Officers | At-large | Student and Emerging Professionals Liaisons | Staff

2024 Board of Directors – Officers

Michael Kwong, Vice President

Michael is an Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) where he is involved in environmental clearances, encroachment permitting, and GIS-related work across California. Prior to DWR, he worked at California State Parks, focusing on regulatory compliance, monitoring, outreach, and control efforts for invasive aquatic plants in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its southern tributaries. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from California State University, Sacramento, in addition to Certificates in Field Ecology and GIS. Outside of work, he enjoys gardening with native plants, playing musical instruments, lounging around with his dogs, spending time at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, and volunteering as a Snowy Plover Docent at Point Reyes National Seashore.

At-large Directors

Doug Gibson

Doug is the Executive Director and Principal Scientist of the Nature Collective, managing one of the west coast’s premier wetlands, located in San Elijo. During his nearly 20 years in the position, he has raised millions of dollars for restoration and stewardship. He has also worked as a private consultant to several resource agencies and NGOs. He holds a B.S. in Ecology from San Diego State University with a specialty in wetland ecology. He worked for Dr. Joy Zedler at the Pacific Estuarine Research Lab for six years, researching rare plants and monitoring estuaries for fish, invertebrates, water quality, and vegetation. He lives with his family in Encinitas.

Jason Giessow

Jason earned an M.S. in Restoration Ecology from San Diego State University in 1996. He has worked on large-scale Arundo eradication and habitat restoration programs in California since the mid 1990s. His main priorities are: implementing accurate and inexpensive mapping programs, aiding regional groups in the development of top-down watershed-based eradication programs, and facilitating the development of streamlined permitting. While his work has focused on southern California, he has worked with the Monterey Resource Conservation District on a multi-phase Arundo removal project on the Salinas River, and is engaged in Cal-IPC’s efforts to map Arundo across the entire Central Valley.

Sarah Godfrey

Sarah Godfrey has worked in wildland habitats and across highly urbanized landscapes throughout California, treating invasive species and developing partnerships to implement integrated plant control strategies.  After working for non-profit Land Trusts for more than fifteen years, Sarah has expanded her scope of work to provide mapping and data management services to the greater global community. She combines significant field knowledge of flora and fauna monitoring methodologies with Remote Sensing and GIS capacity to understand change across multiple scales in ecological communities. Sarah has been restoring native plant communities and controlling invasive weeds since 2003, and maintained a Qualified Applicator Certificate with the Department of Pesticide Regulation throughout that time. Sarah has a B.A. in Environmental Studies (Conservation Biology) from University of California at Santa Cruz, and a M.S. in Geographic Information Science and Technology from the University of Southern California.

Alan Kaufman

Alan is the Interim Deputy Director and Senior Director of Conservation for Laguna Canyon Foundation. He oversees LCF’s Habitat Restoration, Fuel Modification, Land Management and Trail programs. Alan has always been passionate about the outdoors and has spent a decent chunk of his life living and working there, including leading wilderness expeditions, working in wildland fire, trail and weed management crews and researching the use of prescribed fire and mechanical thinning to restore forest ecosystems. He has been with LCF since 2014. His greatest professional passion is to facilitate the development of meaningful, reciprocal relationships between people and the places that they live through hands-on land tending. When he’s not at work, he can generally be found spending time with family, practicing primitive skills, or making & repairing things in his garage.

Drew Kerr

Drew Kerr is currently the Treatment Program Manager for the California State Coastal Conservancy’s Invasive Spartina Project (ISP). Before joining ISP in 2005, when Estuary-wide Spartina treatment was just beginning, Drew was the Aquatic Noxious Weed Specialist for the King County Department of Natural Resources in Seattle, where he began his career in wetland ecology and invasive species management in 1999. During his years at KCDNR, Drew also worked on land use policy and regulation that established protected wildlife corridors and wetland complexes, and worked extensively with native Pacific Northwest amphibians. He received a BS in Environmental Policy & Behavior and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and holds a professional certificate in Wetlands Science and Management from the University of Washington. Drew’s first involvement with Cal-IPC was attending the annual symposium in 2005 and he has only missed one annual symposium since then. Drew has a passion for ecology, particularly wetlands and aquatic systems, as well as protecting these ecosystems from the impact of noxious weed invasions.

