David Brunner
Executive Director
Joined RLC in 2021
“The opportunities for accomplishing significant results in land and water conservation in inland southern California is only matched only by the need. River & Lands Conservancy is ideally positioned to work with the community to pursue these results and assist in increasing understanding of the importance of natural resource conservation for the health and prosperity of us all."
Brunner brings three decades of experience to Rivers & Lands Conservancy, including past positions as COO and Director of Special Funds at National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Interim Executive Director of California Council of Land Trusts, and a decade as the President and Executive Director of Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM). Under Brunner’s guidance CNLM grew four-fold and increased the scope of its stewarded lands to 100,000-plus acres of habitats for critically imperiled species distributed across several hundred preserves in the Pacific States region, from Tijuana to Vancouver.
Jack Easton
Emeritus Executive Director
Joined RLC in 2008
"We are fortunate to have such diverse and beautiful open space in our region, and RLC is fortunate to have so many supporters and partners working together to conserve land for our community and for future generations."
Jack has over 30 years of professional experience with conservation planning, biological resources, and land use issues in the Inland Empire region. He graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.S. degree in Forestry. He served as an RLC Board member from 1998 until 2008, when he joined the staff as Stewardship Director. In 2017, he was promoted to Executive Director; his duties include overseeing $20 Million in assets, providing leadership to the organization, long-range planning, and balancing multiple goals and objectives. Jack will be retiring at the end of May 2021.
Julie Yezzo
Office Manager
Joined RLC in 2006
"Sometimes I just want to stop and smell the roses."
Julie brings over 25 years of experience with office management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, financial reporting, and record keeping. As RLC’s Office Manager and bookkeeper, she tracks finances, reconciles our various accounts, and prepares a variety of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports. She maintains our records and archives and ensures that our day-to-day office activities function smoothly and efficiently. With over 10 years at RLC Julie has been an employee longer than any other current staff member and has a great depth of institutional knowledge of RLC’s operations.
Michael Viramontes
Land Steward
Joined RLC in 2017
MViramontes@riversandlands.org
"I grew up without being able to spend much time in the great outdoors, but always took every chance I got to explore California’s wild landscapes."
Michael has 3 years of experience leading volunteer-based habitat restoration projects in California. Michael went to San Jose State University to obtain his B.S. in Environmental Studies, with a concentration in natural resource management. Before starting his work at RLC, he worked at several environmental non-profits where he developed his passion for learning about California native plants. He joined the RLC team in 2017 and currently assists with the stewardship and restoration of 2,400 acres of lands managed by the Rivers & Lands Conservancy.
Nicole Padron
Stewardship Director
Joined RLC in 2013
"I developed my love for open space during childhood camping trips. Ask anyone who supports conservation and they will tell you the value of open space was learned young. That is why RLC seeks to not only protect open space permanently, but also to provide various opportunities for young people to build their own personal connection to the land."
Nicole has over 3 years’ experience planning and leading volunteer-based habitat restoration projects on RLC lands. Nicole holds a M.S. degree in Biology and a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Cal Poly Pomona. Nicole joined the RLC team as a Land Steward; she was promoted to Stewardship Director in 2017. Her duties include overseeing the stewardship and restoration of RLC’s growing number of nature preserves and conservation easements, which currently consist of 50 properties comprising over 2,400 acres.
Rachael Hamilton
Outreach Coordinator
Joined RLC in 2014
"I love sharing the wonders of the natural world with others! I believe that with knowing comes caring, and through my work with RLC I hope to connect the community with the natural world around us and encourage a sense of caring for the environment so that our wild and beautiful open spaces are protected for generations to come."
After starting her professional career as a naturalist in the Cayman Islands, Rachael has been working in the local environmental nonprofit sector on projects that engage the community in hands-on environmental stewardship and outdoor education programs since 2010. Rachael began work with RLC in 2014 by overseeing the Santa Ana River Trust program. In addition to inspiring love for the Santa Ana River, she also raises programmatic funds through grant writing and is the lead planner for RLC’s Annual Fundraising Gala. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara, and a M.A. in Environmental Education from CSU San Bernardino.
Rebecca K. O’Connor
Development Director
Joined RLC in 2017
"I am a Riverside native, a falconer of 20 years, and have watched large swathes of land dear to me disappear. I want the economy of Southern California to thrive, while native species in peril are protected, and also to leave a legacy of open space to future explorers and advocates of wild adventures. There is no better place for me to help make this happen than RLC."
