Spiritual Advisors
Earth Keepers represents a diverse array of spiritual leaders from various faith traditions, backgrounds, perspectives and geographies all held together by a common desire of being good stewards of the earth.
A New Mexico native, Andrew witnessed first hand the healing nature of God’s creation while fishing the rivers of the west with his grandfathers, both WWII veterans. Andrew completed a joint degree Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity at University of Louisville School of Law and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While in Louisville, Andrew had the opportunity to study with preeminent environmental ethicist Wendell Berry and leading Environmental Law Scholar Tony Arnold. After studying Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa, Andrew worked in the U.S. Senate as a Field Representative for U.S. Senators Bingaman and Heinrich covering issues of public lands, health, education, immigration, and veterans. While with Senator Bingaman, Andrew worked on the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the Navajo Codetalkers. While with Senators Bingaman and Heinrich, Andrew led anti-poverty initiatives building community-wide coalitions focused on education, engagement and empowerment. In promoting conservation among faith leaders and sportsmen, Andrew helped spearhead environmental coalitions that led to the protection of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, the Columbine Hondo Wilderness and the Valles Caldera National Park Preserve. While with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, an organization founded by Aldo Leopold, Andrew spearheaded conservation initiatives focused on youth, veterans and tribal engagement, wildlife corridors and connectivity, and protection of National Monuments. In 2017, Andrew worked with tribes and spiritual leaders throughout the west to led a field trip to Bears Ears National Monument focused on the protection of sacred lands. Andrew is an ordained Presbyterian Minister and served the Presbyterian Church (USA) as an Associated Stated Clerk overseeing the denomination’s governance from 2011-2013. Andrew currently serves as an associate pastor to First Presbyterian Church Santa Fe, is a Commissioner to the Synod of the Southwest and is the National Wildlife Federation’s Public Lands Field Director. He is an avid fly-fisherman and passionate about the intersection of culture, community, collaboration, conservation and spirituality.
Hispanic/Latinx Community Organizer
Brought up in the Catholic faith tradition of northern New Mexico meant that public service and care for the broader community were values that were deeply instilled in Carmichael Dominguez from a young age. Carmichael first became an elected official as a Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education member in 2002. As a member of the school board, Carmichael spearheaded secondary education reform efforts and advocated for special needs children by working with the State Legislature to develop a pilot project to automate Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) in the Santa Fe Public Schools. He also worked with administrators and Hispanic youth and families on Santa Fe’s Southside to develop what is now the Bio-Medical Career Technical Education at Capital High School, a nationally recognized program. In 2006, Dominguez was elected to the Santa Fe City Council where he represented District 3 serving the lowest income, youngest and majority Hispanic/Latinx part of the City. This district also borders iconic public lands like La Cienguilla Petroglyph site, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Historic Trail and the Caja del Rio plateau. During his time on the City Council, Dominguez created the Airport Road Overlay, implementing a “Healthy Communities” strategy focused on improving quality of life for southside residents by increasing walkability, public safety, and food access, creating more healthcare opportunities, improving education, and promoting civic empowerment and engagement. Growing up on family ranch in northern New Mexico, conservation and love of wildlife has been part of culture and passion since he was a youth. Carmichael has served as board member of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He also served as a board member for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Spiritual Advisor | Flowerhill Institute Co-Founder and cultural Advisor
Joseph Brophy Toledo has served the Pueblo of Jemez in various capacities for over 4 decades. He has worked with numerous indigenous youth groups, his is an adjunct instructor for IAIA, he has worked for as a creative consultant for Robert Mirabal Productions, he has served on the Native American Global Sports Committee, and has been instrumental in various international indigenous projects such as Pueblo Pathways Project and he has traveled to Mexico, Canada and Africa as a First Nations representative for Earth healing and environmental conferences and efforts.
As an accomplished fly-fishing guide and angler, Jennifer Black began fly fishing on the flats of Tampa Bay where she earned a degree in Marine Biology from Eckerd College. After college Jen worked for the Florida Marine Research Institute studying the reproductive life cycle and migration of Mahi. While working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Jen studied mercury contents of Snook, Redfish and Sea Trout along the coast of Florida. Jen has taught Marine Biology and Environmental Science in public schools in Florida, Kentucky, and New Mexico. As a public-school teacher, Jen’s classes participated in the Trout in the Classroom program sponsored by Trout Unlimited and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Jen has served as board member of the Truchas Chapter of Trout Unlimited as well as spearheads conservation work with spiritual leaders and faith communities through EarthKeepers 360.
Executive Director of NMIPL, Catholic Franciscan sister
Joan is a Catholic Franciscan sister from the Rochester, Minnesota community who serves as the Executive Director of NMIPL. Her farm background, passion or the Sacred Earth Community and many years of experience in the non-profit and social justice sector inform her work. She holds a Master’s Degree from California Institute of Integral Studies where she studied with Brian Swimme, Joanna Macy and others. Fr. Thomas Berry and Teilhard de Chardin inspire her work for the long haul in helping people come to a sense of wonder at the marvelous world we have been given and are called to take care of for the future of all beings.
