The Land Conservancy has recently expanded and currently employs thirteen full-time and two part-time staff.  All staff work toward our mission of "complete conservation" that includes conservation planning, acquisition, restoration, and community participation. Brian Stark, Executive Director Robert Hill, Conservation Director Wende Pearson, Membership Development Manager  Michael LeBrun, Restoration Program Manger Crystal Elwood,  Business Manager Dave Rau, Community Connections Liaison  Don Applegate, Project Manager Mark Skinner,  Project Manager Daniel Bohlman, Restoration Ecologist Chris Cox, Restoration Specialist Gabe Goodman, Restoration Specialist Bryan Hibbert, Restoration Specialist Ryan Ihm, Restoration Specialist      Brian B. Stark Executive Director  Brian started at the Land Conservancy as a volunteer in 1994 and never left. He began by working on GIS / digital mapping which was a rare skill at the time. Brian learned about digital mapping as part of a Masters Degree in geography from Chico State. Working on such early projects as the Rural Settlement Pattern Strategy Reports and the San Luis Obispo Greenbelt Plan he specialized in conservation planning and resource mapping. In 1997 he was assigned the project that has defined his career at the Land Conservancy, creation of the San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed Enhancement Project. Since that time he focused primarily on managing restoration projects on local creeks and doing conservation easements and acquisitions on behalf of steelhead trout. Since 1997 he has overseen the installation of over 30 physical restoration projects including erosion control, water quality improvement, revegetation and improving migration access for steelhead trout. He is a regular presenter at conferences such as the Salmonid Restoration Federation.   In 2001 Brian was assigned the Deputy Director position at the Land Conservancy. While still managing projects he helped a growing staff implement a great variety of tasks that are critical to non-profits and particularly, land trusts. This paved the way for Brian’s eventual selection for the Executive Director position following the retirement of long-time Director Ray Belknap in 2005.    When not at the office, it is common to see Brian along any one of San Luis Obispo County’s trails or paddling a kayak in his home area of Morro Bay. You may also see Brian on stage in places such as the Mission Plaza playing bass for local band Up in the Air. When asked about his long tenure at the Conservancy and in San Luis Obispo County he said, “I love people and land and we have great examples of both here on the central coast. It has been an honor to serve the public trust as a staffer at the Land Conservancy”.    Return to top     Robert Hill Conservation Director     Bob Hill was born and raised in San Mateo, California. He was fortunate to be introduced to hiking, camping, and skiing at a very young age – his folks had him camping out at Calaveras Big Trees State Park before he was even one year old. For Bob, it was this early exposure to the outdoors that continues to help inform many of life’s important decisions.     While in high school, Bob was active with playing the saxophone in the jazz band, running on the cross country and track teams, and working part-time shelving books at the library. By senior year, Bob had also discovered backpacking and rock climbing.    Bob attended UC Santa Cruz, where he graduated with a degree in Politics. While still a college student, a summer was spent living and learning in the High Sierras through the Sierra Institute field school. This once-in-a-lifetime experience solidified a passion for the mountains, as well as a growing feeling that a professional career dedicated to conservation of our natural landscapes would be both possible and necessary.      After college, Bob went to work full time at Coast Commercial Bank in their construction and commercial loan department. This opportunity provided important professional experience in finance, real estate, and land use planning. After three years of banking, the need to return to the idealism of college years became overwhelming, and Bob decided to return to the academic world.    Bob moved to San Luis Obispo in order to attend graduate school at Cal Poly, where he earned a Master’s in City and Regional Planning. As a graduate student, Bob started out working for the Land Conservancy as a volunteer intern. This quickly led to an interest in regionalism and conservation planning, as well as a part-time job. Bob’s graduate project entailed a study of conservation priorities for the City of San Luis Obispo’s Greenbelt Protection Program.    Bob considers himself extraordinarily fortunate to be working for the Land Conservancy as the Conservation Director.  He lives on Terrace Hill in San Luis Obispo with his beautiful wife, Jaime (pictured above).     Return to top     Wende Pearson Membership Development Manager    Wende grew up exploring the woods and lakes of Michigan and gained her life-long passion for nature at a young age.  She went on to graduate from the University of Michigan , School of Natural Resources and Environment with a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Behavior.  