Valerie Olson
President
Valerie Olson has worked tirelessly to protect More Mesa for close to 40 years. She is a retired Physicist who received both her degrees in Physics in the early 1960s. For almost all of her lengthy 40-year career, she was a scientist, engineer, and manager at Hughes Aircraft Company. Since moving to Santa Barbara in 1988, Valerie has spent countless days walking More Mesa, reporting what is happening there and performing habitat restoration and weed control. However, and most importantly, she has been observing and reporting the activity of More Mesa’s beloved White-tailed Kites.
Dan Gira
Vice President, Treasurer
Mr. Gira has been working to protect More Mesa and its biological, scenic and recreational values since 1982. He is a retired professional land use and environmental planner with more than 40 years of experience, including almost 20 years with Santa Barbara County and 20 years as an environmental consultant. He is the author of the County’s policy framework that currently protects the majority of More Mesa as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat. Mr. Gira enjoys hiking, backpacking, bodysurfing and gardening and has been visiting More Mesa almost once per week for more than 40 years.
Kathy Pfeifer
Board Member
Kathy had a career of more than 30 years as a planner with Santa Barbara County writing policies to encourage renewable energy in the County. She implemented those policies by establishing a local green building program and permitting solar and wind projects. Kathy also administered a County grant program that funded coastal-enhancing projects, including acquisition and preservation of open space bluff tops. Kathy is excited about saving More Mesa for wildlife habitat and for people to enjoy.
John Storrer
Board Member
Mr. Storrer is a wildlife biologist and graduate of U.C. Santa Barbara. He has several years of field survey experience in the Santa Barbara region. John has spent many hours on More Mesa observing wildlife, often with a canine companion. He has a particular interest in the behavior and ecology of the white-tailed kite.
Cameron Benson
Board Member
Bio coming soon.