The following are the current members of our Board of Directors
Eric Heitz, Chair
Eric
Heitz fell in love with rivers, and met his wife Brenda, while training
as a river guide with Echo Rafting. He currently works in the
environmental field as the President of the Energy Foundation, which
advances clean energy technologies in the and . He has two daughters,
who are almost ready to float the Tuolumne . He has served on the Board since 1996.
Jerry Meral , Vice-Chair
Jerry
Meral has served on the Tuolumne River Trust Board since its inception
in 1981. He made the first kayak run on Cherry Creek, and the second
from Lumsden Campground. He is a zoologist, with long experience in California water issues.
Susan Stern, Secretary
Susan came to know and love the Tuolumne on its Middle Fork at Camp Tawonga
. After her children spent many summers at Camp, Susan served as
President of the Tawonga Board which worked closely with the Tuolumne
River Trust on issues of mutual concern. She joined the Trust Board in
the mid-1990's. Now Susan and her family enjoy hiking in Tuolumne
Meadows and near the headwaters on Mt. Dana as well as canoeing the lower river during salmon spawning season in the Fall.
Ross A. Carkeet, Jr.
Ross
Carkeet joined the Tuolumne River Trust Board in 2003 due to his
professional interest and commitment to the applied science of
watershed management. In particular, his desire to assist the Trust in
supporting the Clavey River and South Fork of the Tuolumne River under
Wild and Scenic status. Carkeet's lengthy tenure as an Instructor of
Forestry and Natural Resources at Columbia College
, and as a Registered Professional Forester, has provided him with a
challenging opportunity to promote the goals and objectives of the
Tuolumne River Trust.
Harrison C. (Hap) Dunning
Hap Dunning is Professor of Law emeritus from the University of California at Davis . For many years, Hap has been involved in efforts to reform California
water policy and water law, with a particular emphasis on improving
arrangements for maintaining and augmenting river and lake levels.
Bob Hackamack, P.E.
Bob Hackamack has served on the Trust’s Board
in vairous positions since its inception in 1981. He is a retired
Chemical Engineer and Control Systems Engineer. Hackamack is also
involved with the following organizations: Friends of the Tuolumne
, Sierra Club, Restore Hetch Hetchy, Past Chair of the Sierra Club
Tuolumne River Conference Task Force 1969-1995, and Hetch Hetchy
Restoration Task Force 1987 to present.
Bill Maher
Bill
Maher is an active environmentalist and rafter. He was a member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors for 12 years and chaired Public
Works which dealt with traffic and the environment for 8 of those
years. Bill authored the Toxins Bill, the Sunlight in the Park bill,
the demolition of the Embarcadero and Central freeways among others and
authored or co-authored virtually every San
Francisco piece of water and energy conservation legislation from 1982
until 1995. He is a past president of the SF Board of Education and
served as the Executive Director of the SF Department of Parking and
Traffic. Bill has been an advisor to the Trust since 2004.
Len Materman
Len
joined the Trust Board in 2007. He has served as a consultant to
goverment agencies, businesses, NGOs and foundations since he and
colleagues from a White House Task Force formed the nonprofit America's
River Communities, Inc. in 2000. Currently Len is Stanford Coordinator
for the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD). Len
serves as a U.S. State Department consultant to Eastern Europe on land
use and tourism issues. He was Director of U.C. Berkeley 's Office of
Government Affairs. Len has volunteered for environmental and education
organizations in his hometown of San Carlos.
Marty McDonnell
Marty, owner of Sierra Mac River Trips in Sonora has spent many years navigating the Tuolumne
rapids and guiding people down challenging whitewater courses. He is
involved with the Clavey River Preservation Coalition and is a founding
member of the Tuolumne River Trust. He has served on the board since
1981.
John Nimmons
John
is an attorney and consultant specializing in energy law, policy,
planning, and development strategies for sustainable energy resources,
focusing on renewable resources, combined heat and power, district
energy, fuel cells, and other emerging technologies, and on energy
options available to public entities. He has been a Trust advisor since
2004. John is a former Director of the Earl Warren Legal Institute
Energy Studies Group (U.C. Berkeley) and San Francisco Planning and
Urban Research Association Energy Task Force and a former Board member
of the Pacific Energy and Resources Center .
Sue Ellen Ritchey
Sue Ellen Ritcheyis a civic leader in the Modesto community. Professionally, she teaches high school students. She is also a member of the Modesto Symphony Board and past Secretary, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Gallo Center for the Arts.
Dan Sullivan
As a resident of San Francisco, Dan is aware of the special connection between San Francisco, the Tuolumne River
and its water. Through his Sierra Club involvement, he was active in
the Tuolumne Wild and Scenic Campaign twenty years ago. Dan is
currently involved in participating at the San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission meetings related to the CIP (working alongside the
Trust and others). Dan has a J.D. from Harvard Law School .