Metha Klock

Dr. Metha Klock is the Preserve Ecologist at Pepperwood Preserve and has worked for over 20 years in the fields of land conservation, ecological restoration, and invasive species research and management. Metha received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Louisiana State University (LSU), her M.S. in Forestry from LSU, and her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. She served as a Post-Doctoral Associate at Cornell University studying cover crops and sustainable agriculture and has taught courses in biological sciences, natural history, and ecological restoration at the University of Louisville, Mount Mercy University, the University of Iowa, and San José State University. As Pepperwood’s Preserve Ecologist, Metha provides project management of climate-ecosystem and ecological restoration monitoring projects and works with the research team to design and conduct monitoring practices that inform on-site natural resource conservation and adaptive management of the preserve.

Tanya Meyer

Tanya Meyer is a Program Manager at the Yolo County Resource Conservation District in Woodland, CA.  She grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas and went off to UC Davis to earn a B.S. and an M.S. in Community and Regional Development. She has been restoring native plant communities and controlling invasive weeds since 2000. Tanya has worked at Hedgerow Farms (California native plant seed producers), and the Center for Land-Based Learning’s Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship Program, doing restoration with high school students along the Sacramento River and tributaries.  She worked at the YCRCD from 2006 – 2010 as a vegetation management specialist controlling invasive and noxious weeds and again since 2016 and is currently managing restoration projects and the newly resurrected Yolo County Weed Management Area. She also spent six years in Northern Central Pennsylvania controlling invasive plants along 45 miles of stream bank. Tanya holds a Qualified Applicator License and certifiably dislikes invasive plants.

LeeAnne Mila

Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, Sealer of Weights & Measures, El Dorado County Agriculture Department

Scott Oneto

Scott Oneto is a farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension serving El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. Scott has been with UCCE since 1999 serving in various capacities as a researcher, educator, and administrator. He possesses a B.S. in Plant Sciences and a M.S. in Weed Science both from UC Davis. As a weed scientist much of his research focuses on developing weed control strategies and preventing the spread of non-desirable plants.  Over the past twenty years, he has developed control strategies for several invasive weeds including Scotch broom, tree tobacco, hedge parsley, periwinkle, houndstongue, oblong spurge, skeletonweed, and several others. Scott lives in the gold rush town of Jackson with his wife Cheryl and their four-legged companions. During their free time they enjoy gardening, camping, hiking, biking, wine/beer tasting, and travelling the globe.

Lana Nguyen

Lana hails from Southern California and spent time much of her youth in many local parks and beaches. After graduating from University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Environmental Studies and completing a tropical biology study abroad program in Costa Rica, Lana began working for California State Parks on the Natural Resource Management team in the Orange Coast District, where she learned the basics of habitat restoration and invasive plant management. Now a Senior Environmental Scientist (specialist) after a brief two year stint in the Santa Cruz District, Lana enjoys working on a variety of projects and subjects, including managing the invasive plant control and EDRR programs for Orange Coast, collaborating and coordinating with regional partners for invasive plant priorities across the Nature Reserve of Orange County, managing populations of nesting sensitive bird species including the California least tern and Western snowy plover, serving as a Resource Advisor during wildfire incidents locally and across the state, planning and implementing habitat enhancement and  restoration projects, and working with partners and stakeholders in OC’s marine protected areas. Lana enjoys spending time with her son and husband exploring Orange County’s open spaces and beaches, watching baseball together and volunteering with the local Little League.

