NBC has an energetic Board of Directors with a diversity of talents and interests. This is very much a “Working Board”.
Debbie Moore – President
debbie.moore@newportbay.org
Debbie Moore joined the board in 2011. Her love of the environment began in South Carolina along the coast and as an active Girl Scout. After obtaining a B.S and an M.S. in Civil Engineering with specialty in Environment and Water Resources, Debbie’s career took her around the country from the plains of the Midwest, to the arid deserts of Arizona, to the Chesapeake Bay and finally to Southern California. She became interested in the Newport Bay while working as the Environmental Program Manager at the San Joaquin Marsh. Debbie looks forward to applying her knowledge of the environment from around the country and her diverse work experience with corporations, public agencies and nonprofits to preserving and protecting the Newport Bay for future generations.
Kristine Simon – Vice President
kristine.simon@newportbay.org
Kristine Simon joined NBC as an Associate Naturalist in early 2010, after being a recreational user of the bay’s trails and waters for twelve years. Kristine joined the Donor Relations Committee helping with community outreach, social media, public relations, membership and special events. Kristine has a bachelor of Public Relations and Advertising from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Media Arts and has more than fifteen years experience in sales and marketing for technology and business consulting firms. She is an avid lover of wildlife and a committed advocate for the environment.
Cecilia Patterson – Treasurer
cecilia.patterson@newportbay.org
Cecilia is a Senior Manager in the Tax and Entrepreneurial Services Department at Singer Lewak LLP, Certified Public Accountants. She is a certified public accountant and has worked in public accounting for fourteen years. Prior to joining Singer Lewak, Cecilia worked as a Revenue Agent for the Internal Revenue Service for 3 years. Cecilia n received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University in 1991. In 1998, she passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountants examination. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Cecilia is the NBC Treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee.
Rita McCoy – Secretary
rita.mccoy@newportbay.org
Rita is a retired customer relations professional. She graduated from the Naturalist 10-week training class in 1990 and has been volunteering at UNB in numerous capacities since that time. She particularly likes to lead walking tours and perform outreach. Her knowledge of the Bay and its history is amazing. Rita served as NBC’s Volunteer Coordinator for several years. Her enthusiasm for the Bay made her a great mentor for the new volunteers coming through the program and the rapport she had established with nearly all of the volunteers over the years allowed her to motivate the seasoned volunteers. She looks forward to continuing to strengthen the volunteer base of the organization.
Steve Bender – Past President
steve.bender@newportbay.org
Steve grew up in an environmental family. His father was winning awards for water conservation in the 60′s as well as raising organic beef in Kansas well before they called it organic. Steve moved to a house on the Back Bay almost two decades ago and has been involved in many different environmental organizations. Steve is currently on the Advisory Board at University of California Irvine for their Sustainability Leadership program and a founding member and President of the OC Green Chamber. Steve founded the Green Buyers Broker Organization, which helps homeowners install solar panels and green products for their homes utilizing rebates and incentives from realtors and government organizations. Steve also sits on the board for Orangewood PALs and the Bacchus Doc in a Box. This group is working with a local High School to design and build a mobile medical center to ship to South Africa in 2011. Steve is the past president for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society. Steve joined the NBC Board in 2009 as co-chair of the Donor and Community Relations Committee. He chaired the Rebranding Committee in 2010 resulting in the name change to Newport Bay Conservancy. His priorities for the Bay are education and restoration.
Peter Bryant
peter.bryant@newportbay.org
Peter Bryant’s interest and passion are in documenting, monitoring and preserving local biodiversity and ecosystems. He has been teaching Biodiversity and Conservation for 20 years at UCI, and now participates in the First-year Integrated Program in Environmental Science. Peter specializes in photographing invertebrates, especially the more difficult ones including the smallest insects as well as various marine and aquatic species. He has a Masters’ degree in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Genetics, and he is now participating in an international effort to catalog biodiversity using DNA-based methods. His main contribution to recent NBC activities has been to establish a Research Committee which has organized both quarterly Research Workshops and an Annual Symposium.
Anthony Christopher
anthony.christopher@newportbay.org
Anthony has spent many a morning riding his bicycle around the Bay. His appreciation for it goes back 7 years and he especially loves late afternoons when he feels it looks most surreal and beautiful. Mr. Christopher is the CEO of Higher Planet, a media technology company that provides a suite of online solutions for websites. As a media consultant, he has worked with NASA and the International Space Station, Boeing, Nissan, Pepsi, Cox Communications, Sony, Warner Bros, Capital Records, Showtime, JEEP, Disney and many others. During his career in the entertainment industry running production and distribution companies he worked in Europe, Asia and South America as well as the U.S. His projects have ranged from documentaries on the Arctic to fashion shows at Harrods in London to comedy shows with Dana Carvey and other comedians.
Rob Ellis
rob.ellis@newportbay.org
Rob has been teaching marine, earth and environmental science for more than 10 years in both classrooms and outdoor environments. He currently teaches at Fullerton College, Orange Coast College, Irvine Valley College and Long Beach City College, and has worked for a variety of field education programs including the Ocean Institute, Catalina Island Marine Institute, Long acre Expeditions and Broad reach. His graduate work focused on Marine and Coastal Resource Management and he also holds undergraduate degrees in Aquatic Biology and Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara. He believes that developing local student appreciation of the bay’s resources is the best long term conservation strategy. Therefore, his primary goal in working with the Newport Bay Conservancy is to increase the number of students involved with research and monitoring projects in Newport Bay.
