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
Secretary
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
After graduating from UCSB, Cameron has enjoyed a 30-plus year career in environmental advocacy, with an emphasis on protecting clean water, endangered species, public lands, marine life, and natural open spaces. Specifically, he has served as staff attorney and Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Center, District Director for Assembly member Hannah-Beth Jackson, and Manager of the City of Santa Barbara’s Creek Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Division. After his recent retirement from the City, Cameron has continued to advocate for protection of local natural resources and precious open spaces.
Lisa Stratton
Board Member
Lisa Stratton has spent the last 30 years working in conservation and restoration and the last 20 of those at UC Santa Barbara’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. Restoring degraded land to ecologically functioning landscapes, providing opportunities for people to connect meaningfully with nature and mentoring students are priorities for Lisa. She enjoys hiking, biking, birding and botanizing with friends. Collaborating to support the long term conservation of More Mesa is a priority for Lisa.
