Texas Campaign for the Environment: Staff Spotlight

Shanna Caughey, Office Manager (D/FW), first joined TCE as a community organizer in July of 2010, after pursuing a postgraduate Philosophy degree in London. While across the pond, Shanna became politically mobilized as part of a network of anti-cuts activists who fought side by side to protect jobs and social services and resist the commodification of education. She is thrilled to have found political agency back home in Texas, where it is a great honor to work towards social and environmental justice every day.

Virginia Fugman, Staff Director (D/FW), began working with TCE in Central Texas after graduating from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2006. She helped found the TCE Houston office as its Staff Director in 2008, and became the Staff Director for our D/FW office in 2012. Virginia believes that while there are many important issues well worth building public support for, none are as pressing as the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat. On the weekends you will find Virginia riding her bike, going to the dog park and cooking brunch.

Zac Trahan, Program Director (D/FW), was home schooled as a child in the hill country outside Austin. His deep connection with and respect for the natural world has only strengthened since joining TCE in the fall of 2002. Zac has worked in all three TCE offices and was the Houston Program Director from 2008-2011. He believes our common problems call for collaborative solutions and that protecting our humanity means protecting our shared surroundings.

Lani Ogle, Administrative Director (Austin), began working for TCE while on summer break from the University of Texas in 2003, and quickly developed an ardor for grassroots organizing. After leaving activism to complete a sociology degree, Lani serendipitously returned to TCE in May of 2007. A lifelong resident of the Austin area, she is passionate about preserving Central Texas’ unique character and quality of life, and to that end believes organizing one’s neighbors about issues that matter is indispensable.

Alex Christiansen, Office Manager (Austin), is originally a native of Portland, OR though he now calls Texas his second home. After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in English Literature and Sociology, Alex came to work for TCE Austin as our Office Manager in February 2011. Growing up in the rich greenery of the Beaver State triggered a deep connection to our natural surroundings and the importance for its survival. He will continue to promote education and awareness to fellow Texans in order to keep our area clean and beautiful for many generations to come.

Stacy Guidry, Program Director (Austin), grew up in the Beaumont area and started organizing with TCE in August 2003. Stacy was our Austin Staff Director from 2005-2008. She has been a dancer since the age of five, taught children dance lessons for five years, and she loves to sing. Stacy works for TCE because of the pollution issues she's dealt with in her hometown; both her parents have worked for petrochemical plants for decades. She feels democracy is not a side line sport and there's no room for benchwarmers. This is why she strives for positive social, political, and environmental justice and concrete changes in people's everyday lives.

Jeffrey Jacoby, Staff Director (Austin), began his career with TCE in 2004 and directed our D/FW office from 2005-2011 before taking on the Central Texas office in 2012. After obtaining a Master of Arts from the University of Maryland and living in Washington, D.C. for three years, Jeff found TCE when he returned to his native Texas. Jeff believes that change begins at home, one person at a time. His commitment to grassroots democracy and environmental advocacy stems from a strong desire to transform the mindset of a culture bent on harming the very source of its sustenance.

Renee Vaughan, Associate Staff Director (Austin), spent many weeks of her childhood in the Gila National Forest with her family, and so has a deep appreciation for the world’s places of natural beauty. Her hobby is urban and landscape photography. A graduate of the University of North Texas, she began organizing with TCE in August of 2004. Renee is passionate about empowering people to lead their leaders toward more just social and environmental policies, and views the grassroots canvass as a crucial political tool in making real change.

Alejandro de la Torre, Office Manager (Houston), grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Journalism at the University of Houston, where he also enjoyed learning earth science. His passion and greatest concern is finding solutions to the climate crisis, ecosystem defense, and transitioning from an unsustainable way of life. He believes grassroots organization and action is the key to fighting for human rights; and to preserving the earth and a livelihood for generations to come.

Tyson Sowell, Program Director (Houston), grew up in the Austin area before completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Texas Tech University and his Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois in Environmental Studies. Tyson joined TCE in 2010 as a community organizer and policy intern. He believes in the power of individuals to affect change and that democracy only works when we work at it. He is passionate about social and environmental justice and working to ensure humanity a future.

Brigette Yawn, Staff Director (Houston), is a Houston native and has lived there all her life. She has been with TCE since 2008 and was the Houston office's first community organizer. She believes that we must take care of our Earth so that it can take care of us. She believes that for a democracy to function properly it is our duty to make our voices heard.