Audubon California Board of Directors

Marsha Anderson grew up on her family’s farm in Marin County. She and her husband, John, have lived in Yolo County for thirty-three years and are actively involved in grassland restoration. Together they own and operate Hedgerow Farms in Winters, a major producer of native grassland seed. Since 1998, Marsha has bred and raised Hanoverian and Oldenburg horses. She produced the licensed Hanoverian stallion ‘Warcloud,’ and numerous horses, competing in dressage and the hunter jumper ring. Ms. Anderson received a bachelor of science degree in bacteriology and a certificate in financial planning from U.C. Davis. She serves on the board of the Yolo Land Trust as its treasurer. She is also a member of Soroptimist International of Winters, and the California Native Grasslands Association. She served as president and then as clerk of the Winters Joint Unified School District Board. Ms. Anderson joined the Audubon California board in 2007.

STEVE BLANK of Menlo Park is a faculty member of the University of California Berkeley Haas Business School where he teaches classes on entrepreneurship which focus on how to start and manage new companies and new product introductions. Appointed to the California Coastal Commission by Governor Schwarzenegger, February 2007, Mr. Blank has over 25 years of experience in high technology companies and general management as a founder and executive. He has been a founder or participant in eight Silicon Valley startups since 1978. His last company, E.piphany, started in his living room in 1996. Other startups include two semiconductor companies (Zilog and MIPS Computers), a workstation company (Convergent Technologies), a supercomputer firm (Ardent), a computer peripheral supplier (SuperMac), a military intelligence systems supplier (ESL) and a video game company (Rocket Science Games). Mr. Blank is a supporter of the Peninsula Open Space Trust’s land-saving efforts on the San Mateo County Coast. He is a Director of Macrovision Corporation, CafePress and IMVU, and he serves on the Advisory Board of Imvu. Along with his duties as an Audubon California board member, he has been nominated to serve on the National Audubon board in January 2005.

Steve Blank Speeches During Chairmanship

Steve Blank intro Morris Doyle Event Honoring Robert Stephens, 2006 (pdf)

It's Déjà vu all over again, 2006

Bowling Together in the Bay Area, 2006

Steve_Blank_Addresses Asilomar Assembly, 2006 (pdf)

Natural Selection, Audubon, and Global Warming - Mt. Diablo Audubon Society, 2007 (pdf)

STEVE COONTZ of Laguna Beach is a partner in the law firm of Coontz & Matthews LLP in San Juan Capistrano. He has provided legal representation to the Audubon Society on various matters since about 1990. As part of that representation he filed suit against all 15 developers of the Dove Canyon residential community adjoining Audubon's Starr Ranch Sanctuary and secured a global settlement that allowed Audubon to reduce or eliminate contaminated runoff into Starr Ranch and to share in income from the sale of runoff water. Mr. Coontz specializes in real estate, land use and business law and related litigation. He has been practicing law in Orange County since 1971, except for three years in the early 1980’s when he lived and practiced law in Park City, Utah. He has been a member of the California bar since 1971 and the Utah bar since 1981. In the course of his career he has served as legal counsel for 12 cities in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, including chairing the City of Irvine legal committee in that city's successful opposition against converting El Toro Marine Base into an international airport. Mr. Coontz has also been active in the Rotary Club, where he served as president of two local chapters, and the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Coontz has been a member of the Audubon California board since December 2003.

A. SIDNEY ENGLAND, PH.D. , of Davis is an ornithologist and the Director of Environmental Planning for the University of California, Davis. Dr. England is an expert on the ecology of the Swainson’s Hawk, a species listed as threatened in California. In 1997 he co-authored an account on the species in the American Ornithologists’ Union project, The Birds of North America - Life Histories for the 21st Century. Dr. England routinely faces the issues of resource management and regional planning by serving on the boards of directors for the Conaway Ranch Joint Powers Authority, Water Resources Association of Yolo County, the Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee, and the Swainson’s Hawk Technical Advisory Committee. He was the president of the Yolo Audubon Society 2001-03, and has been on the board of the chapter for over a decade. Dr. England is the chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the Audubon California board of directors. An avid birder, he has traveled widely in Central and South America, and teaches introductory field ornithology through the University Extension at UC Davis.