During college she worked as a backcountry trip leader and volunteer teacher in the local schools.  After graduating, Wende spent two summers as a naturalist and ocean kayak guide in Alaska .  In the off-season, she continued as an educator teaching high school science classes and managing youth environmental education experiences in Michigan .  She also spent four months traveling through Central America and volunteered on a sustainable organic farm in Costa Rica.      More recently, Wende worked at an environmental non-profit outside of Washington D.C.   Labeled the “Dirty Girl”, Wende coordinated the removal of hundreds of tons of trash from the D.C. metropolitan area and managed a long-term regional watershed trash mitigation effort, the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative.  She also helped establish a new environmental group in her community, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment, where she served on the Board of Directors.    A newcomer to the Central Coast, Wende is often out exploring her new home by bike and by foot with her fiance James and their boxer Ruben.  She also enjoys traveling, reading, backpacking and birding – but her true passion lies in sharing the wonders of the natural world with others.  As her favorite poet Gary Snyder put it:     “To climb these coming crests  one word to you, to you and your children:  stay together, learn the flowers, go light..." Return to top     Michael LeBrun  Restoration Program Manager   Michael was born and raised in southern California.  After high school Michael joined the U.S. Navy where he worked as an electrician and diver aboard submarines.  Following active duty, Michael attended college graduating Cal Poly SLO in 1993 with a degree in Environmental Engineering.     Michael then went to work for the Regional Water Quality Board in San Luis Obispo.  Michael received his professional civil engineering license in 1995.  In 2004, Michael left the Regional Board as a Senior Engineer to take the General Manager position at Nipomo Community Services District.    In 2006, Michael left Nipomo to take a professional sabbatical and evaluate life goals.  Following much travel and contemplation, he decided conservation, preservation, and restoration of land is the most universally beneficial action man can take in the face of continued human population growth and development. In light of this realization, Michael started volunteering with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.    Michael and his wife Susi have two adult children and when the are not working in their garden can be found bicycling, camping, hiking and kayaking.    Return to top       Crystal Elwood Business Manager    Crystal Elwood started part-time at the Land Conservancy in 2004 and has since stepped into an essential role as the Business Manager.  She has an eclectic professional background including 5 years in banking and additional experience working at a boat store, a computer store and a cake shop.  Despite her past employment diversity, she feels most rewarded by her current position.     Crystal ’s favorite thing about her job is the feeling that she is giving back to the community, and as she puts it, “I have a career that matters.”  In addition to the accounting, Crystal also manages the Land Conservancy’s innovative TDC (Transfer Development Credits) program that has gained national admiration for its success.    Born in Santa Barbara , Crystal has lived in Atascadero since the third grade and plans to stay.  She loves the land and the open space in her local community, and you can often find her walking or biking around town.  She also enjoys gardening, camping, reading and cooking – especially her infamous white turkey chili.    Return to top     Judith Hildinger Database Manager    Judith was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, California and has very strong ties to the outdoors.  She volunteered for 3 years with the Land Conservancy water quality monitoring program before officially joining the staff.     Judith is very happy to be working at the Conservancy to streamline, improve, and grow the membership database.  She has a B.S. degree in geology, a lifetime love of books, and a happy spirit on the trail.  The value of “saving special places” for both current and future generations is at the top of Judith's list.    Judith has chosen a seasonal lifestyle in order to continue to run a summer resort business in the Sierra with her brother and parents. Judith's other interests include hiking, yoga, and classical piano.  Judith and her husband Eric enjoy photographing wild places in SLO County and other places whenever they can get to them. Return to top   Don Applegate Program Manager Don is an avid outdoorsman with one foot in the ocean and the other firmly planted on the land!  He is a graduate of Cal Poly who, like many, just couldn't leave and now lives in Los Osos.  Don is also involved with Surfrider Foundation through his love for surfing and protecting the central coast.                                