Rebecca has a BA and an MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Riverside. She has 7 years of experience working in conservation education and 16 years working in fundraising. Most of her career has involved working for organizations advocating for the protection of lands and native animals.
Ryan Lawler
Land Steward
Joined RLC in 2018
“I spent much of my childhood crawling through gaps in chaparral, discovering the diverse species that make these spaces home, and wanting to make sure we always share California with them.”
Ryan has three years of experience with providing support for monitoring and education programs in California. He graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.S. degree in Forestry. Ryan then worked at non-profits dedicated to environmental education and environmental management in the San Diego Area. In 2018, he joined RLC where his duties include monitoring conserved lands and leading the Acorns to Oaks environmental education program.
Maria Lum
Mitigation Coordinator
Joined RLC in 2019
Maria is enthusiastically dedicated to contributing to the land conservation mission of the Rivers & Lands Conservancy by applying 20 years of experience with southern California natural resource assessments, protected status species surveys, environmental compliance, mitigation, technical writing, and project management.
Maria is responsible for working with various community partners to plan for the acceptance of open space properties that are to be conserved per requirements of regulatory permitting processes. Maria holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and a Master's Degree in Rangeland Management.
Michele McKinney - President
Sr. Account Manager with CityWorks
Ms. McKinney heads up the Riverside Regional Office for CityWorks People+Places. Her expertise is in community engagement, relationship-building, and marketing to the benefit of residents, stakeholders and her agency. She spent 15 years with a regional water agency, as well as the early portion of her career at The Press-Enterprise. She has numerous past affiliations with groups such as the Association of California Water Agencies, California Special Districts Association, Public Relations Society of America - Inland Empire Chapter, and Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.
Dusty Williams - Vice President
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.
Eric Johnson - Treasurer
Eric Johnson is a Riverside resident and spent 25 years working in Construction Equipment and Power Generation. Private and non-profit Board experience. He has been on the RLC Board for 5 years.
Stephen Osborn - Secretary
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.
Jane Block
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.
Al Javier
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.
Michael Linton
Vice President, Properties and Land Development, Vulcan Materials Company, Western Division
Mr. Linton has an extensive background in corporate finance. For over 20 years, Mr. Linton has been responsible for managing Vulcan's real estate portfolio throughout the state of California. He has reclaimed old mining sites into restored natural habitats, productive farmland, and water recharge facilities. Capitalizing on the company's land reclamation experience he has headed Vulcan's efforts into land conservation, mitigation banking and water conservation as a standalone business activity.
Fortino Morales III
Director of R'Garden at the University of California, Riverside
Mr. Morales holds a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and is currently a graduate student at the School of Public Policy at UC Riverside. He is responsible for the educational programming and operations of the R'Garden, including 3 acres of community garden plots, row crop production, and a citrus grove.
Bob Ryan
Rail Design Engineer, HDR Engineering
Mr. Ryan holds a B.A. in civil engineering. At HDR Engineering, he is responsible for railroad track design utility coordination, construction observation, and safety.
Karin Watts-Bazan
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
Directors Emeritus
*Served as Officer
Andy Bodewin
Ann Brady
Beth Martinez
Beverly Wingate*
Bill Judge
Bob Hewitt
Bob Nelson*
Bob Shipley
Brian Moore*
Carole Bell
Dallas Holmes
Dan Clark
Dan Silver
Diana Ruiz
Dwight Tate
Eileen Ashwal*
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
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
Sheila Ferguson
Steve Anderson
Tom Scott
Virginia MacDonald
Walter Parks
Rivers & Lands Conservancy is an accredited land trust under the nationwide accreditation program of the Land Trust Alliance. Accreditation is a mark of distinction and is awarded to land trusts that meet the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence. Accreditation provides assurance to our partners that they can invest in us.
"Like all members of the land trust community, Rivers & Lands Conservancy shoulders a profound responsibility - to steward our natural lands in perpetuity. Accreditation has strengthened our organization and provided a pathway to our sustainability.”
We are grateful to our many supporters and financial reports give us the opportunity demonstrate our fiscal responsibility. RLC's financial records are audited annually by an outside accounting firm to ensure our financial statements are fairly represented and in conformity with accounting principals. Our most recent 990 filings are available below.
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