Belinda Faustinos of San Gabriel Valley was appointed as the Executive Officer of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (Rivers and Mountains Conservancy) in June of 2002. This agency's territory encompasses 68 cities and over 1,600 square miles in the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers Watersheds. The primary charge of the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy is to acquire and manage public lands within the watersheds, provide open space, low impact recreational and educational uses, water conservation, watershed improvements, wildlife and habitat restoration and protection. Ms. Faustinos has been a leader in development of the Greater Los Angeles County Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan, serves as the Executive Officer of three joint powers authorities including the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, is a Board member of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council and the Latino Urban Forum. A native of southern California, Ms. Faustinos was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. She attended parochial schools in Los Angeles and obtained her bachelor's degree from Pitzer College in 1973. Post graduate education has included completion of courses offered by EPA and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Over the years she has received honors and certificates of recognition from several federal, state, and local legislators and has participated in many civic and professional organizations. She lives in the San Gabriel Valley with her husband and three sons. Ms. Faustinos has been a member of the Audubon California board since September 2007.

STEVE FERRY has been a member of Audubon Society since 1977, a member of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) since 1983, and a member of the Board of Directors of SBAS since 2003, serving as Membership Chair. Mr. Ferry is a snowy plover docent at University of California’s Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) as well as a board member of the Friends of COPR. He has served as a volunteer condor nest watcher for US Fish and Wildlife Service at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

Mr. Ferry has had a successful career of 35 years in the aerospace industry as a design engineer, systems engineer, and program manager. He last held the position of program manager for Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing in Goleta, CA where he directed development teams in multimillion dollar projects to develop complex space sensors used to produce infrared images of the earth and planets. Three of these sensors are currently operating on Mars.

Charlene Kabcenell of Portola Valley is a former vice president at Oracle Corporation, where she led various divisions responsible for product software, software development tools, and internationalization. She received a bachelor of science degree in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ms. Kabcenell now devotes her time to a wide range of charitable and volunteer activities, including managing her family foundation and providing pro bono consulting to selected nonprofits. She serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy of California and Peninsula Open Space Trust. She is also a founding partner and former Vice Chair of Grantmaking for the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2), and a member of various advisory committees for MIT and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Ms. Kabcenell has been a member of the Audubon California board since September 2007.

GERALD D. “JERRY” KARR is the Conservation Chair for the Napa Solano Audubon Society. Mr. Karr has served multiple terms as president of his chapter. A United States Army veteran, Mr. Karr worked for a major oil refining company for 36 years. He was the Marine Terminal Superintendent responsible for safe tanker operations as well as all oil spill training and response. He was one of two Wildlife Liaison team leaders for a West Coast Regional Response Team. He also serves as president of the board of directors of The Friends of The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Born and raised in Vallejo, Mr Karr has spent many recreational hours in the Napa River Delta, San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Married for forty years to wife and best friend Theresa, Jerry has two grown sons, Clifford and Kevin and two grandchildren. He joined the Audubon California Board of Directors in January 2006.

MARGERY NICOLSON of Pacific Palisades is a former faculty member of the University of Southern California medical school. Retired as senior scientist from Amgen Inc., she is currently a member of the executive and development committees of Audubon Alaska. Margery is an active volunteer for Audubon's Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary on the Platte River in Nebraska, serving as everything from guide to dishwasher. In March, 2003, the new Iain Nicolson Audubon Center - named for her late husband - opened its doors at Rowe Sanctuary, owing in large part to Mrs. Nicolson's energy, involvement, and generosity. An interview with Margery Nicolson appeared in the Fall 2005 Newsletter.

Kristi Patterson has managed the Western region product implementation group of Kana Communications, a software startup company. She also created and led the education and training division for Kana’s training of employees, customers, and partners since 1998. Prior to joining Kana, she worked with Bain Consulting in San Francisco and led the design and implementation of Bain’s first technology networking and communication system. In 1996 she joined Netscape Communications and oversaw building an internal product knowledge system, and managed the sales and training for the northern California channel sales group. Ms. Patterson received her masters degree in organizational communication and learning from Arizona State University. Growing up in Santa Cruz and spending summers on the ocean or backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, Ms. Patterson continues to enjoy exploring Northern California, Western Colorado and Montana with her husband, Tom, and their two children. They reside in Portola Valley. Ms. Patterson joined the Audubon California board in 2007.