Return to top   Mark Skinner Program Manager   Mark Skinner has been with the Land Conservancy since May 1997. He is currently involved in the removal of invasive plants from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes and San Luis Obispo Creek. The worst of the weeds are grasses: Veldt grass (from South Africa), Beach grass (from Holland), Pampas grass (from Argentina) and Giant Reed (from India). In the Dunes we are protecting rare plants from being overrun by weeds. On San Luis Obispo Creek we are preventing the spread of Giant Reed (Arundo). A great deal of ecological restoration can take place simply by removing invasive plants.    Mark has a background in Landscape Architecture (’84 Cal Poly), composting (holding compost workshops for the Terra Foundation 1990-1997) and native plant gardening. His other interests include social activism (anti-nuclear, pro conservation and renewable energy, pro leadership in energy, CO2 management and foreign policy), feng shui, Jungian psychology, travel, wave riding, bio diesel and cooking. He enjoys watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and 60 minutes. He enjoys fiction by Tom Robbins and TC Boyle and non-fiction by Amory Lovins and subjects such as geography, psychology, philosophy and food. His favorite websites are Friesian.com, enwikipedia.org., favorite bloggers are Virgina Postrel (dynamist.com/weblog) and Andrew Zolli  (zpluspartners.com), favorite ‘zines are Harper’s, the New Yorker and Business Week.      Return to top    Daniel Bohlman Restoration Ecologist    Daniel hails from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he spent his childhood tromping about the local woods returning only at last light, pockets brimming with the day’s treasures. Searching for a respite to the long Midwestern winters, he arrived in California in 1996 and immediately felt at home.    Daniel held careers as a professional Cyclist, climbing instructor, kayak guide and naturalist before deciding to pursue studies in biology. He holds a degree in Ecology and Systematic Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a concentration in Botany. Following his studies he worked for The Nature Conservancy and The California Department of Fish & Games before coming to work for The Land Conservancy. His choice to work for the Land Conservancy was directed by his passion for San Luis Obispo’s diverse and amazing landscapes, and his desire to preserve and maintain these landscapes via direct action.    Daniel's life would not be complete without his wife Molly, or their dog Luke. His pastimes include travel, surfing, yoga, music, books, and sharing good food and drink with his family and friends.     Return to top    Chris Cox Restoration Specialist    Chris was raised in a small, rural community in southern California where he was introduced at a young age to the priceless benefits of the outdoors.  He enjoys hiking, surfing, fly fishing, camping, backpacking, and playing rugby.  He has hiked many of SLO County’s public trails and finds Reservoir Canyon and San Luis Mountain to be among his most frequented adventures.     Chris graduated from Cal Poly in 2005 with a degree in Nutrition Science.  All through his college career Chris prospered from the effects of service to the community, directing Cal Poly’s Community Service Center as well as joining AmeriCorps for a 900 hour term of service.  He strongly believes that there is no better feeling than that which comes from helping others - whether human, animal, plant, or land.  Chris currently lives in San Luis Obispo with his always entertaining dog, Chula.        Return to top     Gabe Goodman Restoration Specialist    Gabe grew up in Long Beach but quickly learned to love outdoor adventures spending two seasons fighting wild fires in California.  He recently graduated from Cal Poly with a major in Forestry and Natural Resources and a concentration in Fire & Fuels Management.  Gabe brings a suite of resource management qualifications which he applies to our local natural areas.  Gabe has earned his Black Belt in Myung Shim Taekwondo and is a Phi Deta Thetan alum.  For fun he plays flanker and lock for the City of SLO Rugy Team, and he's got bruises and a broken tooth to prove it!     Return to top      Bryan Hibbert Restoration Specialist     A native of California, Bryan enjoys working for the Land Conservancy because it makes him feel good about helping protect and preserve coastal California - particularly for future generations of kids who will inherit it.     Bryan has ten years of experience in landscaping and nursery business.  His professional skills include all phases of landscape installation and construction, small-scale urban restoration, native plant identification and propagation, and running his own landscaping business.  Bryan's extensive background uniquely qualifies him for restoration and ecosystem management work in San Luis Obispo County.  He spent two seasons volunteering for the Forest Service in Mammoth Lakes as an Interpretive Backcountry Naturalist teaching wilderness ethics.  He also worked on salmon restoration projects with the California Conservation Corps.     A self proclaimed "plant nerd," Bryan has been gardening for fifteen years and especially likes growing Bonsai trees.  He also enjoys backpacking, flyfishing and being outdoors.  Another of his great loves is music, both listening and playing, and his favorite instrument at the moment is the mandolin.  Brian lives in Los Osos with his wife and daughter.

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