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About 15 years ago, Rick participated in a city leadership program sponsored by the local chamber of commerce. His environmentalist friends asked, "Why isn't there something like that for environmentalists?" That question stuck in the back of his mind.

Over the years, while he worked as executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, he realized that protection of ag land required better city planning and urban growth boundaries. Urban planning became an avocation. He served on the Santa Rosa Planning Commission and became a founder of the Sonoma County Transportation Land-Use Coalition. He also saw the need to protect wildlife habitat and open space. He realized that his lifelong concern for social justice fit together with concern for economic and environmental issues as integral to the concept of sustainability.

Bob is a graduate of the class of 2005. He is an attorney, specializing in estate planning. Bob is a director of the Atascadero Creek Green Valley Creek Watershed Council and serves as a volunteer stream water quality monitor for the Community Clean Water Institute. Bob is an aspiring GIS practitioner and an avid KPIG listener.

Torri Estrada is a program officer at the Marin Community Foundation, where he manages the Foundation's environmental grantmaking program. Previously, Torri served as the coordinator of the Water Funders Alliance at the Environmental Grantmakers Association, a funder working group that facilitated the exchange of information and experience among diverse funders concerned about fresh water and its connection to other critical issues. Torri was also a program officer at the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, founder and a senior policy fellow with the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, and Director of the Latino Issues Forum's Environment and Sustainable Development Program.

Senator Evans represents California’s Second Senatorial District covering all or portions of Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano Counties. Prior to her election to the State Senate she served 6 years in the State Assembly and 8 years on the Santa Rosa City Council. Evans practiced law in Sonoma County for over 20 years, focusing on civil matters and litigating before both state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Evans received a Juris Doctorate Degree from University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from California State University, Sacramento. Evans lives in Santa Rosa and has three children.

Marie is a passionate executive level professional and community leader who has excelled at applying her innovative business and management skills to achieving the social missions of public and nonprofit organizations since 1991. She is driven by her belief that “sustained human development requires intentional community development” and a vision of a society where all people have access to health, education and employment/business opportunities.

Marie has been building community linkages through collaborative partnerships with public, private and nonprofit organizations and has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the community and socio-economic institutions including health and human service agencies, educational systems, law enforcement and legal justice agencies.

Lesley is a seasoned General Manager and marketer with over 20 years experience in interactive entertainment. She was CEO of Blue Noodle, a leader in advertising services for social and casual games. She was one of the founders of Pogo.com taking the company from inception to multi-million dollar business, acquired by Electronic Arts. Prior to Pogo, Lesley was head of marketing for Electronic Arts for many years.

Lesley has a degree from Bristol University in England and lives in Occidental, with her partner and two teenage step-children. She is passionate about food, sustainability and women's entrepreneurship. From 2007-2001 she was on the Board of Directors for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, heading up their fundraising committee. Currently she is on the Board of Advisors for SmartGardner.com, a start-up venture that makes it easy for everyone to grow their own organic food, and an advisor for Pacific Community Ventures.

Helga is the former Executive Director of Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, now appointed by the Governor to Asst. Director for External Affairs with the California Dept. of Community Services and Development.

Margaret has a degree in journalism from UC Berkeley.  After a stint on some Bay Area papers she joined the marketing department of a local architectural firm and later worked in-house for interior design and engineering firms.  She formed her own consulting firm in 1985 and for a decade provided marketing and public relations consulting in the design and engineering fields.

She co-authored Advanced Marketing for Architecture and Engineering Firms (McGraw-Hill, 1988) and lectured on marketing in seminars and workshops around the U.S.  She also taught a graduate seminar on the market for architecture at Cal for ten years.

Margaret joined the board of Greenbelt Alliance in 1994 and remains active in that organization.  She also sits on the board of Sonoma Land Trust.  She lives in Glen Ellen.