Executive Director
Marilyn Farley, Executive Director
Marilyn Farley has been executive director since May 2005. Marilyn is excited about Solano Land Trust's work in preserving open space, prime farmlands and important habitats. Her professional career has included local government, the private sector, and NorthBay Healthcare. She recently concluded six years of service on the Fairfield City Council. Her personal goal in working with Solano Land Trust is to grow the endowment funds sufficiently to ensure the organization's financial stability for long-term stewardship of the land. Marilyn earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. She has lived in the Fairfield area since 1975, is married to former Solano County Supervisor Duane Kromm, and has a delightful grandchild.
Program Managers
Ben Wallace, Conservation Project Manager
Ben joined Solano Land Trust in 2005. He oversees strategies and programs to conserve, manage and restore habitat on Solano Land Trust properties. Prior to coming to SLT, Ben directed conservation education projects at the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, served as project manager at the California Wilderness Coalition, and worked with the US Forest Service and environmental consulting firms in Oregon and Alaska on forestry, fisheries and stream survey projects. He holds a bachelor's degree from Reed College in Oregon where he specialized in population and conservation biology and public policy.
Teri Engbring, Volunteer and Education Coordinator
Teri joined SLT in April 2007 after serving in a similar position with the Yolo Basin Foundation and California Fish and Game at Yolo Wildlife Area for seven years. She will recruit, train and coordinate new volunteers for Lynch Canyon and other SLT facilities, and support ongoing volunteer efforts at Rush Ranch and Jepson Prairie. Teri has worked in policy, planning, public relations, and administrative positions with all levels of public and private sectors from Washington, D.C. to Seattle, as well as in Micronesia. Her bachelor's degree is in urban planning, with strong personal priorities in natural resources and environmental education.
Rob Goldstein, Land Transaction Specialist
Rob Goldstein joined SLT in January of 2006. Rob manages the land transaction program including the acquisition of conservation easements and properties in fee-title, as well as the stewardship of existing conservation easements. He also coordinates the development of projects funded by mitigation. Prior to joining SLT, Rob worked for the University of San Francisco on a study evaluating the success of wetland mitigation projects across Northern California. He also served as an agro-forestry volunteer in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. Rob obtained a master's degree in natural resource management from Colorado State University and bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia.
Sue Wickham, Project Coordinator
Sue joined the SLT staff in June 2005 to coordinate the resource management plan for the Sky Valley-Cordelia Hills Open Space. She will continue with work on these ranches in 2007 and assist with grant writing. Prior to working at SLT, Sue worked as an educational consultant for the City of Benicia and Benicia school system, doing environmental education and science classes. As a professional geologist, she also worked as a consultant for more than 15 years on hazard assessments, groundwater contamination and similarly exciting projects. Originally from the East Coast, Sue has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in geology, and a California teaching credential.
Jessie Olson, Restoration Planner
Jessie joined SLT in April 2008 to coordinate and create an updated Master Plan and new Restoration Plan for Rush Ranch. Prior to joining SLT, Jessie worked in three other restoration-planning positions in the Bay Area over the past 5 years. Most recently she worked at the Sonoma Ecology Center designing, implementing, and monitoring restoration projects in Sonoma Creek Watershed. Jessie also helped protect and restore habitat in the East Bay with the California Native Plant Society and restore habitat for the mission blue butterfly at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Hailing from Wisconsin, she earned her bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Field
Ken Poerner, Land Steward
Ken joined Solano Land Trust in 1998 and now has overall responsibility for stewardship and public access activities on all Solano Land Trust properties. A retired flight engineer instructor at Travis Air Force Base, Ken is also active with the Napa-Solano Chapter of the National Audubon Society and the Jepson Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. He holds an Associate of Arts in business from Solano Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in natural sciences and mathematics from Thomas Edison State College and a post-graduate certificate in land use and environmental planning from UC Davis Extension.
Nick Meckler, Field Steward
Nick joined Solano Land Trust in March 2008 as our first full-time Field Steward and first occupant of our new Field Steward residence. His duties include maintaining the Rush Ranch public facilities so the public can enjoy a safe, clean, and friendly open space. Nick is a big part of the stewardship team on all the SLT properties. He assists with weed control and other projects that are part of taking care of the land, protecting natural resources and providing access to the public. Nick grew up on a farm in north central Washington State where he learned to love the land. He has lived in this area since 2001. Nicks first love is fishing, and he wanders all over the bay area exploring new fishing holes.
Finance
Cathy O'Connor, Finance Officer
Cathy O'Connor joined SLT in 2007 as finance officer. She got her CPA from a public accounting firm in Marin County where she was employed by numerous not-for-profit audit clients. Cathy has also worked as an internal auditor for the Sacramento Superior Courts, as well as work process improvement coordinator for Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco. Her mission is to provide SLT with accurate and timely financial reporting to facilitate staff in their work. Cathy and her husband, David Hardesty, live in Walnut Grove on the Sacramento River.
Jennifer Fernandez, Administrative Assistant
Jennifer has been with Solano Land Trust since March 2008. Jennifer provides administrative assistance to the entire staff, as well as coordinates the use of the rental facilities at Rush Ranch. Jennifer brings with her many years of administrative assistant experience, as well as hotel and lodge operations and event coordination. She has an A.A. degree in secretarial sciences, with additional education in business management, and E.M.T. licensing. Jennifer lives in Vacaville with her husband, Rick, and children Jordann and Dario. She has a genuine love of the outdoors and is grateful to work for an organization that promotes conservation and preservation of our land.
Jane Moody, Bookkeeper
(Bio to come)