About Eastern Sierra Land Trust - Who We Are
Founded in 2001, ESLT is the first and only land trust based in the Eastern Sierra. We began our work when private citizens and public officials in our area expressed interest in the development alternatives, mitigations, and habitat protections that land trusts can provide.
In December 2003, we completed our first voluntary land conservation agreements (commonly referred to as conservation easements), in the migration corridor of the Round Valley Mule Deer Herd; the following year we hired our first professional staff. Today we're continuing to work to protect vital lands, making up more than 6,000 protected acres thus far.
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Board of Directors
President: Tony Taylor — Tony is retired after 29 years in technical marketing and management for the IBM Corporation. He has served the University of Redlands in Southern California as president of the Alumni Association and is a member of the Board of Trustees.
Vice President: Orrin Sage — Orrin received a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1973. He taught there in the environmental studies program for 15 years and has been an agricultural and environmental consultant for 37 years. He is a principal with Sage Associates and specializes in working with land trust organizations and land owners to craft conservation easements.
Treasurer: Sid Tyler — Sid is a recently retired City Council member in Pasadena who has been visiting the Eastern Sierra for 40 years. His business experience has been in the health care field, from which he retired in 1995 as Executive Vice President at Tenet HealthCare Corp. Early years: grew up on a cattle ranch in Western Colorado, thence to Harvard College.
Secretary: Rick Kattelmann — Rick is a consulting hydrologist, specializing in water resources of mountain areas.
Director: Bill Bramlette — Bill is a fourth generation rancher in the Benton Valley. He owns the Benton Hot Springs Bed and Breakfast with his wife Diane, and enjoys touring the world by bicycle.
Director: Rosanne Higley — Rosanne has lived in the Eastern Sierra since 1975, Lee Vining to Lone Pine, currently with her husband Tom in Swall Meadows. A retired teacher/administrator, Rosanne is balancing her time among environmental and education volunteer projects and more active pursuits such as backpacking, triathlons, and cross-country skiing.
Director: Jan Hunewill — Jan, with her husband Stan and the Hunewill family, own the Hunewill Guest Ranch, a working cattle ranch in the beautiful Bridgeport Valley. Jan filled the post vacated by Stan after he retired from the ESLT board.
Director: Marie Patrick — Marie moved to Crowley Lake after many years of visiting the area from LA. She founded, owned and managed the City of Los Angeles Marathon for over twenty years, prior to that organizing and promoting tennis, golf and cycling events in the U.S. and Europe. She and her husband enjoy all that the Eastern Sierra has to offer – hiking, biking, skiing, fishing and the four seasons!
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Advisory Board
| Dave Doonan Farmer, Montgomery Creek Ranch |
Jacques Etchegoyhen Owner, Terra Firma Associates |
| Steve Frisch Vice President, Programs, Sierra Business Council |
Nate Greenberg Mono County Geographic Information Systems |
| Rusty Gregory Chairman and CEO - Mammoth Mountain Ski Area |
Linda Hess Attorney at Law |
| Sandy Hogan Retired Special Operations Coordinator - Inyo National Forest |
Byng Hunt Mono County Supervisor |
| Geoff McQuilkin Executive Director, Mono Lake Committee |
George Milovich |
| Duke Ostendorf Retired Sales Executive - Personal Computer Business |
Pete Pumphrey Attorney at Law |
| Doug Ross CPA |
Terry Gooch Ross Organization and Leadership Development Consultant |
| Tim Sanford Attorney at Law |
Brian Stange Financial Consultant, Washington Mutual Bank |
| Ann Wong Realtor/Owner, Eastern Sierra Real Estate |
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Staff
Karen Ferrell-Ingram - Executive Director: Karen was a founding Board member of ESLT in 2001 and served as Secretary, Projects Committee chair and on the Executive Committee until accepting a staff position as Lands Director. Karen and her husband, Stephen Ingram, donated ESLT’s first conservation easement, which protects a critical wildlife migration corridor in southern Mono County. Karen grew up in Bishop and remains forever grateful to her parents for moving their family to the beautiful Owens Valley way back when. Before being hit by land trust fever, Karen worked in native plant restoration and horticulture.
Serena Dennis – Outreach Coordinator: Serena joined ESLT in January 2009. Serena grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Environmental Studies. She enjoys using her skills to help tell the story of ESLT's important work through online and print media. Serena loves to road bike, ski, and make quilts that reflect the beauty of the world around her.
Heather Freeman – Membership and Office Coordinator: Heather joined ESLT in June 2009. Utilizing her Masters of Business Admin degree, much of her work experience has been in marketing for-profit businesses. She looks forward to expanding her horizons by learning about the non-profit world and working with the talented and friendly staff of ESLT. She and her husband moved to the Eastern Sierra in 2006 from Ventura County, CA, to spend more time exploring the scenic and diverse region. When not at ESLT, Heather works as an adjunct instructor sharing knowledge of computer science and business to local community college students. She also enjoys gardening, hiking, taking pictures, snowboarding and off-roading.
Aaron Johnson – Lands Director: Aaron joined ESLT in October 2008 after working in natural resource management for a wide range of government agencies; federal, state, and municipal. Aaron brings a background in vegetation management, invasive species inventory, biological field work, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He is excited about being a part of the dedicated and inspired ESLT team and using his skills to help conserve the working and wild landscapes of the Eastern Sierra. Aaron joins us most recently from the Bay Area after having worked previously in the Colorado Front Range, Santa Cruz, and Tahoe. When not hard at work, he enjoys mountain biking, scrambling over granite, kayaking, chasing his dog, tinkering with bikes, and lazy mornings with coffee.
Victoria Ortiz – Education Coordinator, AmeriCorps member: Victoria will be joyfully joining ESLT as their 2012 AmeriCorps member. Victoria graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010 with a degree in Geography/Environmental Studies and is looking forward to breathing fresh air and sharing good times with the fantastic ESLT crew and Bishop community. She has worked a variety of environmental education positions ranging from grant writing in Montana to teaching a high school Sea Turtle Study in Costa Rica and is interested in developing her event coordination skills and learning as much as she can about running a non-profit. In her free time she prefers to be outside or off the grid most likely on a dilapidated bus in Central or South America headed towards another great adventure. She loves life, specifically running, skiing & snowboarding, hiking and is hoping to become a better climber this year.
David Woodruff – Development Coordinator: David joined ESLT in June, 2011. His work experience is from the for-profit world, having a background working in the hospitality industry in a variety of positions including departmental management, sales, marketing and finance. An Eastern Sierra part time resident since 1993, he has spent his winters (and a few summers) in Death Valley while enjoying his time off at home in the Mono Basin and now Independence. David enjoys hiking, backpacking, bike riding, writing and sharing time with his wife Gayle. His passion in life is to spend as much time as he can on the land in this incredible environment that surrounds us. He is very excited to be part of the dedicated staff at the Eastern Sierra Land Trust and looks forward to contributing to its legacy of accomplishments.