Civil Engineer, retired

Dusty recently retired as the General Manager-Chief Engineer of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, a position he held for the last 13 years of his 41-year career with the District.  Dusty holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona and is a licensed Civil Engineer in California.  In addition to his position on the Board of the RLC, he is also a Board member and the current Chair of the United Way of the Inland Valleys.  Further he serves on the Board of the Riverside County Parks Foundation, sits on the Cal Baptist University Civil Engineering Industry Advisory Council and is a volunteer docent for San Bernardino County Public Works Department.

Alfred Javier has been employed at Eastern Municipal Water District since 1988 and currently serves as the Director of Environmental and Regulatory Compliance.  Additionally, Mr. Javier is an associate faculty member at Mt. San Jacinto College specializing in water technology education, including classes for Introduction to Water and Wastewater and Laboratory Methods for Water and Wastewater.  He has previously served as the chairperson for both the Santa Ana River Dischargers Association and the Southern California Association of Publicly Owned Treatment Works Water Section.  Currently, Mr. Javier is the chairperson for the San Jacinto Coalition, an association of Agricultural Owners and Operators organized under the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board for compliance with the Conditional Waiver for Agricultural Dischargers.  Mr. Javier has a B.S. in Biology and a Masters of Public Administration.

Dr. Stephen Osborn has conducted and published research throughout his career addressing fundamental questions of groundwater and solute migration in the environment.  He grew up in Riverside California attending UC Riverside for degrees in Environmental Science (B.S.) and Soil Science (M.S.).  Following this, he worked with the USDA as a physical Science technician and then Environmental Consulting for many years.  While working as a consultant, he developed an interest in Hydrogeology and Geochemistry and decided to go back to school for degrees in Geology (M.S.) at Georgia State University and Hydrology (Ph.D.) at the University of Arizona.  His dissertation work focused on an improved understanding of the source and migration of deep basinal fluids (groundwater and microbial/thermogenic methane) in the northern Appalachian Basin region.  Following this, he started as a post-doctoral researcher at Duke University, where I investigated shallow groundwater quality in close proximity to oil/gas well production in Pennsylvania and New York (Marcellus Shale).  Results from this work were published in PNAS (2011) and became highly cited as growing environmental concerns from energy production and hydraulic fracturing has developed.  Currently, Dr. Osborn is a professor at Cal Poly Pomona and research faculty in the CSU Water Resources and Policy Initiatives.  My on-going research program continues to investigate groundwater quality where there is intensive oil/gas production, expanding to areas in California.

Alex Gann retired as Deputy County Executive Officer for the County of Riverside in December 2019 after serving in a variety of capacities during a 31 year career.
Alex's work included land use planning, solid waste/recycling coordination, stormwater management coordination, grant writing, legislative coordination, budget oversight and fiscal administration. Since retiring Alex has enjoyed spending time with his wife and two daughters, hiking and biking, landscaping and gardening, and studying guitar.

Robert "Bob" Cullen retired in 2022 as Assistant Chief Engineer of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.  He is a registered Civil Engineer, a graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with an Environmental Emphasis.  During his 36-year career, Bob worked throughout the Flood Control District gaining experience in long range planning, land-use, stormwater quality, project design, construction project management, budgeting and public agency administration.  Bob’s love of the outdoors and years working with developers ignited a heightened awareness of the long-term consequences and opportunities created by land-use decisions.

George served as the Executive Officer of the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for 29 years. LAFCO is a State-mandated agency tasked with regulating boundaries of local government agencies, including annexation to, and detachment of territory from, cities and special districts, incorporation of new cities, consolidation of special districts and other organizational matters affecting local agencies. During his tenure he was also active in the statewide association, CALAFCO, serving on its Legislative Committee for two decades.

Following retirement in 2018, George completed the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program. He has a special interest in California native plants and conducted a Zoom session for Master Gardeners on Incorporating Native Plants into Landscapes.

George has also been an active volunteer at the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens since 2014. Activities at the Gardens have included leading school and adult tours, working with a small team to maintain the Butterfly Garden and provide butterfly gardening information to visitors, as well as hosting/narrating a video series featuring California Native Plants at the Gardens. He especially enjoys providing tours to students with limited previous exposure to outdoor environments.

George also participates as a volunteer angler in the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program, a research effort involving several California universities to monitor fish populations and determine the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas.

George graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in Social Ecology with coursework primarily in Environmental Analysis and Public Policy.

Community and Environmental Activist

Mrs. Block, a member of the RLC Board since 1989, was one of the organizers of groups that provided the citizen impetus to preserve natural areas including: The Box Springs Mountain Park, Sycamore Canyon Park, and, as one of the founders of the group Preserve Our Plateau, the addition in 1991 of 3800 acres to The Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve. She also was actively involved in the establishment of the County of Riverside’s Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. In 1995 Jane purchased property in downtown Riverside on Mission Inn Ave and created a non-profit center to house environmental groups including RLC.