Lauren Quon

Lauren is a botanist in the Cleveland National Forest, where she enjoys planning and implementing various restoration and weed removal projects, and surveying and monitoring rare plants. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology and a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Cal Poly Pomona. Aside doting over her mini succulents and small patio garden, her other favorite past time is meandering through montane meadows and tracking the Laguna aster (Dieteria asteroides ssp. lagunensis) in the Laguna Mountains. Lauren is excited to assist in supporting the Cal-IPC mission and providing resources to students and land managers. She looks forward to connecting and sharing ideas with fellow Cal-IPC members!

Tom Reyes

Tom is a lifelong Californian who grew up in Los Angeles and has a degree in Environmental Studies from San Francisco State University. He has spent his career working for land management agencies in California concentrating on botany and invasive plant management. Tom worked as a Biological Science Technician performing plant surveys throughout Yosemite National Park, ran an interagency vegetation program as a Natural Resource Specialist with Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and most recently worked as the IPM Coordinator with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. He is now the Vegetation Field Data Specialist for the California Native Plant Society.

Marcos Trinidad

Marcos is the Senior Director of Forestry at TreePeople. Previously, he served as the Center Director at the Audubon Center at Debs Park and Laist Studios Podcast host for Human/Nature.

For two decades, Marcos has advanced equity, diversity and inclusion in the environmental movement, including co-directing LA’s Environmental Professionals of Color chapter. Through that work, Marcos promoted and sponsored forums for people of color working in environmentally-related careers. He was recognized by the North American Association for Environmental Education as the recipient of the Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Boggs Award for his leadership in environmental justice, education and advocacy. Marcos’ formal education is in geology and anthropology. In his free time, Marcos loves to go bird watching with his two children, Paloma and Bija along the Los Angeles River.

Justin Valliere, UC Davis

Justin Valliere is an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in Invasive Weed & Restoration Ecology at UC Davis. His research and extension activities are motivated by a lifelong fascination with plants and a passion for conservation. He received his PhD in Plant Ecology from UC Riverside and completed postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA’s La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science and the University of Western Australia. He also has years of experience in on-the-ground invasive plant management and ecological restoration. His research uses knowledge in soil ecology and ecophysiology to inform restoration and understand mechanisms of plant invasion. Justin is committed to mentoring the next generation of land managers and applied ecologists as well as advancing equity, inclusion, and representation in the field.

Hannah Wallis

Hannah Wallis is an Ecologist specializing in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. She contributes to the legacy of land stewardship throughout 72,000 acres of open space preserves in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is her heart’s delight. Hannah has a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from U.C. Santa Cruz. Hannah’s first endeavors in IPM were through internships in college. She assisted with a placebo bait trial for eradication of rodents on a small island, evaluated biocontrol of yellow starthistle, and assessed pollinator preferences for native and non-native plants in Big Sur. Hannah built her career in IPM working with the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, first as an inspector, then leading the IPM program as Agricultural Programs Biologist. During this time, Hannah managed several populations of A-rated weeds, including Scotch thistle, skeletonweed and puna grass. Hannah became deeply involved in regional land stewardship efforts while coordinating the Monterey County Weed Management Area and serving on the planning committee of the Central California Invasive Weed Symposium for 10 years. These efforts earned her the Ryan Jones Catalyst Award for Wildland Stewardship from Cal-IPC in 2018 for inter-agency collaboration. Hannah thinks music is the best thing humans make and loves to howl at the moon with friends and family, around a bonfire, in the wilderness, near a river, where she can bask in the sun and swim all day.

Student and Emerging Professionals Liaisons

Anthony Dant

Anthony is a PhD student at the University of Arizona in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. He is currently working with Dr. Katrina Dlugosch’s lab whose goals are to understand how eco-evolutionary traits of invasive plant species diverge across multiple geographical locations. Anthony is largely interested in how eco-evolutionary traits develop across different urban landscapes and how invasive plant species adapt to urbanized environments. Anthony received both his B.S and M.S degrees in Biological Sciences. For his master’s thesis, he studied how the telomeres of California Towhees changed in response to urbanization and pollution. For his PhD dissertation, he is utilizing landscape genomics and population genetics to help understand how maltese starthistle develop their eco-evolutionary traits which make them successful in colonizing urban environments. Anthony hopes to create opportunities that allows community scientists to participate in research and help involve communities in the process of protecting their local natural environments.

