Sendy Hernández Orellana Barrows is a dedicated conservation advocate and co-founder and board president of the CactusToCloud Institute. With extensive experience as a liaison between non-profit organizations and local, state, and federal agencies, her work focuses on land protection, particularly of desert ecosystems, and making the outdoors more accessible to everyone. Sendy has certifications as a UC Climate Steward, UC California Naturalist Instructor, and in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Since 2017, Sendy has played key leadership roles in notable desert conservation initiatives, including the recent designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument, and as a representative of California’s desert regions within the state’s 30×30 initiative, which aims to protect 30% of our land and waters by 2030. In addition, she helped protect over 5,200 acres of land within the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

She finds joy in helping others reestablish their relationship with nature and find careers in environmental protection, which has inspired her to create free educational and recreational opportunities for the community. She helped design and implement the Chuckwalla Youth Ambassador program, a first-of-its-kind program that provided opportunities for six local community youth to travel to Washington, D.C., to advocate for public lands. ‘

She also helped design and lead the Nuestro Desierto Program from 2022 to 2024, providing California Naturalist certification and early career training at no cost to low-income students in the Coachella Valley.

Sendy was born in the beautiful state of Jalisco, Mexico, but she grew up soaking up the sun in the Coachella Valley. She lives in the City of La Quinta with her husband, Colin, and their rescue cat, Banjo. In her free time, she enjoys vegetable gardening, hiking, kayaking, and exploring caves, from Cuba to Oaxaca to the California Coast.

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