"I am an Inland Empire local who enjoys hiking and photography as a means of practicing conservation and stewardship. I have a B.S. in Sustainability Studies at University of California, Riverside, where I also led recreational outdoor trips for students and the public for 3 years. After graduating in 2019, I served with the California Conservation Corps' and AmeriCorps' Watershed Stewards Program at the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where I helped conduct hydrologic surveys of many Northern California tributaries. Since my service term ended in 2020, I began working for Confluence Environmental Field Services as a sampling technician. I currently monitor and sample groundwater across California, helping clients manage sampling projects and collecting accurate data to inform clients of changing physical conditions. I came to Rivers and Lands Conservancy as a volunteer in 2018, and have since been picking up trash at the Delhi Sand Dunes , and planting//watering oaks at the Cienega Canyon Preserve." - Jordan

Assistant County Counsel for County of Riverside (retired)

Karin Watts-Bazan joined the Office of County Counsel in April of 1988 as a Deputy County Counsel and retired in March 2018 after serving 30 years. For most of her career, Karin has practiced land use and environmental law with particular emphasis on federal and state Endangered Species Act compliance. She has provided legal advice and assistance in the development and implementation of several Habitat Conservation Plans including the Stephens’ kangaroo rat Habitat Conservation Plan, the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, and the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan

Michele returned to her public service roots in late 2022, joining the Customer Engagement team at Riverside Public Utilities. Her expertise is in community engagement, relationship-building, marketing and water use efficiency. She spent 16 years with a regional water agency, as well as the early portion of her career at The Press-Enterprise. Michele has numerous affiliations with groups such as the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, Association of California Water Agencies and the California Special Districts Association.

Michele is an avid adventurer, hiking, biking, kayaking and geocaching with her wife. She is Mom to two grown children and recently became a Grandmom.

Mike Gardner serves as a Director of the Western Municipal Water District representing Division 1 and has held this position since 2020.  Mike serves on the board of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) and the Chino Basin Watermaster (CBWM).   He was a Governor’s appointee to the State Seismic Safety Commission from 2010 through 2021 and served as chair of the Commission twice.   Previously Mike served as the City of Riverside City Councilmember for Ward 1 from 2007 through 2019.  While on the city council Mike served as Chair of the Redevelopment Agency and was a member of the Development, Utility Services and Land Use, Governmental Affairs and Mayor’s Nominating and Screening Committees.

Mike worked for Southern California Edison for 23 years beginning as an archaeologist and moving through positions in regulatory affairs, governmental affairs, public affairs, and customer service.

Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology and Geography from the University of California Riverside and completed the coursework for the Ph.D. in Anthropology, also at UCR. Mike has authored 17 professional papers in archaeology and cultural resource management.

Marketing Manager, The Toro Company

Orion is a Riverside native and works as the Channel Marketing Manager for The Toro Company’s irrigation and lighting division, where he leads channel partner relationship management, demand generation programs, and customer acquisition strategies. In addition to serving on the RLC Board, Orion also serves on the Inland SoCal United Way’s Board of Directors, and on the Advisory Board for Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful. Orion holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Cal State Fullerton, an MBA from the University of Redlands, and a professional certificate in Project Management from the UCR Extension Center.

*Served as Officer

Andy Bodewin

Ann Brady

Beth Martinez

Beverly Wingate*

Bill Judge

Bob Hewitt

Bob Nelson*

                                                      Bob Ryan

Bob Shipley

Brian Moore*

Carole Bell

Dallas Holmes

Dan Clark

Dan Silver

Diana Ruiz

Dwight Tate

Eileen Ashwal*

Eric Johnson

Fortino Morales III

Frank Heyming*

Gary Strickland*

Greg Ballmer*

Harald Schraer

Jack Easton*

Jeff Beehler*

Jenny Cleary

Jerry Jolliffe

Jim Davis

Jim Dudek*

Joan Patton

Kelly Alhadeff-Black

Kevin Wolf*

Kim Davidson-Morgan

Kim Hammond

Kristi Lovelady

Lewis Vanderzyl

Lynn Calvert-Hayes

Mac McQuern*

Marion Mitchell-Wilson*

Mary Lou Morales

Michael Linton

Michele Ouellette*

Nancy Stephens

Norman Ellstrand

Norton Younglove

Paul D. Jones II

Patricia Lock-Dawson

Ray Becker*

Robert Zweig*

Rodolfo Ruibal*

Rosanna Scott

Sarah Mundy

                                                    Selena Wilson

Sheila Ferguson

                                               Stephen G. Harding*

Steve Anderson

Tom Scott

Virginia MacDonald

Walter Parks