Marielle Simone Hansel Friedman

Marielle is a Ph.D. student at UC Davis in the Entomology Graduate Group in the Meineke Lab. She earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Oregon and lived in Portland, Oregon for a few years before returning to California. She performed three years of post-baccalaureate research work at the USDA Western Regional Research Center in the Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Unit in the Pratt lab, where she saw first-hand the devastating ecological impacts that invasive species can have on native environments. As a Ph.D. student in the Meineke lab, she is interested in exploring the role of urbanization in herbivory of non-native/invasive plants within the context of our changing climate by using diverse methodologies such as biological collections, experiments, fieldwork, and community science. She cares deeply about the future of native insects and plants in our region and hopes to contribute to their management and protection through research and community engagement. Marielle loves cooking for her friends and family, hiking with her dog and partner, creating insect inspired jewelry, playing guitar/piano, and gardening with her cat.

Rebecca Nelson

Rebecca Nelson is a PhD Student at UC Davis in the Ecology Graduate Group in the Harrison Lab. Her research interests include invasive plant ecology, community ecology, global change biology and restoration ecology. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution and minors in Creative Writing and Science Communication. Her undergraduate research included examining plant-herbivore interactions in California oaks, comparing the thermal tolerances of invasive ants and native ants, and investigating wood density-allometry relationships in California trees and shrubs. For her dissertation, she is currently researching how the invasion of hairy vetch affects plant-pollinator interactions in California grasslands. Rebecca is working towards an academic career as a professor. She hopes to foster partnerships between the applied and academic sides of plant invasion ecology.

 

Staff

Doug Johnson, Executive Director

Doug became Cal-IPC’s first staff person in 2002. He holds an M.A. in Geography from San Francisco State University with an emphasis on conservation biology, GIS, and perceptions of wilderness. He is a Switzer Environmental Fellow. Doug also holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He has worked in wildland weed control with California State Parks and The Nature Conservancy, and as a private consultant. Other work experience includes municipal energy conservation, engineering design, environmental and science education. Doug served as the first chair of the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee, and currently serves as treasurer for the National Association of Invasive Plant Councils. He is a founding member of the California Horticultural Invasives Prevention (Cal-HIP) partnership and the PlantRight partnership. In his spare time, Doug plays soccer and has fun with two sons. Email Doug.

Agustín Luna, Director of Finance, Operations & Administration

Agustín is an administrative senior manager and executive with over 30+ years of experience. He has worked with professional non-profit arts organizations like the Hollywood Bowl, Cal Performances, South Coast Repertory, and is currently the Executive Director of Savage Jazz Dance Company. Agustín was the General Manager of Movement Strategy Center, where he oversaw finance, human resources, IT, operations, facility management, and the fiscal sponsorship program of the organization. Previously, Agustín worked with college students in UC Berkeley’s Student Music Activities Department and high school students in Oakland School for the Arts charter school, teaching the fundamentals of arts administration and management. Agustín is an avid salsa dancer and instructor, and is a presenter of salsa events through his company Agustín Luna Presents. He has danced Bomba y Plena with Bay Area Boricuas, assisted them in their initial organizing as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, and briefly served as their Managing Director. He was for 5 years the Board Treasurer of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Center for Media Justice, now known as Media Justice. Agustín is one of the last beneficiaries of California’s elementary school music program that ended in the mid-1980s and has played his trumpet continuously since 1982. He hopes that music in the schools does not disappear and supports efforts to keep it alive. Email Agustin.

