Board

Tuolumne River Trust Board of Directors

John Kreiter, Chair
John and his wife, Kyle, have a home at Lake Don Pedro above La Grange Dam. They are enthusiastic supporters of the Tuolumne and its watershed, as well as kayakers. Recently retired from a 38-year career at Clorox, John looks forward to working with the Trust to protect and restore the salmon population in a healthy river with higher flows throughout the year. He joined as an advisor in 2015 and was elected to the board in 2016. John is also on the board of the Alameda County Food Bank.

Eddie Corwin, Vice Chair
Eddie works at Google on health and sustainability best practices for their global offices, providing a platform to track energy, water, waste, indoor air quality, etc. Growing up in San Francisco, he is familiar with the Tuolumne and the Sierra ecosystems. His passion for California and the environment have led to creative problem-solving partnerships.

Eric Riemer, Treasurer
Eric has served in finance leadership roles at mission-driven organizations throughout his career, and is currently a finance consultant at Kaiser Permanente.  A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, he recently earned a certificate degree in Environmental Policy from Harvard University’s Extension School in order to deepen his understanding of our most pressing environmental challenges. In his free time Eric can usually be found on a trail somewhere, exploring California’s many natural wonders with friends and family.  He serves on the Development and Finance committees at the Trust.

Marek Robinson, Secretary

Marek’s river journey started when he was 11-years-old during a summer vacation in Jackson Hole. A one-day rafting trip down the Snake River opened his eyes to a whole new world. The summer of his junior year at Sacramento State, he landed a job as a rafting guide on the South Fork of the American River. His passion for rivers grew and took him throughout the western US to explore the legendary waterways.

After graduating with a degree in psychology, Marek continued working as a whitewater rafting guide and instructor on some of the most challenging whitewater commercially run in the Americas. He spent several years following the sun and split his time between seasons in North and South America. He worked for ECHO from 1989 through 1994, including guiding in California, Oregon and Idaho, and leading the company’s operations in California and Oregon. As area operations manager, he was directly responsible for annual expense budget, scheduling, field logistics, government relations, hiring and training of new employees. Eventually, he settled in the guide community of Coloma. After hanging up his life jacket in 1995, he started his career in sales and over the course of the next 20+ years he led and coached high-talent sales people across the globe and had revenue responsibility in excess of $500M. He is a four time recipient of the prestigious President’s Club sales award from Honeywell International and has published several articles on sales and technology. In 2019, Marek returned to his river roots and joined ARTA as the CEO.

Bart Westcott
Bart is a retired insurance executive and long time “advocate for the natural world.” He and his wife, Nancy, have been TRT supporters and enjoy bringing folks together around TRT’s mission. He looks forward to supporting and advancing the work of the Trust using his skills in finance, risk management, and communication. Bart is currently on the Board of Grassroots Ecology and Shall We Dance and served on Acterra’s board from 2003 – 2013.

Brad Wurtz
Brad first fell in love with rivers 50 years ago during a 200-mile rafting trip down the Colorado. A native Californian and avid fly angler, Brad has fished rivers throughout California and the Western US, including the Tuolumne. Brad spent more than 25 years as a senior executive and CEO for a variety of high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, from startups to multi-billion dollar businesses. He recently retired from the high-tech world to focus on working with non-profits focused on climate change, specifically to help ensure the survival of healthy rivers, healthy forests, and healthy fish.

Harrison “Hap” Dunning
Hap is a Professor of Law Emeritus at the School of Law, University of California at Davis. Before his retirement, he taught and published extensively in the fields of environmental law and natural resources law, with a particular emphasis upon water law. In 1977-78, he took a leave from the law school to head the staff of The Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law. In 1981-82, he chaired the committee supporting an initiative on water law reform which appeared on the California ballot in November 1982. Hap became a TRT advisor in 2002 and a member of the board in 2008.

Eric Gonzalez
Eric is a third year Political Science major currently attending the University of California at Merced. He has lived his whole life in the Central Valley and has had many family functions on the Stanislaus River. Eric has enjoyed many great rafting trips up in Knights Ferry and has come to appreciate what opportunities that rivers provide both recreationally and economically. As a Political Science major, Eric likes to use his skills in networking and outreach to spread awareness on how the health of our rivers truly impact the wellbeing of our communities. This region has two beautiful rivers that should be enjoyed by all and I'd like to advance TRT's mission in achieving that goal.

Cindy Charles
Cindy Charles is an avid fly angler and has been active in fisheries conservation work within California the past 20 years. She is the long-time Conservation Chair for the Golden West Women Flyfishers, and was the first woman to receive the National Conservation Award from the Federation of Fly Fishers in 2007. Cindy is retired from a 20 plus year career in finance and resides in San Francisco and Groveland. She knows the Tuolumne intimately and has been involved in many multi-year issues on the Tuolumne ranging from the FERC regulation of the New Don Pedro Dam as well as the State Water Board’s Bay Delta Plan.

Homero Mejia
Homero grew up close to the Tuolumne River and still resides within a stone's throw. He has extensive experience in outreach and engagement including advocacy through his involvement and leadership on various boards including Habitat for Humanity, United Way of Stanislaus County, King Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative, and the Modesto City Schools Board (Area 6). His goal is to make an impact on the riverside communities that rely on the River through stewardship and teaching kids, including his own, to grow up loving and protecting the river for future generations.

Jose Borroel
Jose Borroel is a California native with years of experience in community development and capacity building as he is the President of a small grass-root nonprofit. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and sharing his expertise with anyone eager to learn different recreational activities. Having lived next to the Toulomne river, he has seen the importance of stewardship. He is currently part of a California State-funded research grant program that looks at ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy sustainability in disadvantaged communities by creating the blueprints for energy innovators and making products affordable for everyone from the start.

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, emerging technologies, and energy options available to public entities. He has been a Trust advisor since 2004 and has served on the Board since 2006. 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.

Iris Stewart
Iris is on the faculty of Santa Clara University, her specialty is in hydrology and water resources. The main areas of her research and teaching are the effects of climate change on water resources, sustainable water management, groundwater pollution, and the just distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. She has a lifelong passion for protecting water and ecosystems and has worked with several environmental organizations. With TRT, Iris has worked on issues that range from watershed restoration, water distribution under drought, and environmental justice, and is looking forward to continuing that work. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, running, and camping in nature.

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.