Meet Our Staff

John Adornato III, Regional Director
John is the National Co-Chair of the 48-member Everglades Coalition, which is an umbrella group of public interest, conservation and environmental organizations that advocate for the restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem. John currently sits on the Water Resources Advisory Commission to the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District and recently sat as an environmental community representative on the advisory team to the federal government for the Everglades restoration project, Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park and Florida Bay. 

John joined NPCA in February 2002 after completing the yearlong Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship through the National Sea Grant Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  He served in the Capitol Hill office of Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) managing legislative issues related to national marine sanctuaries, fisheries, ocean exploration and aquaculture.  In December 2001, John received his Master’s degree from the University of Maryland in Wetland Plant Ecology.  His thesis topic studied the saltwater intrusion effects of the 1996 Hurricane Lili to wetlands in the Bahamas.  John holds a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Russian language from Tufts University in 1996.  Originally from Springfield, MA, John attended Deerfield Academy, a college preparatory school in western Massachusetts.

Jason Bennis, Marine Policy Manager
Jason Bennis is the Marine Program Manager for the Sun Coast Regional Office in Hollywood, Florida. He is responsible for the management and regional political advocacy of the Sun Coast’s Marine Campaign, which includes a significant focus on the Florida Bay Protection Program. He monitors and analyzes general management plans and other park-related policies for Florida Bay/Everglades, Biscayne, Virgin Islands, and Dry Tortugas National Parks. He serves as the regional liaison for the Park Protection and Park Funding Campaigns and works on other national park protection issues. Jason holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy with a dual concentration in Environmental and Social Policy from the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining NPCA, he worked in Chicago for the Institute for Policy Research; in Washington, DC, for Environmental Defense; and in St. Croix, USVI, as a snorkel/dive trip operator for Buck Island Reef National Monument. Jason is originally from Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Miami-Dade County, Florida. 

Robert Clift, Senior Marine Outreach Coordinator
Robert Clift came to the Florida Keys in 1998 after growing up in Sherman, Texas.  He spent 7 years in the Keys teaching sailing, fishing, and snorkeling to the Boy Scouts of America at the National High Adventure Sea Base in Islamorada, Florida.  In 2004 Rob married and moved to the South Pacific island of American Samoa.  There he worked as a boat captain for a consulting firm conducting water quality monitoring for the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as team leader for a base line survey to pave the way for the first sewer line in the town of Awa, Samoa.  Rob also captained boats for for Fangatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary as well as for numerous visiting scientists conducting marine research.  In 2006 Rob returned to the Florida Keys to serve as the Senior Marine Outreach Coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association.  His current projects include the development of an online, resource protection based boater education program for Everglades National Park and outreach to the public on boater education and issues affecting Florida Bay. 

Shannon Estenoz, Senior Policy Advisor
Since 1996, Shannon has worked in the NGO sector for the restoration of the Everglades, a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.  She began her Everglades career as the Executive Director of the Environmental & Land Use Law Center, a not for profit law firm dedicated to representing the public interest in environmental and land use matters.  In 1997 Shannon joined the World Wildlife Fund as its Everglades field representative, and later as its Everglades Program Director, a position she left in 2003 to have her second child.  In January 2006, Shannon joined the National Parks Conservation Association as the Director of its Sun Coast Region. 

On behalf of WWF, Shannon advocated on the policy, funding, legal and technical aspects of restoring America’s Everglades. As a WWF field program Director, she also worked with the World Wildlife Fund and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF-Europe/Russia/Canada/Mexico) as part of the organization’s global Fresh Water Initiative, Living Planet Campaign and Endangered Spaces Program, to advance the conservation of and sustainable development in the world’s most important and endangered ecosystems.  Shannon served three terms as National Co-Chair of the Everglades Coalition, a consortium of 44 environmental, recreational and civic organizations dedicated to restoring the Everglades.  During her tenure as Co-Chair, the Coalition was awarded an Environmental Merit Award by the Environmental Protection Agency for outstanding environmental stewardship. 

Shannon served on a number of key advisory bodies including as an alternate member of Governor Chiles’ Commission for a Sustainable South Florida, a member of Governor Bush’s Commission for the Everglades, the Water Resources Advisory Commission of the South Florida Water Management District, the Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan Advisory Committee, and the Broward County Water Advisory Board Technical Advisory Committee.  Shannon has testified on behalf of the Everglades conservation community before the United States Senate Committees on Agriculture and on Environment & Public Works.  In 2001 the Environmental Law Institute presented Shannon with a 2001 National Wetland Award for her role in the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, which included authorization of the $8 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.  In 2002, the Florida Wildlife Federation presented Shannon their Conservationist of the Year award. Shannon is a fifth generation native of Key West, Florida and holds degrees in international affairs and civil engineering from Florida State University.  She lives in Broward County, Florida with her husband Richard Grosso and their two sons, Nicholas and Spencer. 

Sara Fain, Everglades Restoration Program Manager

Sara came to NCPA from University of Miami School of Law, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, with a focus on environmental and coastal law.  She is also finishing a Masters Degree in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.  Previously, she worked as Environmental Project Coordinator at the Presidio National Park for the Presidio Trust, and as Environmental Outreach Project Manager for the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands.  She also served as a consultant to the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, where she created, wrote, and designed a Fisheries Education Module for use by high school level teachers.  Sara is also fluent in Spanish, and is a member of the Florida Bar.

Sara Fain is NPCA’s Biscayne Restoration Program Analyst.  She is thrilled to be able to work on issues affecting Biscayne, as she grew up in Miami and holds this National Park and its amazing resources near and dear to her heart.  Sara’s responsibilities include working with all levels of government and the local community to ensure Biscayne National Park is protected from numerous external threats, and is appropriately restored through the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. 

Jill Horwitz, Senior Program Coordinator
Jill works on protecting Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and all the National Parks for their natural, cultural and historical resources, for now and for future generations. She is proud to spend her days protecting these special places, as well as the air and water we share with them and all the wildlife they support, through her advocacy, planning, research and outreach.

While studying at the University of Florida, Jill lead women's sea kayaking, mountain biking, and rock climbing trips through the UF TRIP Program, volunteered with many on and off campus organizations, and eventually became the S.E. Regional Coordinator for a national coalition of student environmental groups. She also completed a number of international independent field study projects. While traveling to study ancient redwood forest ecology and spotted owl politics in Oregon, turtle tagging and tracking in Costa Rica, and European Culture/Environmental Policies in the E.U. in the Netherlands, Jill saw the roles science and advocacy play in environmental issues and policymaking firsthand. She graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management and a minor in Agricultural and Natural Resource Ethics & Policy from the University of Florida in 1999.

In 2000, she moved to Southern California to be the Campus Organizer at UC Irvine for the Public Interest Research Group. Jill networked a diverse set of campus clubs, faculty, community leaders, scientists, lobbyists and media resources to build a strong student movement on various environmental, public interest, and social justice campaigns. Jill returned to Florida in 2004 and worked for three years as the South Florida, Special Events Coordinator for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, executing dozens of successful fundraising events a year.

Lisa Welch, Regional Director of Development
Before joining NPCA as the Sun Coast office's Regional Director of Development, Lisa was Director of Philanthropy for Florida and the Caribbean for the Trust for Public Land. She has also held development leadership positions at Nova Southeastern University's law school and the University of Miami law school. Lisa is a graduate of the Leadership Broward program and a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Lisa earned her B.A. from the University of Texas and her law degree from University of Miami.