Jutta Burger, Science Program Director

Jutta moved from Southern California to the Bay Area to join Cal-IPC in fall 2018. She has had a life-long fascination with plants and can date the germination of her interest in invasive species and conservation many years ago to a high school field trip to a small prairie preserve in the Palouse in eastern Washington. Formerly, she served as Managing Director of the Science and Stewardship Department at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which manages nearly 40,000 acres of open space in Orange County and where she oversaw their natural resource management staff and programs. Prior to joining the Conservancy, she sampled several different environments, completing a bachelor’s at Washington State University, a master’s at the University of Nebraska, a PhD at UC Riverside, and spending a year at the University of Georgia as a post-doctoral researcher. Her interests lie in understanding invasiveness from a biological, ecological, and evolutionary perspective, and in preserving our native ecosystems by properly prioritizing and implementing invasive control, developing native seed resources, and facilitating restoration. She previously served as Cal-IPC President and as Board Secretary. Email Jutta.

Bertha McKinley, Operations Specialist

Bertha is an avid gardener using mostly natives who came to Cal-IPC in 1992 after recognizing the threat posed by invasive plants to native plant habitats. She started volunteering in our office in 2004 and is now part-time staff. Bertha handles membership communications and data, runs our sales program, and assists on projects. She holds a B.A. in English (with a minor in Biology) and a M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley. She was formerly president of the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, served on its state board, and is currently the chair of the CNPS poster program. In her spare time, she volunteers in the canine training program at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society. Email Bertha.

 

Amanda Cantu Swanson, Grants & Contracts Manager

Amanda joined the Cal-IPC staff in January 2024 after serving four years on the Cal-IPC Board of Directors. Amanda’s interest in plants, and especially the interactions between native and invasive plants, began while hiking throughout California in her early 20s. This motivated her to pursue a career in ecology and land management. Her most recent professional appointment involved managing four Ecological Reserves in Orange County with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, where she managed invasive species, conducted plant and wildlife surveys, and implemented multiple restoration projects. In September 2017, she received a PhD from UC Riverside which was followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of Wyoming. She has also spent time teaching Biology at local community colleges. Outside of work, Amanda has many interests but most enjoys spending time outdoors, playing music, and making food with her husband and two young sons. Email Amanda.

Manisha Tamrakar, Finance & Operations Specialist

Constance Taylor, Conservation Specialist

Constance grew up in Ohio and spent her free time as a kid harassing bugs, climbing trees, and pretending to be a witch. One of her favorite places to make potions out of mud and twigs was under the cave-like boughs of a shrub she dearly loved — which she now knows as the highly invasive Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). As she grew up, life took her on a winding path — she explored careers as an editor at a comic book publishing company, a muralist, and a car mechanic; she traveled the world and had opportunities to be involved in trail crews in Appalachia, an endangered wallaby breeding program in Australia, a feminist comic book shop in New Zealand, a lion research project in Mozambique, and a community muralist at a women’s shelter in Guatemala. All this time, Constance kept learning about the ecologies around her, realizing that many of the plant species she saw in her travels were starting to look familiar because she was seeing them everywhere. Thus began a long-standing fascination with invasive organisms and IPM principles! Since moving to Oakland in 2010, Constance has worked with dozens of environmental organizations around the Bay Area. She brings to Cal-IPC 15+ years of experience tailoring information to audiences; blending cultural literacy and JEDI principles into environmental education; providing naturalist outreach and adult-centered education; and developing, coordinating, and marketing programs. Email Constance.

Nikki Valentine, Conservation Specialist

Nikki is a graduate of Reed college in Portland, Oregon, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology. Since graduating she has held several positions collecting ecological data throughout the Great Basin Region. She has partnered with agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Department of Wildlife to collect rangeland health data in support of nationwide monitoring programs. She has also supported the Seeds of Success program in the collection and documentation of plant materials throughout Nevada. The seed she collected is being put to use in restoration and research studies throughout the Great Basin region. Outside of work, Nikki enjoys spending time in the Sierra Nevada mountains, snowboarding, and botanizing. Email Nikki.