REGINA PHELPS of San Francisco is the founding owner and CEO of Emergency Management & Safety Solutions, a consulting and training firm. Her company is an internationally recognized firm in the field of emergency management, continuity planning and safety. Ms. Phelps is widely referred to as an expert in the field and provides consultation and speaking services to clients nationally and internationally. The company’s services focus on emergency operations center design, emergency exercises, workplace violence, event/crisis management, hi-rise fire planning, and emergency response training. Ms. Phelps has received numerous honors and awards for her work. She is a birder who has traveled to far corners of the earth including India and most recently Romania on birding trips and an avid supporter of environmental causes. In 1991 she was chairman of the board of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; she was the first woman, the youngest, and first small business owner to ever hold that seat. She serves on the boards of San Francisco Friends of the Urban Forest and the California Advisory Board for the Trust for Public Land. She has been a member of Audubon since 1985, and has served on the Audubon California board of directors since 2004.

WENDY PULLING is the Director of Environmental Policy at Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). Ms. Pulling is responsible for environmental policy and strategic environmental management in climate protection, volunteer stewardship, environmental justice and non-point source water pollution at the company. She is also responsible for the Richard A. Clarke Environmental Leadership Award – PG&E’s annual award to recognize and encourage environmental leadership in its employees. She serves as PG&E’s primary liaison with environmental groups, environmental justice groups, and environmental regulatory officials. Ms. Pulling formerly served as a staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco and Assistant Regional Counsel for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She is a member of the California Bar Association, the California Environmental Dialogue, and she serves on the advisory board of the Tuolumne River Trust and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Wendy’s varied personal interests include birdwatching, hiking, traveling to the wild areas of the Western U.S., and tending her fruit orchard at home in Berkeley, California.

Chris Redfern is executive director of the San Diego Audubon Society (SDAS). Since joining SDAS in 2005, he has established a number of new projects and programs, including community-based habitat restoration projects benefiting endangered birds (including California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover), a collaborative outdoor nature program that reconnects school children to nature in their own neighborhoods, and a partnership with the National Wildlife Federation’s Flyway Cities Coalition. Chris serves on the board of the San Diego Conservation Resource Network and is an active member of the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Task Force, the Rose Creek Watershed Alliance, and the San Diego Nature Education Network. Prior to joining SDAS, Chris had a successful career of 14 years in the software industry. Chris was elected to represent Audubon Society chapters from Southern California on the Audubon California board of directors in May of 2008.

CRISTINA SANDOVAL, PH.D. is the Director of the Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) in the UC Natural Reserve System and a professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She works with in tandem with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society on the Snowy Plover Docent Program, a critical component of the COPR Snowy Plover Management Plan. She had studied spiders in the Amazon rainforest before coming to the United States in 1988 to work on natural selection under Professor John Endler at UCSB. Ms. Sandoval is also an authority on stick insects, which she studied for 13 years. Originally from Brazil, she, her husband and son live in Goleta.

ROBERT STEPHENS of Soquel founded the Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery in Moss Landing, a wholesale and retail nursery providing California native plants and seeds for landscaping and restoration. The nursery also offers botanical consultations, planning and implementing restoration, erosion control and landscaping projects, and seed collection and seed cleaning. Robert also operates an apple orchard in Soquel. He and his wife, Julie Packard, are trustees of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In 1998, galvanized by and two other Packard board members, including Julie, the foundation pledged to save open space in the state of California. He is an advisory board member of the O’Neill Sea Odyssey and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, and is trustee of The Future of Children in Los Altos, California. He is the chair of the Audubon California board of directors.

PHILIP SWAN of San Marino is a senior vice president of Capital Groups Companies (Los Angeles), which is one of the world’s most experienced and successful investment management organizations. The Companies manage investments for millions of individuals and thousands of corporations and institutions. He serves on the board of Cygnet Foundation, a family foundation, based in Pasadena. He and his wife, Tricia MacLaren, are members of The Roger Wagner Choral Arts Society, a group of visionary individuals whose passion for choral art and commitment to the Los Angeles Master Chorale have inspired them to make endowment or irrevocable planned gifts to secure the future of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He joined the Audubon California board of directors in June 2005.

JIM WICKETT of Atherton and has had a diverse thirty-year career in business; from technology start-ups to innovative non-profits. Starting in the 1980’s, he founded Star Hill Academy, which served as a wildlife release and raptor breeding center. He has also structured outdoor education programs in conjunction with the Sierra Club and the San Francisco Zoological Society. He served on the California Coastal Commission’s Regional Commission for Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Mateo counties shortly after its formation and has been a long time environmental activist. He is a member of the California Bar. Mr. Wickett is currently the EVP of business development at Macrovision (MVSN), a publicly traded company. He joined the Audubon California board in 2006.