Tahnee Robertson, Director
Tahnee has worked on natural resource management and community development issues in the U.S., as well as internationally, for the past 20 years, principally as a professional mediator, facilitator and collaboration specialist. She is currently director of Southwest Decision Resources, an independent Tucson-based firm that provides assessment, facilitation, mediation and process design services for community development and natural resource management efforts. Her recent work has included forest planning and management, recreation planning, community and regional visioning, overflight noise issues, affordable housing policy, youth engagement, and watershed management and grazing-related issues in project settings convened by federal and local government agencies, as well as non-governmental and community-based organizations.
Prior to moving to Tucson, Tahnee served as the Associate Director of the Program on Environment and Community at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). Her work at Cornell included capacity building, process design, facilitation, research and other assistance in collaborative processes in a range of natural resource management and community development projects in the northeastern U.S. and in Central America. Tahnee received a Bachelor’s in Biology from Grinnell College and a Masters in Natural Resources from Cornell University. She is a member of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution’s Roster of Environmental Conflict Resolution Practitioners, and a member of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2).
Colleen Whitaker, Program Associate
Colleen has worked in the US, UK and Africa on collaborative environmental and community development issues. She has extensive experience using participatory mapping techniques with communities to support decision-making and increase local capacity. Colleen has a bachelor’s degree in International Development and Natural Resource Management from the University of Arizona, and a masters degree in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics. Originally from Tucson, Colleen has recently returned home and is also working with the US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution on initiatives to integrate new technologies with collaborative environmental processes.
Jill Bluhm, Program Assistant
Having moved from Pennsylvania in 2005 to Prescott, Arizona, Jill spent the past four years teaching middle school before moving into an administrative role where she discovered her keen interest in collaborative processes. Sharpening her skills while working with SDR, Jill’s work focuses on meeting documentation, small group facilitation, survey development and assisting with overall logistics. Jill works on the Prescott National Forest stewardship project.
Stephanie Mitchell, Program Assistant
Stephanie, a mid-career mom and on-hiatus librarian, provides part-time administrative support to SDR. She holds a Master of Arts in Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona and is enjoying the chance to flex her information gathering and management muscles for SDR's projects. Having lived in Arizona most of her life and worked in local history special libraries and archives, Stephanie brings a strong working knowledge of the Southwestern region to her administrative support duties.