Board of Directors

Ken Bouley is Senior Director of software development at the analytics company, Fair, Isaac Corporation (FICO), where he has worked since 1996, as a developer, product manager, and software architect. He holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in computer information systems from Bryant University, in Rhode Island. He moved to San Francisco in 1992 and bought a home in Inverness in 2010. Ken travels, builds furniture, and indulges his love for nature through hiking and wildlife photography. He and his wife, Kelli, split their time between Inverness and Telluride, Colorado.

Preston Brown (C-SALT Secretary) is the Director of Watershed Conservation with Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) in Marin County, CA. His work is focused on developing and implementing watershed restoration and salmonid biological monitoring programs, managing an internship program, and supporting advocacy campaigns. He also sits on the Lagunitas Creek Technical Advisory Committee and the Marin Beaver Reintroduction Steering Committee.

Preston holds a B.S. in Natural Resources Management from Colorado State University. Before joining SPAWN, Preston worked as an ecologist with the Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District where his work focused on vegetation ecology and habitat mapping. Preston lives in Sonoma County with his wife, cat, and many houseplants.

Mel Wright grew up in the foothills of the Sierras next to the Kings and San Joaquin River watersheds, early on developing a love and sensitivity towards the natural environment. He is a longtime Woodacre resident, moving there in 1972. Upon retiring from teaching and civil service in 2006, he immediately went to work for the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN), a project of the Turtle Island Restoration Network. For nearly a decade he served as the SPAWN Native Plant Nursery volunteer manager, assisting interns and other volunteers in propagating and growing native plants purposed to protect and restore riparian forests throughout the Lagunitas and nearby watersheds.

He is also co-founder of Broom Service, a local group of volunteers dedicated to clearing invasive plants that threaten biodiversity and increased fire danger. He has been active with the San Geronimo Planning Group and occasionally testifies at public hearings on issues of environmental protection and equity. Along the way, Mel has earned some public recognition as the SPAWN volunteer of the year (2007), The Edie Robinson Community Service Award (2016), and along with his partners at Broom Service, the Marin County Parks Integrated Pest Management Commission Annual Award for 2018.

René Voss is a natural resources attorney who works to protect our National Forests, wildlife, and wild lands from harmful development. Although he has a degree in Electrical Engineering, he switched to working on environmental issues in 1994 as the Campaign Director for Georgia ForestWatch. There, he helped protect the remaining roadless wildlands of the Chattahoochee National Forest and helped stop most new logging on that forest. He then moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute to advocate for ending commercial logging of our National Forest.

He is a life member and long-time Sierra Club leader, and was elected to the Sierra Club Board of Directors in 1999, serving one term. In D.C. while continuing his work he studied law, and in 2008 passed the California Bar Exam. In 2009, he and his wife Linda and their son Nathanael moved to San Anselmo. From there, René runs his solo public interest natural resources law practice to help various non-profit clients, although he spends most of his time working to defend the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument from government mismanagement. He loves backpacking in the Sierras and has hiked most of the trails in the vast public lands in Marin where he tries to lose himself as often as he can. He serves on the board of the Wilderness Watch and is a member of the Town of San Anselmo’s Open Space Commission.

Jason Deschler is a TAMALKO (Coast Miwok of Marin) of the HUKUIKO band from the villages of ETCHA-KOLUM (Tomales Bay) and ETCHA TAMAL (Nicasio) with ancestral ties to Bodega Bay and Petaluma. He is an active member in cultural traditions as well as an ally for neighboring tribes as a preservation officer and project advisor spanning cultural preservation and environmentally sensitive areas (ESA boundaries) with the help from the departments of anthropology of University of California, Berkeley and California State University, Fresno.

Michelle is from California and has lived in Marin County since 1980. She is a member of Marin Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. Michelle was Charter President of the Rotary Club of West Marin (2002 – 2007) and served again 2016 – 2017, believing that “Rotary makes a difference in the community and the world through volunteer projects.”

Michelle is also a member of a local planning group’s steering committee, the Healthy Community Collaborative, and a local Valley Emergency Readiness Group as shelter manager.

When not busy working or volunteering, she loves enjoying all of the beauty, healthy lifestyle and opportunities offered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Scott Webb is the Advocacy and Policy Director for Turtle Island Restoration Network and its local arm, the Salmon Protection & Watershed Network. He leads campaigns ensuring stronger protections for oceans and watersheds. Growing up near the Northern California Coast, Scott fell in love with all things water at a young age. Pursuing his interests, he completed a B.S. in Hydrologic Sciences and Policy at UC Santa Barbara. During that time, he enjoyed working with the Surfrider Foundation, Goleta Water District, and Point Reyes National Seashore Association, furthering his passion for protecting our coasts and rivers. Prior to his time at Turtle Island, Scott worked in the non-profit environmental space, focusing on providing equitable access to clean water in developing nations. During the 2020 campaign cycle, he leaped into electoral politics, eventually leading him to manage organizing efforts for a congressional campaign in Arizona. When not at the office, you can find Scott surfing, trail running, playing music, or at Giants games.

