UPHE Staff
Jonny Vasic – Executive Director
Jonny Vasic has over ten years of experience working with non-profit organizations in various roles including International Director and Director of Media. He has lobbied in Sacramento and Washington D.C. with the Humane Society of the United States and was the International Director at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, where he was part of the team that created the critically acclaimed hit show Whale Wars for Animal Planet. He is on the Board of Directors for Surfers for Cetaceans and he is the producer of the award-winning documentary film Minds in the Water. Before Jonny’s non-profit work, he was an Executive in Charge of Production at a Los Angeles based TV production company. He was founder and president of Evergreen Oasis Entertainment, which specialized in communication with a conscience. Jonny grew up in Salt Lake City and has a keen interest living in an environment with clean air, water, and soil. His life long passion for the outdoors, a healthy environment and his love of animals combined with his experience in multi-media, has led him to work with groups that are making a real difference in people’s lives.
Brandi O’Brien – Manager of Programs and Development
Brandi first became interested in Utah environmental issues during a year-long internship in the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s Washington D.C. office. Here, she lobbied for the protection of Utah’s wild places and engaged with passionate activists from across the country. During this time, Brandi was also enrolled in George Mason University, where she went on to obtain a degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Being particularly interested in the environment and its effect on people, she focused this major to revolve around environmental justice issues. With this focus she was able to research topics such as: water rights, air quality, and the success of various pieces of environmental protection legislation. Still passionate about Utah public lands, Brandi moved to Cedar City in 2019 to do field work for the Utah Conservation Corps. She was ecstatic at the opportunity to conduct this field work in one of her favorite parts of Utah- Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. She has since worked on other public lands improvement projects throughout the West- partnering with both nonprofits, and land management agencies. Brandi is thrilled at the opportunity to continue her work for the health of the environment and people of Utah through her role with UPHE.
Born and raised in Upstate NY, Brandi spends much of her free time exploring the breathtaking camping and hiking that Utah has to offer.
Alexa Peseri – Outreach Coordinator
Alexa’s interest in environmental stewardship stemmed from her Girl Scout Gold Award project, which led her to study Environmental Science and Biology at Brown University and later obtain an MBA in Sustainable Solutions from Presidio Graduate School. Both degrees leaned heavily into environmental health challenges presented by industry and climate change.
She brings Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and communications experience from the outdoor industry, having spearheaded Specialized Bicycle’s Corporate Sustainability Team for 3.5 years and co-chaired People for Bikes’ Sustainability Working Group. Prior to relocating to Utah, Alexa saw the power of grassroots organizing through volunteering with the Madison, WI chapter of Bill McKibben’s 350.org. She is no stranger to partnering with physicians, as she has worked for Epic and University of Wisconsin Health to minimize patient access challenges presented by electronic medical record software (Epic).
Alexa is an avid hiker, skier, yogi and cyclist. Her outdoor interests, passions for climate justice and wellness fuel her mission to “fix the bike while riding it” in the beautiful, imperfect state of Utah. She hopes to inspire understanding and action through her role at UPHE.