Holly Fuhrer
holly.fuhrer@newportbay.org
Holly discovered the Bay by kayak and has been a frequent visitor and birder in the estuary ever since. She joined the Conservancy, became a trained Naturalist, and has been a volunteer for the past five years. She believes that the way to promote conservation and preservation is through strong educational and outreach programs that instill a sense of wonder and appreciation of the intricacies of this rich, unique, and remarkable ecosystem and raise the consciousness of people about the importance of preserving and protecting it as one of the last remaining estuarial wetlands in California. One of her primary interests as a Board member is building and maintaining communication and cooperation with the volunteers whose work and dedication are the backbone of the Conservancy, encouraging their involvement and making sure that their value to the organization is continually reinforced. She also has a particular interest in our splendid bird population and maintaining the Bay as a major feeding ground on the Pacific Flyway. Holly has a BA in Sociology and a Master’s Degree of Social Work and a forty year career working in human behavioral issues.
Peter Fuhrer
peter.fuhrer@newportbay.org
Peter has had a long and dedicated involvement with environmental concerns and is a member of many national conservation organizations. He became aware of the rare and beautiful environment that is the Upper Newport Bay from the cockpit of his kayak. Peter became an NBC Naturalist in 2007 and since then has volunteered many hours at Marine Life Inventories at the BBSC and leading kayak tours at the NAC. Through these activities, he developed an interest in studying the marine life of the bay. He has a devoted interest in supporting and promoting the Upper Newport Bay as an important ecological area that is also critical as a teaching model to demonstrate the importance of endangered California coastal wetlands. Currently, he is a member of the NBC Research Committee. He has a Ph.D in Molecular Biology and owns a consulting and contract research company. He also conducts several research projects at the University of California, Irvine and participates in teaching a summer course on the Ecology and Biodiversity of Coastal Southern California.
Catherine Hollinger
catherine.hollinger@newportbay.org
Catherine has been an advocate and educator for water conservation since the early 1990’s. She grew up in the Midwest where she spent most of her childhood exploring nature. She is a former Girl Scout who brings a Midwestern work ethic and attitude to her everyday life. She has been an instructor for the Irrigation Association, an International Association of Water and Green Professionals, for 25 years. She is also recognized by the EPA as a Water Sense Partner. Catherine currently owns her own water conservation consulting firm, and works with clients such as the Long Beach Water Department and Southern California Edison to establish and analyze their environmental footprints and to improve their educational outreach on water conservation.
Jack Keating
jack.keating@newportbay.org
Jack Keating has lived in Newport Beach since 1964, retired from McDonnell Douglas in 1989 and became a Naturalist in 1990. As a systems engineer and program manager, he became fascinated by the Bay’s ecological system and how humans need to live in harmony with the environment. He was elected NBC Board President in 1993, served in that role for 10 years and remains committed to helping lead NBC. He graduated from Pomona College with a BA in Mathematics and completed his Masters Degree in Electromechanical Engineering from UCLA. He has served as President of two Community Association Boards and a member of the Orange County Boy Scouts Board.
Dennis L. Kelly
dennis.kelly@newportbay.org
Dennis Kelly has been fascinated with Upper Newport Bay since the early 1970′s when he attended a meeting that was held in the garage of Frank and Fran Robinson. Since then he has participated in and lectured at many events dedicated to the protection of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. Over the past six years Dennis has been a leading researcher on coastal bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) which suddenly and unexpectedly began entering Newport Harbor and swimming, sometimes, as far up into the upper bay. It is his belief that Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve is an environmental jewel that should be a centerpiece of environmental education, volunteerism, and public participation in marine ecology and restoration in our area. By his involvement on the board he hopes that his background, training, and experience can assist with these efforts.
Laurel Mann
laurel.mann@newportbay.org
Laurel Mann is a recent addition to the NBC Board of Directors. She is a 16-year resident of Newport Beach and the Bay has always been one of her favorite destinations. Laurel earned her BA in Business/Economics from UC Santa Barbara, is a licensed CPA and CFP, and has operated a Personal Financial Planning practice for 12 years. Since 1990, Laurel has been active with non-profit organizations, having served on numerous boards and committees. Laurel is passionate about fundraising and is excited to use her experience to assist NBC in achieving its goals.
Ray Williams
ray.williams@newportbay.org
Ray is a teacher of some 55+ years, now. He has taught Marine Biology (lecture and lab.), Environmental Biology (dealing with issues) and Outdoor Biology – all at Rio Hondo College in Whittier. He has been active in the efforts to preserve the Back Bay since 1969 and was one of the dozen or so key volunteers involved in successfully advocating for the creation of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. This got Ray into local politics in Newport Beach, where he served on the Planning Commission before being elected to a full term on the City Council. After moving back to Whittier, he served on as chairperson of three City-County committees which determined how best to protect, yet use, the public open space being acquired in the western portion of the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor. Ray was involved nationally in the long effort to get Congress to pass the California Desert Protection Act. Ray has also done environmental consulting associated with Initial Studies and EIRs in both Los Angeles and Orange counties. One such effort included an area next to San Diego Creek just inland of the Jamboree Bridge that crosses it. This was during a time when there was planning to extend University Drive across the hed of the bay and connect it to its eastern portion, a consideration that was eventually removed from the county’s Master Plan for streets and highways.
