AFC’s Urban Conservation Awards
Celebrating heroes of urban conservation
On October 16th, 2025, over 150 community members joined AFC at our inaugural Urban Conservation Awards at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It was a beautiful evening celebrating five incredible people working to save wildlife and habitats, photographers inspiring their viewers to connect with nature, and the critical work of urban conservation as a whole. These are people whose work often goes unrecognized, but everyday they make a meaningful difference.
See some photographs from the evening below and scroll down to learn about our 2025 Awardees!
2025 Awardees
MONARCH award
This award is given in recognition of an honoree who has worked to connect communities, land, nature, or ideas in support of urban conservation.Â
The recipient of our 2025 Monarch Award is Dr. Amanda Zellmer, for excellence in scientific research and achievement in the field of urban conservation
Amanda Zellmer is an Associate Professor of Biology at Occidental College, studying spatial computation ecology with an emphasis on applications for conservation biology. Her research utilizes species distribution modeling and landscape analyses to investigate how species populations shift in response to environmental change, including global climate change and habitat fragmentation. She is especially interested in how organisms utilize and move through urban environments.
WILD VOICES award
Recognizing someone who has worked to support wildlife.
The recipient of our 2025 Wild Voices Award is Miguel Ordeñana, in honor of his work that led to the discovery of P-22, his advocacy and research on bat species in Los Angeles, and his community education work.Â
Miguel Ordeñana is an environmental educator and wildlife biologist. He works at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County as a Senior Manager in the Community Science office. As a community science senior manager, Miguel promotes and creates community science projects, and recruits and trains participants. Miguel utilizes his mammal research background by conducting urban mammal research in L.A. and leads NHMLAC’s Southern California Squirrel Survey and Backyard Bat Survey. Miguel serves as an advisor on a jaguar project in southwestern Nicaragua that he initiated in 2012 as well as a Board Member for the Friends of Griffith Park and National Wildlife Federation. Notably, Miguel discovered the first photo of P-22, the famous Griffith Park mountain lion, through a grassroots camera trap study called the Griffith Park Connectivity Study in 2012. Miguel is dedicated towards making science and access to nature more equitable with a goal of increasing the representation and retention of underrepresented communities within the environmental field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Southern California, and a M.S. in Ecology from the University of California Davis.
Sunrise award
In recognition of a young person working in urban conservation.
The recipient of our 2025 Sunrise Award is Edgar McGregor, in particular recognition of his work on behalf of the Altadena community in habitat restoration at Eaton Canyon as well as in his local meteorology that predicted and warned many residents ahead of the Eaton Fire
Edgar McGregor (b. 2000) is a Southern California meteorologist and community advocate dedicated to understanding and mitigating natural hazards in the San Gabriel Valley. After completing 1,992 consecutive days cleaning trash from his local hiking trails, he spent more than a week warning residents of the extraordinary wildfire danger during the January 7–8, 2025 Santa Ana windstorm. After the Eaton Fire destroyed his community and workplace, McGregor began pushing for a national Windstorm Classification Scale to transform how the U.S. forecasts, catalogues, and communicates these powerful events.
Oak Leaf award
Recognizing a lifetime of achievement in conservation, awarded to honorees with a long legacy or history of meaningful work in conservation.
The recipient of our 2025 Oak Leaf Award is Nancy Steele, recognizing her efforts in founding and establishing AFC and a lifetime of working in conservation.
Nancy L.C. Steele has called Altadena home since 1984, when she and her husband Bruce discovered the ideal community to raise their family. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to environmental protection and land and water conservation. She was a founding member of the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy and served as its President and CEO for eleven years, leading efforts to preserve local ecosystems. Alongside Bruce, she operated a beekeeping business since 1980. Sadly, their home and entire beekeeping operation were destroyed in the 2025 Eaton Fire, but they are committed to rebuilding and continuing their passion for conservation and sustainability.
President's award
Selected by the AFC Board of Directors, for special recognition in the field of urban conservation.
The recipient of our 2025 President’s Award is Congressmember Judy Chu (CA-28).
A member of the Safe Climate Caucus and the Environment Task Force Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, Rep. Chu has been a strong advocate for combating climate change and investing in a clean energy future. She supports a net-zero economy by 2050 and has consistently voted to protect California’s air, land, water, and wildlife, opposing offshore drilling and new and expanded oil and gas drilling on public lands. She has consistently been a powerful voice for the inclusion of funding to combat wildfires in annual budgets. Since the January fires, she has been pushing for federal support for soil and environmental testing in burn areas, to support long-term remediation and habitat safety.
Thank You To Our Sponsors!
Cal and Jeannette Hollis
Congressmember Judy Chu (CA-28), Aliya H. and
David Coher, Chris and Katie Poole, Nancy and
Bruce Steele , Amy and Richard Wohl
