GWE Leadership

Esha Chiocchio – Board President

Esha is a sustainability consultant and serves on the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, where she chairs the energy committee. She is the author of Forest and Water Climate Adaptation: A Plan for Santa Fe and a founding member of Got Sol, a volunteer organization that promotes renewable energy. She is also a documentary photographer who has worked internationally for numerous publications, including National Geographic and Newsweek. Chiocchio served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa, and holds BAs from the University of Colorado in Anthropology and French and an MA from Goddard College in Sustainable Communities. She is the mother of Zubin and Ciela.

Mike Hopkins – Board Treasurer

Mike’s career was in Silicon Valley where he worked for a variety of tech companies, both startups and well-established organizations, as an IT executive. Now retired, Mike brings a set of business organization skills to The Global Warming Express and a passion for bringing kids into the conversation about climate change. Mike’s goal for GWE is to grow the program to reach the entire state of New Mexico and eventually to make it a national program through partnerships with other non-profits.

Bobbe Besold – Board Director

Bobbe Besold is an artist, educator and activist working in all media (including visual art, installation, prop and set design, writing and public art), whose work focuses on ecological and social issues. She holds a BFA and did extensive Masters studies at VSW, Coach House Press, A Space and with the Hummer Sisters. One of her public art projects in Santa Fe is the St Francis Underpass, “Watershed. ” Her community engagement projects have included public and private schools (at all levels), multiple community groups such as the Santa Fe Railyard, Wise Fool NM, Warehouse 21, Audubon, Sierra Club, New Energy Economy, Wildearth Guardians, 350.org, GlobalWE and many others.
www.bobbebesold.com

Beverly Williams – Board Director

Beverly Williams has a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT (1984).  After working in the acoustics and vibrations industry for five years, she became a homeschool teacher of her own four children and those of others. She taught lab sciences to all ages and developed a math games curriculum for K-12.  She was drawn to the Global Warming Express because of the teaching synergy of its founder, Genie Stevens, and her desire to unleash the energy of children to combat the current climate crisis.  Other than helping design science experiments for the GWE curriculum and mentoring GWE students, she continues to teach lab sciences, math games, and tutor students.  She is also a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and guides the GWE students in public speaking with this knowledge.

Robert Grainger – Board Director

Robert is a Certified K-8 teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools where he teaches fifth grade and is the  garden coordinator for Lew Wallace Elementary school. He is a member of the Growing Health and Justice Coalition and Families United for Education which are part of community initiatives centered around food insecurity and antiracism advocacy. Robert received  a Bachelors in Psychology and soon afterwards was awarded a Masters in Education from the University of New Mexico. He is a dedicated environmentalist and works closely with the community and various schools to promote global warming initiatives. He was inspired by the Global Warming Express in his local school and became involved helping the GWE progression of curriculum during the pandemic. Growing up on the slopes of the Taos mountains he promotes awareness of local culture, native tribes and customs learned through understanding diversity.  This lesson is shared with his students and is integral in every teaching moment.

Theresa Palmer – Board Director

Theresa works as a speech-language pathologist and home educator. She began working with GWE as a mentor in 2017. She aspires to encourage and inspire students to develop a love of and felt connection to our living planet and to gain the knowledge and confidence needed to advocate for the safe and just world that they deserve. Theresa enjoys playing music, dancing, and spending time with her family outdoors.