Kerry
Leslie

Kerry leads advocacy communication strategy for TWS' Climate Solutions portfolio, driving communications on campaigns aimed at a rapid and just phase-out of fossil fuels on public lands and waters, protection of old and mature forests that serve as "carbon storage champs", and expansion of renewable energy on public lands with high energy potential and low impact on communities and wildlife. She also provides strategic communication support through a landscape-lens for the North Cascades. 

Kerry has over a decade of experience as a communication strategist, researcher, and direct service provider for a wide range of environmental and social change nonprofits, philanthropies, and in education settings. Her passion for people and place has developed over a lifetime, and she is a committed believer in the power of empathy, authentic stories, sensitively crafted messaging, and passing the mic.

Justice and equity are central to Kerry’s own ideology and her work. Her success as a communicator comes from her emphasis on listening to, working with and amplifying the voices of communities and individuals resisting systemic and systematic attempts to erase and silence them. Previously, Kerry was a communication and digital strategist at Spitfire Strategies, led environmental education for youth in Oregon and Northern California, and provided childhood development support to Spanish-speaking families in Oregon. Her research has focused on Latino relationships with "mainstream" environmental movements, the psychological effects of climate change, and the connection between environmental toxicants and developmental disorders. Kerry holds a B.A. in Psychology from Willamette University and a M.A. in Social Sciences, Environment and Community from Humboldt State University.

Kerry is a proud born-and-raised New Mexican, growing up in Las Cruces at the base of the Organ and Robledo Mountains on a small sheep farm. A piece of her heart will always be with the green chile and the cholla. Kerry has made new homes throughout Oregon and California and is currently settled in the Bay Area town of El Cerrito on Ohlone land.

Publications

Mending the Gap: Latino Involvement with Mainstream and Local Environmental Organizations - A Pilot Study in Los Angeles County, California.

Leslie, K., & Koger, S. (2012). Toxicants and environmental health: A psychological issue. Journal of Student Research, 1(2), 19-30.

Leslie, K. E., & Koger, S. M. (2011). A significant factor in autism: Methyl mercury induced oxidative stress in genetically susceptible individuals. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 23(4), 313-324.

Koger, S. M., Leslie, K. E., & Hayes, E. D. (2011). Climate change: Psychological solutions and strategies for change. Ecopsychology, 3(4), 227-235.