiative.


 Staff

  • Emily Cobar

    Community Programs Director

    Emily coordinates a range of programming that connects students, program alumni, and community members with nature-based opportunities. She is co-founder and co-instructor at the West Los Angeles College Conservation Studies Certificate Program. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz and a certified California Naturalist, Emily was part of the very first cohort of the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program in 2008.

  • Arely Mendia Perez

    Habitat Restoration Site Manager + Education Specialist

    Arely manages NNI’s Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook greenhouse, coordinates restoration projects at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, and helps lead students and community volunteers. She is a current student at Santa Monica College, pursuing both botany and creative writing. She is also a Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program alumna.

  • Brian Young

    Arts & Education Specialist

    Brian integrates art and natural history in his work and leads NNI’s nature storytelling efforts through video, art, and music, capturing student and community connections to nature. He helps lead students in NNI education programs and community volunteers during habitat restoration events. He holds a degree in art from UC Santa Cruz and has over a decade of experience in restoration and education programming. He is also a Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program alumnus.

  • Angela Mendia

    Habitat Restoration Site Coordinator + Education Specialist

    Angela coordinates and implements habitat restoration activities in Baldwin Hills Parklands, where she also helps lead students and community volunteers. She is a graduate of CSU Northridge with a keen interest in spider and insect ecology. She is also a Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program alumna.

  • Sophia Nicklas

    Habitat Restoration Site Coordinator + Education Specialist

    Sophia coordinates and implements nature programming and habitat restoration activities in Baldwin Hills Parklands, where she also helps lead students and community volunteers.

    With interests in elementary education and native plants, she is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz where she received a BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Conservation Science & Policy and a minor in Spanish Studies. She is also a Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program Alumna.

  • Stacey Vigallon

    Executive Director + Environmental Education Director

    Stacey oversees NNI programs and staff management. She leads community science programs, science illustration workshops, and also manages the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program. She is a co-founder and co-instructor at the West Los Angeles College Conservation Studies Certificate Program. She holds a BS in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University, an MS in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington, and she completed the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Graduate Program with an emphasis in science illustration. She received her EdD from UCLA, with a dissertation focus on nature and transdisciplinary learning.

  • Cindy Hardin

    Outdoor Education Director

    Cindy trains and manages upwards of 50 volunteer docents and college interns who lead more than 3800 students in outdoor education at Ballona Wetlands, Kenneth Hahn SRA, and on school sites. She is experienced in elementary and middle school education, and she conducted a year-long teacher fellowship program for teachers from Los Angeles Unified School District to help the teachers develop outdoor education activities within their urban schoolyards.

  • Carol Babeli

    Carol Babeli

    Development Director

    Carol has nearly a decade of experience in grant management, donor cultivation and fundraising. She began her nature training as a docent at Ballona Wetlands and now helps to support NNI education and capacity building efforts by seeking program funding from Federal, State, and local grants, and through foundations and community partners. Carol’s prior 20-year career as a Sony Music executive focused on business development and brand marketing.