Professor of Law Chair of the Center for Land Use & Environmental Responsibility Director of the Resilience Justice Project, University of Louisville
An interdisciplinary scholar in the law, planning, and governance of land use, water, and the environment, Tony Arnold has received many awards for teaching and mentoring students and for the national and international impact of his research. He directs the Resilience Justice Project, concerned with environmental justice in marginalized communities. An avid hiker and horseback rider, Arnold has lived in Kansas, Texas, Puerto Rico, California, Wyoming, Florida, and Kentucky. He has practiced law, served in numerous community and government leadership roles, and is an ordained elder and deacon in the Presbyterian Church-USA. Arnold attributes his interests in environmental conservation and justice to his faith.
Spiritual Advisor
Nelson Capitan (Dine’) lives on the Pueblo of Laguna and lives with his wife, Gwen and has three young adult children. Nelson serves as a ruling elder at Laguna United Presbyterian Church. He was the Moderator for the presbytery of Santa Fe in 2014, and continues to serve on different committees for the presbytery of Santa Fe and the Synod of the Southwest, PCUSA. Nelson encourages STEM careers for young native students from his employer; Sandia National Laboratories per the American Indian Outreach Committee. Nelson has a B.A. in biology/minor in geology from UNM. And home, home is Naschitti, N.M.
College Chaplain at Berea College & Director for Spirituality and Religious Life at Transylvania University
Rev. Dr. Jake Hofmeister is a College Chaplain at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Jake is passionate about higher education ministry, especially cultivating interfaith cooperation, religious literacy, and numerous social justice issues including environmentalism and sustainability. Jake has also served as a hospital chaplain, an executive director of a camp and conference center, and a college professor. Jake has a BA from the University of Richmond, M. Div. from the Louisville Seminary, a D.Min. from New York Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Leadership in Higher Education from Bellarmine University. Jake loves the outdoors, travel, adventure motorcycling, upland game and waterfowl hunting, and every kind of fishing. Jake is married to the Rev. Emily Miller and they have one daughter, Harriet.
Scholar in Residence, Temple Beth Shalom and Author
Nahum is the scholar-in-residence at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is the leader of The Beit Midrash of Santa Fe and teaches spirituality and medicine to family practice residents at the University of New Mexico Medical School. Nahum is an associate of The Meeting Ground, a multi-cultural team that produced a DVD to train cross-cultural peacemakers, and has developed a series of workshops entitled “The Hebrew Prophets Now!” that apply prophetic insight and inspiration to contemporary challenges. Nahum and his wife Shelly attended Earth Keeper’s Bear’s Ears trip and wrote various pieces about the trip from a Reformed Jewish perspective. Nahum recently authored and published the book: "The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets: Then and Now."
Pastor First Presbyterian Church Dunedin Florida Non-Profit and Faith Community Consultant
David was born and raised in Black Mountain, NC. He holds degrees from Davidson College in NC, Columbia Seminary in Atlanta and a doctorate from McCormick Seminary in Chicago and is currently enrolled in the Master’s program in Organizational Development at Case-Western University in Cleveland. David has served the Church in Ghana, West Africa, Georgia and Florida, having recently spent 12 years as the founding pastor of a new church in suburban Tampa.
Hospital Chaplain
Chester Craig Topple lives with his wife, Trasie, and two girls in Athens, GA. Ordained by the Presybterian Church (USA), Topple served as a youth director, campus minister, and a parish pastor for 15 years. Afterwards, he pursued chaplaincy work, and now works with St. Mary’s Health in Athens. Since his childhood walking in woods while holding his grandparents’ hands as they identified flora and fauna, Topple has a deep appreciation and connection with the Great Outdoors. Backpacking, trail running, camping, and hiking profoundly nourish his spirit. He is keenly interested in the intersection between faith and Creation care, including advocacy for wildlife, wild spaces, climate justice, and sustainable living. Nothing gives him greater joy than to see his girls’ eyes light up with discoveries they make in the natural world.
Pastor & Spiritual Director First Presbyterian Church Santa Fe
Harry is a spiritual director, justice seeker, environmental advocate, peace pursuer, student of scripture, cancer survivor, lover of travel (favorite destinations are Australia, Scotland, Germany, and Cuba), and former college baseball player (whose stats and stories keep getting better with age). Harry is an ordained Presbyterian minister and has served at First Presbyterian Santa Fe since December 2011. Prior to Santa Fe he served congregations in Lyndhurst, Ohio (an eastern suburb of Cleveland) and Lake Forest, Illinois. Harry is a graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio (BA), Yale Divinity School in Connecticut (MDiv) and McCormick Seminary in Illinois (DMin).
Wildlife Expert & Regional Wildlife Connectivity Coordinator
Growing up in northern New Mexico and coming from a long lineage of ranchers and public land users, Jeremy gained his appreciation for the outdoors at an early age. Jeremy channeled his passion for the outdoors into wildlife conservation and now serves as the Regional Connectivity Cooridinator for the National Wildlife Federation and New Mexico Wildlife Federations. In this role, Jeremy works with local communities, tribes, sportsmen, traditional land users, faith communities and federal and state agencies to protect wildlife connectivity and ensure the conservation of Southwest’s land, water, wildlife, and cultures for future generations. Through dynamic presentations and on the ground organizing, Jeremy’s work has focused on reconnecting youth and communities with the outdoors, working to protect wildlife corridors across New Mexico and Colorado and fighting to support programs like the Land Water Conservation Fund and our National Monuments. Jeremy is a passionate public land advocate and outdoorsman with a B.S. from New Mexico State University and is currently pursuing his M.S. in Fish, Wildlife Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. Jeremy grew up Roman Catholic.
