The Earth Guardians Mentor Team, with its wealth of experience in a variety of fields, serve as directors, mentors, and co-organizers to assist the youth of the Earth Guardians.

Click here for our team of youth leaders

Tamara Roske – Executive Director Tamara is the mother of six beautiful children that are actively involved in Earth Guardians. She is the founder and executive director of GAYA and the soul behind many of its projects.  Her diverse upbringing and range of life experiences moved her in the direction of activism from an early age.  In 1992, she co-founded and directed the Earth Guardian Community Resource Center, an accredited experiential learning high school in Maui, Hawaii, where she successfully directed her vision to bring environmental awareness, cultural involvement, and positive change to youth. She has taught environmental education and has organized youth outreach programs and cross-cultural programs focused on earth restoration for the past 20 years. In 1995-6, she was the co-coordinator of the Children’s Torch of Hope Tour, which traveled to high-profile events in 29 states throughout the U.S. with youth from different countries speaking on environmental and children’s rights issues. She directed and choreographed the Earth Guardian Performance Group, which supported young people in expressing their creativity by performing message-driven music, dance, and theater to educate and inspire their peers to make positive choices in their lives. Tamara is now guiding the third generation of Earth Guardian youth volunteers into environmental activism and leadership.

Ali Zeljo – Assistant Director Ali is a dedicated and devoted mother of four beautiful kids, including two active Earth Guardians. She is excited to be a part of the Earth Guardian adult team, as she feels the work is of utmost importance for a healthy future for her children and the earth.  She is passionate about and loves to share her interest in natural building, having helped design and build her own strawbale cottage back in Virginia.  She and her family moved to Colorado three years ago after living on the East Coast all of her life in order to truly connect to her natural environment.  Ali unschools her children, which enables her to support them as they follow their own passions and interests.  Ali has been an active leader in her community through La Leche League and Families for Natural Living, serving families by supporting them in their choices and leading community meetings.  Ali has a B.S. in biology from Duke University and a M.S. in child clinical psychology from University of Massachusetts-Amherst.  She is currently working on a certificate in sustainable building at University of Colorado at Boulder and studying herbology in a correspondence course with Susan Weed.

Helen Joffe - Environmental Education Helen Joffe is a Medical Herbalist with over 13 years experience, trained in Boulder, Colorado, at the Rocky Mountain School for Botanical Studies and received her BSc in England for Phytotherapy (Herbal Medicine). She is founder of the herbal company, Phytonica, LLC and provides private consultation as well as education opportunities for the youth. It is Helen’s true passion to bring plants' healing energy to the people. It is her vision that all people will utilize plants as part of their health plan in the near future.

Isa Roske - Youth Outreach Coordinator Isa has had extensive experience in the fields of activism and leadership. She has been part of the Earth Guardians since the age of six, and had the honor of being with EG group that spoke and performed at the United Nations after carrying the Children’s Torch of Hope across the U.S. in 1995. In 2003 Isa co-founded Youth Leaders in Action. Her first creation was E.A.R.T.H. “Earth Activist Restoring Their Home," a multi-media presentation aimed to educate youth on the current state of the planet. Isa has presented EARTH at schools, community gatherings, and national youth leadership conferences. In her work as a youth activist she has also helped to organize rallies and community projects, mobilizing youth to stand up and protect the earth. She has received the E-chievment Award from E-Town radio and the Peace Maker of the Year Award from the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center for her outstanding commitment to create a better world.

Jasmine Roske-Jones - Performance Director Jasmine is the mother of three adorable children and has stepped on board to lead the third generation of Earth Guardians in developing their performance skills. Jasmine was the lead singer for the first generation Earth Guardian Performance Group when they traveled across the United States carrying the Children’s Torch of Hope, performing message-driven original songs and speaking in high-profile events in 29 states on behalf of the earth and children’s rights. Jasmine is passionate about music and using it as a tool for kids to express themselves while educating and inspiring others.

Jon Zeljo – Programs Coordinator Jon, who received his B.A. from Duke University and M.A. from University of Virginia, spent over ten years as a high school teacher and administrator in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington, DC.  He worked tirelessly to help his students understand global issues and become citizens of the world.  With his move to Colorado, he left the school world but stayed in education and is now on staff at the University of Colorado's Program for Teaching East Asia, working with local, state, and national teachers to better understand and better teach China and the rest of East Asia.  He works part-time and primarily from home so that he can spend more time with his four unschooling children.  Jon shares his love and concern for nature with his children, who recently volunteered for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks monitoring raptor nesting sites.  He is inspired by the passionate Earth Guardian youth and looks forward to helping them attain their goals.

Mark Step – Webmaster, Graphics and Marketing Mark has over 12 years experience working as a web developer, graphic designer, and business consultant, with particular emphasis on corporate identity, logo design, internet strategy, ecommerce, budget marketing, and print design. The founder of Lightwave Studio, he has worked with hundreds of small business startups and expansions to design and deploy professional websites, as well as develop concise branding, effective communication strategies, and successful marketing campaigns. Mark has also worked in the fields of event center management, team building facilitation, and personal growth acceleration. Combining a strong ethical and spiritual base, with compassion and wisdom, he has a strong interest in working on behalf of our environment and with youth. Mark lives with his 10-year-old daughter, and they enjoy spending time playing, going on adventures together, and enthusiastically exploring all that life has to offer.

Rajni Lerman – Administrative Assistant Rajni earned her Bacholors degree in Recreation in 1986 from Ithaca College in New York. After graduation she followed her dream to live in Colorado, relocating to Boulder. The first decade of her career was devoted to creating and running programs for youth and teens. After the birth of her son Josh in 1994, her career evolved into utilizing her many administrative and organizational skills. She began working with a diverse range of companies primarily with an enviornmental focus, where she has held several management positions. In 2002 she formed her current business, Gaia Business Services, to assist all types of individuals and businesses to help them manifest their visions through her grounded and consistent support. Her passions are to work with artists and environmental, spiritual, and socially conscious projects. Rajni enjoys balancing her free time between friends, family, her cat "Cougar," hiking, dancing, kirtan, yoga, community service, and organic gardening.

Siri Martinez - Cultural Program Coordinator Siri was born and raised in Xochimilco, Mexico. He studied environment, organic agriculture, and natural construction at the Casa Ecológica Teotihuacan. In 1995 he was invited by Mexcalibur to represent Mexico’s voice of youth in the World Congress of Children for the United Nations 50th anniversary. He toured 29 states in the United States carrying the Children’s Torch of Hope. He was the youth representative for Mexico and a spokesperson for the children of the world that addressed members of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. After returning to Mexico, the mayor of Mexico City inaugurated a monument in honor of the Children’s Torch of Hope and the Guardians of the Future. He has been working on establishing relationships among the native peoples of Mexico and the United States. He is a practicing artist and young leader, inspired to keep his culture alive.