As I step into the role of Executive Director of Green Foothills, I’m honored and excited to lead this incredible organization that has had a profoundly important impact on our region. I do so surrounded by a talented team and dedicated community of people who share a vision of a region where wildlife thrives, everyone has natural beauty to enjoy, and communities live in balance with nature.

Having been a part of Green Foothills for 15 years, I had the good fortune of meeting many of you over the years. If I haven’t had the opportunity to meet you yet, I hope to at one of our Healing in Nature outings, at Green Foothills office hours, on a company outing, or during a 1-to-1 chat.

My love of nature grew from the joy of distinctive outdoor adventures I had throughout the seasons in my native Canada. Living in the Bay Area as an adult and as a mother deepened it into a passion for protecting local nature. Green Foothills provided the community with which I could fulfill that new found passion. Over the years, I’ve been deeply involved in protecting open space and farmland in Santa Clara County as a Legislative Advocate, with a focus on small farms, sustainable food systems, and responsible growth. I’ve also served the organization as Director of Impact, further sharpening my knowledge in almost every aspect of our organization’s work.

Green Foothills remains committed to its mission of protecting open space, farmland, and natural resources for the benefit of all in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, as well as expanding our focus into the Upper Pajaro Watershed region in San Benito County. And, we will do all that we can to ground our efforts in inclusion and belonging, as described in our community building initiative.

We have a big year ahead, a year that we believe will see gains in the protection of local nature; more monolingual Spanish speakers graduating from our Leadership Program; increased accessibility to nature for people who speak Spanish as their first language, for young people, and for people with limited mobility; additional funds raised to support Indigenous-led conservation efforts; and new partnerships to scale our impact.

Every win will have been made possible because of you, your dedication, your voice, and your support.

Thank you for standing with us!