Employees
Joshua
T. Fodor: Chief Executive Officer
Joshua received a BA in Biology and a BA in Environmental Studies from the
University of California at Santa Cruz in 1988. He combined his interest in
agroecology with his botanical skills in 1992 when he founded Central Coast
Wilds. In seven years he has participated in all levels of project design and
implementation. His commitment to sound ecological management is reflected in
Central Coast Wilds field and nursery practices. Joshua has overseen projects
in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties.
Joshua, now residing in Santa Cruz, California, was born and raised in the San
Francisco Bay area and Lake Tahoe Basin.
Kirk B.
Dakis: Financial Manager
Kirk received a BA degree in Molecular Plant Genetics from University of
California at Berkeley in 1989. Work experience includes research with the UC
Berkeley Forestry Department characterizing Krebs cycle enzymes in oak and
pine tree species, research at Cetus Corporation characterizing DNA polymerase
enzymes, and research at NeXstar Pharmaceuticals synthesizing RNA strands.
After four years of molecular biology research work focused on the Dakis
family’s advertising agency and expanding new accounts in the bio-tech
arena. Kirk has been involved with strategic planning at Ecological Concerns
since 1992 when the Company began as the partnership known as Central Coast
Wilds. Current work at the Company includes all levels of operations including
CFO, Secretary and Treasurer, and Board of Directors positions and project
director responsible for new accounts, account supervision and management,
financial management, sales and marketing. Kirk, now living in Boulder,
Colorado was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area and has been a 30
year resident in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Joe
Rigney: Scientific Review and Analysis
Joe earned a BS in General Biology and a BA in Philosophy in 1990 from the
University of California at San Diego. Over the last decade Joe developed his
skills as a conservation biologist with an emphasis on restoration ecology. He
has traveled and worked throughout North America. His experience includes
marine fisheries observer in Alaska, bald eagle nestwatcher in Arizona, and
habitat restoration in Costa Rica and Yosemite National Park. He settled in
Santa Cruz in 1995 where he has concentrated on habitat restoration and
conservation planning issues. He is on the board of the Santa Cruz County
Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, he is the webmaster for the
Society for Ecological Restoration 1999 Conference, and he is a steering
committee member of the Coast Ranges Ecosystem Alliance.
Reggie
Knox: Farming and Ranching Systems
Reggie has degrees in Community Studies and Geology from the University of
California at Santa Cruz. Reggie has worked in the organic food and
sustainable agriculture fields for over ten years. He has been a long
term organic farm inspector for CCOF and currently is the statewide program
director for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. Reggie is a 30
resident of the Echo Lakes community near South Lake Tahoe
Ellen
Holmes: Botanist
Ellen began working at Central Coast Wilds as a volunteer in 1996. Her
aptitude became readily apparent as she quickly learned the arts of native
plant identification and propagation. Her botanical studies include Jepson
Herbarium workshops in Juncaceae (Rushes), Alpine Flora, Poaceae (Grasses),
and Cyperaceae (Sedges). She has also attended numerous workshops taught by
noted local botanist Randy Morgan, including Trifoluim (Clover), and Plant and
Insect Interaction. Ellen has initiated her own Sheep Grazing Monitoring Study
on the former Ft. Ord. She is an active member of the Santa Cruz County
Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, where she participates as a
board member. Ellen has extensive experience in flora identifying throughout
California.
Associates
Grey Hayes: Botanist, Wildland Steward
Grey is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Studies at the University of
California, Santa Cruz. He was a co-founder of Central Coast Wilds in 1992,
where he remains involved as a consulting botanist. Grey is a former president
of the Santa Cruz County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. His
thesis work involves the relationship between grazing and the maintenance of
rare flora in coastal grasslands.
Felicia Stewart, PhD: Environmental Scientist
Felicia received her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies at the University of
California, Santa Cruz in 1999. Her research has focused on native grasses as
they relate to erosion control in the Elkhorn Slough watershed. She has
extensive experience in the hydrology of California landscapes.
Dick Arnold, PhD: Entomologist
Dick is owner and operator of Entomological Consulting Services. Dick has
extensive experience throughout the Western United States in plan design and
monitoring for projects involving rare and endangered insects.
Campbell Thompson: Wildlife Biologist, Ornithologist
In 1995 Campbell settled in Humboldt County, CA, where he began working as a
crewmember and crew leader for a Humboldt State University northern spotted
owl demography study. In 1997, he was hired by Humboldt State University to
plan and conduct surveys for the Bureau of Land Management for marbled
murrelet, northern spotted owl, fisher, martin, terrestrial mollusks, snowy
plover, corvids, northern goshawk, Del Norte salamander, and Neotropical
migrant landbirds. Campbell works for the Mattole Salmon Group on field
surveys and hatchery operations for native salmonids. Campbell has also worked
as a consulting biologist for Restoration Forestry, Inc., where he assists in
developing sustainable timber harvest plans that consider the habitat needs
for a variety of species.