Sarah Killingsworth is a Northern California-based conservation photographer and filmmaker who has always loved wildlife and exploring wild places. Passionate about stories of coexistence, Sarah is inherently curious about the ways wildlife adapts to ever-encroaching human development as well as strategies to protect species before they become endangered. Sarah is a frequent public speaker about wildlife, photography, and ethics and her work has been published in both local and national media, in print and online. Sarah is also a family law attorney and mediator. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Anthropology, and received her J.D. from Stanford Law School with distinction. A life-long volunteer and active community member, she has volunteered in the WildCare (Bay Area) bird room, was a member of the Steering Committee of Mothers of Marin Against the Spray, and served on the board of the Family and Children’s Law Center for over a decade. A certified California Naturalist, Sarah is a member of the Board of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin and the NANPA Ethics Committee and is also the Program Coordinator for the Keeping it Wild Youth Education and Outreach Program with Project Coyote. Sarah uses the power of photography and films to raise awareness about environmental issues. View her work at www.sarahkillingsworth.com.

Jude Stalker is a wildlife biologist focusing on wetland, estuarine and coastal environments. This work has led her through an interesting career involving research, restoration, monitoring and community outreach and education throughout the Bay Area. She holds a BS in Biology: Concentration in Marine Science from San Francisco State University.
She has vast experience in surveying for and monitoring various native plant and wildlife species as well as in the restoration of native habitats.
Jude has served as a board director of the Marin Audubon Society for almost twenty years, serving on the Property Management Committee and as a Special Projects Coordinator. Her work there has included many years of coordinating and leading property restoration and stewardship projects, as well as coordinating and conducting public outreach through presentations, field programs and tabling events.
In addition to her service at Marin Audubon, she has volunteered her time through the years at Audubon Canyon Ranch, the Marine Mammal Center, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, Richardson Bay Audubon Center, the National Park Service at Alcatraz and on several committees and work groups related to natural resource management and restoration.
She enjoys exploring the beautiful open spaces of Marin and the Greater Bay Area as well as rowing, paddling and swimming on and in the Bay.

Elise has a deep passion for free-flowing rivers, and wild salmon populations. She has spent a career in the protection of riparian and watershed lands, working to improve instream flows for fish, restoring impaired habitats for native plants and wildlife, managing land for multiple benefits, advocating for endangered species protections, and engaging and negotiating with stakeholders from a wide array of interest groups to promote more ecologically sustainable water resource management practices. She has worked across the State of California, in all major watersheds and the Bay-Delta, as well as in the Columbia River Basin, as a key strategist, policy advisor, and technical expert. She has worked on behalf of The Bay Institute, The Trust for Public Land, The CALFED Bay-Delta Program, The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, The Marin County Open Space District, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the California Department of Natural Resources. She has served on many boards and spoken at many conferences and symposia. She holds a BS in Biochemistry and an MS in Natural Resource Management.
During the pandemic, Elise returned to school in pursuit of a teaching credential and an MA in Education. Last year she traded Sacramento for the fourth grade, where she intends to instill a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world in each of her students. Elise loves trail running and cycling, backpacking in the Sierra, kayaking in the Bay, cooking, and travelling.

Todd Steiner is the founder and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN), a 30-year old environmental organization that works to protect endangered marine species around the world and endangered salmon in California. He holds a M.S. in Ecology and a B.S. in Nature Conservation and Interpretation.

Todd currently serves on several non-profit Boards including the Center for Biological Diversity, MigraMar, as a member of IUCN (World Conservation Union) Marine Turtle Specialist Group, and Lagunitas Creek Technical Advisory Committee, and NOAA-DFW Priority Action Coho Team Technical Working Group. Todd has received numerous awards including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by US Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, “Focus on Turtle Island Award” from the Marin American Indian Association, Marin Sierra Club Marin Group “Steward of the Land Award” Social Justice Center of Marin’s “Outstanding Community Organizing Award, and the “Peter Behr Memorial Steward of the Land Award” from Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.

Scott Artis is the managing director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, a leading advocate for the world’s oceans, marine wildlife and watersheds, and founder and executive director of Urban Bird Foundation, which advocates for and preserves urban and suburban bird populations and habitats. He holds an M.S in Environmental Science with a Concentration in Sustainable Development & Policy, a B.S. in Micro & Molecular Biology, a B.S in Fisheries and Wildlife Science, and a Master’s certificate in Environmental Resource Management.

He currently serves on the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, CBNMS Native American Engagement Working Group, a founding member of Together Bay Area, and former Director of Development and Communications at Sequoia Riverlands Trust and Audubon Canyon Ranch.

