Staff

about

Jacqueline Guevara has nearly 30 years experience in non-profit management. Her passion for the desert, coupled with her extensive background in social services, makes her a strong advocate for protecting public lands while promoting education of diverse audiences about the lands and their historical, cultural, and recreational values. A 42-year desert resident, Jacqueline lived in the Morongo Basin for 20 years before relocating to Desert Hot Springs, where she currently lives with her family.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Marian Tremblay is a married mother of 3 and a grandma to 7. Marian has spent the last 13 plus years overseeing the Business operations of Joshua Tree National Park Association. “I am proud of the work that I do, but more proud of the work the Staff does to create fond memories for the visitor, either with great gifts or wonderful Interpretive information.”

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Sarah is a grassroots educator, artist, and chef who values an exploratory, hands-on approach to how we perceive and interact with the world around us. Sarah moved to the high desert in 2016, and her natural curiosity about the environment sparked several projects that brought people together to explore our relationship to the land through botany, food, and hiking. In collaboration with the non-profit High Desert Test Sites, Sarah founded the monthly community wild-plant dinner and discussion event High Desert Test Kitchen, which later generated Hole in the Sand, her immersive platform for informal desert educational events focused around plant-identification hikes, overnight desert backpacking trips, and seasonal pop-up dinners. Most recently Sarah‘s been teaching culinary arts at Copper Mountain College and College of the Desert, and she‘s so excited to collaborate with the community and broaden her outreach by joining the team at JTNPA as Director of Desert Institute!

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Jamie has extensive retail management and customer service experience. She handles all aspects of leading, training, and developing our team of information specialists to ensure a rewarding experience for our visitors. Jamie was born in Great Falls, Montana, and spent her youth moving all over the United States. In 1983, she married and moved to Twentynine Palms. It immediately felt like home to her, and she has been here ever since. She has three wonderful children and two grandchildren.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Lizette joined JTNPA in 2023. She has nearly five years of experience in retail buying and over 20 years of experience in customer service, account management, and retail operations. Frequent visits to Joshua Tree National Park were the catalyst to her becoming a permanent resident of the high desert. Lizette loves music, hiking, and traveling to new places. She is excited about her new role with JTNPA and becoming more involved with the park and her new community.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Neil Xu, the Finance Manager for Joshua Tree National Park Association joined us in 2022. In this role, Neil will manage all aspects of the organization’s financial analysis, forecasting, and fund management, working closely with the executive director, director of business operations, management team, and staff to provide oversight, guidance, and problem-solving assistance on financial systems, procedures, and reports. Neil holds a Bachelor of Economics in Financial Engineering from Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and a Master of Finance from the University of California, Riverside. He is looking forward to his new position and life in the high desert. Besides his daily work, he is also an archer, leather craftsman, and music lover.

Pronouns: He, His

Brandy Dyess joined JTNPA in the spring of 2021. Prior to moving to Joshua Tree, Brandy worked as the administrative director at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Department of Photography & Imaging, as a grants analyst for The California Endowment and in the ABC Entertainment finance division of The Walt Disney Company. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and a certificate in fundraising from UCLA.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Patty Angel Somerville, a California native and resident of the Morongo Basin, is an animal lover, big sister, and is enamored with the desert night sky. She began working for the Joshua Tree National Park Association as an Information Specialist in 2016. She has been the Association’s Office Assistant, Desert Institute Assistant, Office Manager and is now extremely thankful for the opportunity to serve as the Membership Coordinator. Patty loves learning, exploring, and researching ways to make the member and donor experience most pleasant, and enjoys engaging with park supporters on a daily basis.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Christine Grimes is a Joshua Tree native, wife, and mother of two. Growing up here, she spent a lot of her outdoors, exploring and becoming familiar with the desert’s unique landscape. Prior to working with JTNPA, Christine worked for a prestige cosmetic company for over 11 years, where she developed her management, marketing, and merchandising skills. She takes great pride in working to protect and spread awareness about the importance of preserving sacred places like Joshua Tree National Park and is thrilled to be a part of JTNPA!

Always live by the words of Margaret Mead “never doubt that a small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Benazir (Benny) Lopez is the mother of three beautiful children and one Weimaraner. She is currently obtaining her Associate in Science in Administration of Criminal Justice. She has always been outdoorsy and her love for the outdoors has only grown due to JTNP being in her backyard. She is mostly found outdoors when the opportunity presents itself, and her typical adventures include but are not limited to hiking, kayaking, shooting, archery, bowling, VR gaming, Seaworld, and random road trips. She started with JTNPA in July of 2021 working in the visitor centers as an Information Specialist. She is excited about her role as the Desert Institute Assistant continuing to work alongside her wonderful colleagues and DI volunteers.

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Cindy Cunningham is the Assistant Buyer for Joshua Tree National Park Association, and has been with the organization since 2014. Part of Cindy’s job is to bring in new and exciting products to our visitor centers. She also runs the JTNPA main Instagram account. “Making our visitors happy is our number one priority.”

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Edgar is a desert native and lover of the outdoors. He has over 10 years of experience in retail operations. His keen attention to detail works hand in hand to developing merchandise for the six stores that provide direct financial aid for the park. Edgar is devoted to providing visitors with sensible merchandise that is not only practical but also provides an interpretive message about the park. His favorite aspect of the job is helping visitors explore the park safely.

Pronouns: He, His