Staff Members
EMRCD currently consists of 2 staff members who create and implement goals and projects for Merced County and surrounding communities. Check the Jobs page for any open positions with us.
Ursula Stock
Manager and Admin
I am interested in the resiliency and sustainability of ecosystems, both environmental and economical ones. Ecology teaches how everything is interconnected, and economics teaches about resource allocation. Preserving and protecting healthy ecosystems in both the environment and economics supports resilience and sustainability for all life on Earth. My professional background includes biology, teaching, business, food service and production.
Rachel Patteson
GrizzlyCorps Fellow
Projects Assistant
In 2019, I graduated from University College London with my M.Sc. in Earth Sciences and Paleoceanography and then moved to California in 2020 after working on permaculture farms in France. After experiencing the impact of Hurricane Katrina where I grew up, I became interested in earth system dynamics. In 2013 I moved to Missouri for my B.Sc. at the University of Missouri where I studied Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences. I combined my studies with research in Alaska on modeling sea ice melt, permafrost research in Yakutsk, Russia, and lab work as a USDA soil microbiological technician. Now, I want to support communities impacted by worsening environmental crises and injustices and maintain a role in ensuring equitable access to natural, clean, and sustainable food and water systems. My role at EMRCD involves assisting farmers and local land-owners and directing projects that help restore land.