Gail Seymour is an environmental scientist who has worked since 1975 on natural resource conservation. She worked for the California Energy Commission in the 1990s in Research and Development of alternative fuel vehicles for energy security and greenhouse gas emission reduction; the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board developing water quality objectives for salmon and steelhead; and most recently, for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as Senior Environmental Supervisor for Watershed Restoration and the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program in the nine county San Francisco Bay Area. She retired from State government service in 2018. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies/Ecology. Gail serves on the Board of the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizen’s League (SCJACL) as the civil rights representative, advocating for all people who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. Through her work she is connected to POC, LGBTQIA, Jewish, Muslim, and Immigrant communities.

In 2010, Gail received a Resolution commending her watershed restoration work from CA Assemblyman Jared Huffman. She received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Salmonid Restoration Federation and the 2017 Ted Wellman Water Award from the Marin Conservation League.

Bob Johnston is Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis. He earned a BA in Art History/Architecture from Dartmouth, a Master of Planning from USC, and a Master of Science from the University of Nevada at Reno. Bob served on the Truckee Planning Commission from 2004 to 2010. Bob taught environmental impact assessment and land use planning courses for 34 years. He has critiqued regional transportation plans all over the U.S. Bob was a member of citizens groups in Davis that got two major initiatives passed to stop a road widening and to expand the downtown park.

Dr. Jerry Meral has served as Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources, as Western Water Resources Director of the Environmental Defense Fund, and for 20 years as Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League. His work has been widely recognized and honored. He received the National River Conservation Award as well as honorary awards from Common Cause, the Sierra Club, the California State Legislature, and many others.

In 2011, he was named the California Natural Resources Agency deputy secretary for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and charged with restoring the Bay-Delta ecosystem and creating water supply reliability for California. Meral left that position in late 2013.

One of the best-known speakers on water and other environmental issues in California, he has spoken to the Association of California Water Agencies, the Sierra Club, universities, business meetings, and many other venues. He engages his audience, relates his subject to them, and uses humor to make his points.

Recognized by the United Nations as a ‘Vegan Revolutionary’ in its ‘The Future of Women’ global initiative, Miyoko Schinner, Founder & CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, is an epicurean activist who is leading the creation of the animal-free, plant dairy food system. Through an innovative proprietary process that merges culinary arts and food science, Schinner has cracked the code in making fermented cheese and cultured butter from plants that rival animal dairy counterparts on compassion taste & nutrition at a world-changing scale. Miyoko’s Creamery products can be found at over 19,000 stores in the US, and are distributed in Canada, South Africa, Australia and Singapore. The pioneer of the plant-based cheese revolution, Schinner is a passionate culinarian, former restaurateur, best-selling cookbook author. Miyoko has dedicated her life to inspiring compassion through the joy of food and the positivity plants and is the co-founder of Rancho Compasión, a farmed animal sanctuary in California that provides a home to over 120 rescued farm animals.

Sharon has worked with both natural resource governmental and non-governmental organization since 1981. During this time she worked as the legislative director for the California Coastal Conservancy and the Planning and Conservation League. She co-founded the Mountain Lion Foundation in 1986, co-founded the Wild Felid Research and Management Association in 2007, and served the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project as co-director in 2009–2011 and project advisor in 2012.

Some of her passions include working with ecologists, organizations, and agencies to bridge good science with conservation and implement innovative solutions to large carnivore issues. With that goal in mind, Sharon founded and directs WildFutures where she continues to provide consultation to a wide array of regional, state, national, and international wildlife organizations. In addition to her wildlife work, Sharon provides capacity building programs to 79 environmental organizations and their leaders. She has a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of California, Davis.

L. Martin Griffin, M.D. helped save the Marin and Sonoma County coasts from development, along with the Russian River, by preventing the building of a coastal four-lane freeway and a coastal aqueduct from the Russian River. He was instrumental in creating the Audubon Canyon Ranch (1961), the gateway to the 71,000-acre Point Reyes National Seashore (1962) and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (1972). In 1998 he wrote the awarding-winning book, Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast, the inspiration for the KRCB movie, Rebels With a Cause. At age 102, Marty continues to tirelessly fight for the environment and public health.

Working at the local, state, federal and international levels for governmental and non-profit organizations, Rachel has led numerous efforts leading to the creation of conservation policy and programs, public and private funding, and tax incentives for the protection of our climate, parks and open space, and water resources.

With extensive expertise in Government Relations, public funding, and advocacy she worked on behalf of the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and the Planning and Conservation League, and was appointed to the California Water Commission.

From her work in the equatorial rainforest to the marbled halls of our capitol, Rachel has created a positive impact for all living things within diverse communities. Rachel holds a M.S. in Environmental Studies and a B.A. in Political Science and Journalism.

Jeff Miller has worked on salmon protection and restoration in the Bay Area and California since 1997. He is a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity and the director of the Alameda Creek Alliance.