Core Team
Travis Anklam, Collaborative Learning Program Director
travis.anklam@umontana.edu
Travis leads and supports the Center's trainings and learning-centered projects while serving as Co-Chair of the University’s graduate certificate program in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution. He enjoys equipping people with skills and resources to bridge differences, learn together, and address challenges facing the landscapes and communities they call home. This includes work with state and federal agencies, Tribal governments and communities, community-based groups, and a range of interests shaping natural resource decisions.
Travis has a background in environmental education, project management, and facilitation, and has worked at learning centers in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest. Prior to joining the Center, Travis received a BA in Environmental Studies and Biology from Luther College as well as an MS in Environmental Studies and a graduate certificate in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution from the University of Montana. Travis lives in Kalispell where he enjoys gardening, winter, and time with friends and family.
Richard Forbes, Project Coordinator
richard.forbes@mso.umt.edu
Richard uses his facilitation, research, and narrative skills to help people shape stories and opportunities to support themselves, their communities, and their landscapes to build a healthier future. He is passionate about empowering people to connect with the places they care about, and loves the process of gathering and synthesizing information about complex environmental topics through interviews and focus groups.
To inform his collaborative work, Richard draws on his decade of experience as a backcountry guide and environmental writer. He holds a master’s degree in Environmental Journalism and a graduate certificate in Natural Resources and Conflict Resolution, both from the University of Montana, and a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College in Ecology. When he’s not working, he enjoys exploring the mountains and sitting alongside rivers with a book or guitar.
Alexis Gibson, Senior Project Manager
alexis.gibson@umontana.edu
Alexis leads and supports projects across the Center’s portfolio, with a commitment to inclusive collaboration as a pathway for driving real progress and finding creative solutions to environmental and conservation problems. She enjoys helping partners reflect on who they are, where they want to go, and how to get there.
With more than a decade of experience in project management, Alexis has directed education, engagement, and research programs. Her background also includes working as an ecologist/conservation easement consultant to support private landowners and land trusts across the Intermountain West. Alexis holds a Ph.D. from the University of Montana, where she researched ways to improve landscape-scale restoration in partnership with the US Forest Service. In her free time, Alexis enjoys year-round outdoor activities with her family, growing too many tomatoes, playing with spreadsheets, and knitting.
Rayleen Hicks, Director of Finance & Operations
rayleen.hicks@umontana.edu
Rayleen Hicks has responsibility for assisting the Director in the development of projects, leading faculty, research staff, students, subcontractors and others, as required, in the fiduciary administration of project development and execution with each project with our federal partners. Hicks brings a wealth of expertise, having served in various fiduciary positions at the University of Montana for over 10 years.
Shawn Johnson, Director
shawn.johnson@umontana.edu
Shawn has served as the Center Director since 2022, bringing 20 years of experience in facilitation and mediation on complex, adaptive natural resource and environmental challenges. Working at the local to international level, he is known for his work with partners to create spaces to reimagine and make meaningful progress on multi-stakeholder conflicts, challenges, and opportunities on issues ranging from land use planning and forest management to conservation priority setting and regional collaboration.
Shawn played a key role in establishing the Network for Landscape Conservation and serves on leadership committees for several conservation networks across the west. He is the co-author of Working Across Boundaries: People, Nature, and Regions, and has contributed to numerous other books and reports advancing the field of collaborative conservation. Shawn has a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and previously worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Max Baucus.
Devin Landry, Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator
devin.landry@umontana.edu
Devin Landry is the Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Natural Resources & Environmental Policy. In this role, he helps to facilitate multi-partner meetings around finding collaborative solutions to large landscape stewardship, and works on increasing education and training opportunities for conservation practitioners to learn collaborative leadership skills.
For the last seven years, Devin has conducted research efforts in wildlife biology and human dimensions of wildlife management. This has brought him into some of the most pressing management issues in the West, including Greater Sage-grouse conservation and recreation impacts on wildlife populations. Prior to that, Devin has a background in religious studies, where he focused on nature-based religious movements throughout American history. Devin has always maintained a passion for understanding how people connect with nature and place to care for the land.
Devin holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MS from the University of Montana. He is also a proud alumni of the Natural Resources Conflict Resolution Program.
Nick Maya, Project Coordinator
nicholas.maya@umontana.edu
Nick joined the Center in 2022. He values the Center’s commitment to fostering dialogue among diverse perspectives and interests, helping people navigate complex challenges, and developing innovative solutions to tough public problems. Nick holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from New York University, an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, and a graduate certificate in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution.
In addition to his work at the Center, Nick serves on the National Parks Conservation Association’s Next Generation Advisory Council. He lives in Missoula with his partner and dog, where he enjoys fly fishing, trap shooting, and curating playlists.
Heather Stokes, Director of Practice
heather.stokes@umontana.edu
Heather leads the strategy, planning, and implementation of projects and services. As the lead facilitator for complex initiatives, she designs processes that foster inclusive and equitable participation. Heather works with tribes, government agencies, NGOs, and private entities to strengthen relationships, navigate difficult conversations, and find solutions that serve diverse interests and the common good.
With 25 years of experience in human behavior and partnership development, Heather has driven the strategic development of private, public, and community organizations. She began her career in behavioral health, studying human interactions and motivations, and now applies those insights to addressing natural resource challenges at the Center. Heather serves as Vice Chair on the Board of the Montana Watershed Coordination Council. She holds a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University and a graduate certificate in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution from the University of Montana. When she isn’t at work, Heather enjoys floating rivers, exploring the back country, hosting dinner parties, and living in the moment with her husband, dog and two cats.