Mehmet McMillan – WildPlaces Director

mehmet

Mehmet was born in Sinop, Turkey, his mother is Turk and father American. He grew up in Louisiana and now lives in the southern Sierra Nevada in the Giant Sequoia National Monument of California. Educated at Louisiana State University, Mehmet earned a B.S. in Zoology in 1989.

In January 2001, McMillan launched WildPlaces a 501(c) 3 non-profit. With the WildPlaces’ team, McMillan coordinates, designs and implements education through restoration projects combined with youth experiential outdoor programs that offer volunteers a window into America’s rich natural and cultural history.

In 1999, he co-founded and co-directs the Burma Humanitarian Mission (www.burmamission.org), a non-profit organization that brings medicine and medical training to the peoples of eastern Burma in the midst of one of the most oppressive and brutal regimes.

McMillan is  a Tech 2 Rescue Climber  with  Sequoia Mountain Rescue (www.sequoiamountainrescue.com), an all volunteer high angle rescue organization serving outdoor enthusiasts living in and visiting Tulare County.

Anne Taormina, Program Coordinator

After serving in AmeriCorps for two years, Anne was hired as WildPlaces’ Program Coordinator. She earned her degree in English at UC Berkeley. After college she discovered her love for environmental education teaching youth at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. Anne’s interests vary from reading and bird-watching to movies …..and everything in between. “I have always wanted to work with youth in the beautiful wild lands of California.The outdoors offer such possibility for growth, and self-reliance for young people.I not only want to facilitate this connection to the outdoors, but I also want to inspire kids to become stewards of these places.”


Brian De La Cerda, Immersed in the Wild Coordinator/AmeriCorps Member

With his eyes set on changing the habits of an entire generation Brian De La Cerda set out on what is still a journey in and of itself. “The landscape began to change as did the structures, I followed the trend and began building relationships as tall as the towers that surrounded me -it exposed me to what I call the “raw world” and the issues that needed to be addressed immediately”. While balancing his first and only year at Austin Community College, Brian found his passion while working as an After School Program Specialist with Austin Recreation Center. There he formed relationships with fifteen inner-city youth.

Like many with a vision, the open road seemed to be the only remedy for expression and action. Brian packed up his bicycle, a chest full of important memories and was Boston bound. There he networked with many young intellectuals, made friends, and was subject to mandatory short films to compensate for rent.  He began experiencing clairvoyance and shortly after was flying to California where he volunteered for Bike Bakersfield a bicycle & pedestrian advocacy group. Eventually he was hired on as a Safe Routes To School Coordinator where he had a successful year introducing the idea of healthier streets and healthy active lifestyles to Elementary schools. With an itch to connect local and surrounding org’s, Brian eventually began volunteering with WildPlaces. After seeing firsthand the intent and dedication displayed by the WP staff and volunteers “I had to be a part of it! And now that I am… my only hopes are to create awareness of the need to serve and protect this magical place that after 22 years, finally revealed itself to me.”

Anna Byrness Cady, Rio Limpio Coordinator, AmeriCorps

Anna Cady is a life long outdoors enthusiast. She has been backpacking with her parents in the high sierras many times, a few hours from her native Davis, CA. These early trips shaped her interest in conservation and love of adventure. She recently graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Environmental Science, focusing on water resources. She spends all available free time white water kayaking and teaching others how to kayak. When indoors, she enjoys playing guitar, knitting, and baking.

John Picone, Immersed in the Wild Logistics/Safety Coordinator

 

John is an educator for Immersed in the Wild.He has been working at WildPlaces since its founding in 2001, leading logistics, and safety coordination.For many years, John has worked on a variety of environmental campaigns to protect America’s wild lands.He is the co-founder of the Burma Humanitarian Mission.He is an avid rock climber, sailor, and kayaker.

Emily Creegan is the new Río Limpio/Clean River Project Coordinator for WildPlaces. She is originally from the bay area and recently graduated from Humboldt State University with an Environmental Science Degree. She has been involved with various community and campus-wide sustainability events. She has co-directed for the Sustainable Living Arts and Music Festival in Northern California, an event held on Earth, where around 5,000 people come to enjoy and learn how to live more harmoniously with our planet. The music stages were powered by biofuels (corn oil), peddle and solar power and by the end of the day only one trash bag of waste was accumulated! She is looking forward to her time with WildPlaces – organizing events, recruiting volunteers and working with at-risk and underprivileged youth in helping to facilitate a connection with our wild places and air, water, and land.