Newport Bay Conservancy works alongside our Board of Directors and our partners at the Bay. Contact us if you want to collaborate.
Heather Cieslak – Operations Director
heather.cieslak@newportbay.org
Heather Cieslak grew up in Illinois and moved to California after graduating from Northern Illinois University with a BA in Marketing. Previously, Heather was the Finance and Operations Manager with Amigos de los Rios, a nonprofit committed to protecting and restoring open space in urban environments, specifically in East LA County. Prior to that, Heather spent a number of years as Associate Director with National Assistance League, responsible for marketing, fundraising and administration to support their 125 chapters nationwide. Also while at NAL, she pursued her MPA in Nonprofit Organizational Management from California State University Northridge. As our Operations Director since 2013, Heather ensures programs and activities are part of an overall annual plan and supporting budget, that they are well-managed, and that we are actively marketing and communicating our mission and activities to our community.
Hilary Cunningham – Community Programs Administrator
hilary.cunningham@newportbay.org
Hilary Cunningham spent many childhood afternoons sitting in her parents’ avocado tree. Her love of nature was later reinforced on family vacations to botanical gardens and on school trips to AstroCamp, Catalina Island, and Olympic National Park. Inspired by these experiences and by her high school biology teacher, she went on to study Plant Biology at UC Irvine. But she was always fascinated by many other subjects too and ended up staying at UCI for a decade to obtain a B.S. in Plant Biology, a B.F.A. in Dance Performance, a B.A. in Anthropology, a minor in Linguistics, and an M.A. in Cognitive Science. After gaining experience managing volunteers and staff at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, her desire to get back into nature brought her to Newport Bay Conservancy. As Volunteer Development Specialist since 2018, her role continues to expand, becoming full time Community Programs Administrator in Summer 2021. Hilary is excited to continue her work training our invaluable volunteers and integrating them into any number of NBC’s programs that she arranges to preserve, protect, and educate the public about the Upper Newport Bay.
Alys Arenas – Restoration Manager
alys.arenas@newportbay.org
Originally from Southern California, Alys Arenas is an environmental scientist by training with a background in conservation biology and ecological restoration and monitoring. She has experience in environmental stewardship, project and program management, native plant propagation, rare plant monitoring, working with endangered species, non-native species removal, and utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for conservation. Alys aims to facilitate conservation and ecological restoration using scientific research to bridge the gap between scientists, the community and stakeholders. Her devotion to protect estuarine, Coastal sage scrub and riparian ecosystems was fostered in academics while dipping her toes in numerous wetlands and environmental nonprofits in southern California throughout her career. Alys joined the Newport Bay Conservancy in 2020 to continue her passion to conserve, protect and advocate for native habitats and open space in southern California. As the Conservancy’s Restoration Manager since 2020, Alys is excited to continue planning and implementing restoration projects around the Bay, monitor and control non-native invasive species and assist in facilitating partnerships between the City, County and State entities. Alys holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science & Policy and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science (MSGISci) from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
Zachery Flores – Restoration Coordinator
zachery.flores@newportbay.org
As an avid surfer and rock climber, Zac has a great appreciation for natural resources which drives his passion for conservation. Zac received his bachelors in Environmental Sciences from UC Riverside, where he worked in a research lab focusing on ecological restoration and post-fire monitoring. The projects he worked on involved measuring plant functional traits, native plant propagation, seed mix preparation, and surveying post-fire plant communities. He is currently analyzing data he collected to further understand the effect of fuel breaks on plant recovery post fire, in order to help the U.S. Forest Service make more informed management decisions. As part of the NBC restoration staff, Zac will be monitoring and removing invasive species, as well as restoring degraded areas. Specifically, Zac will help to kick out desert knapweed and Algerian sea lavender populations through continued surveying, mapping, and manual removal, along with continuing restoration efforts in the Bayview Heights region of the bay.
David Banuelas – Restoration Tech II
david.banuelas@newportbay.org
Born and raised in Southern California, David formed a close connection with the outdoors at an early age, influencing him to pursue environmental science at Whittier College. After receiving his BA, he worked for the Bureau of Land Management conducting large-scale restoration projects. While pursuing his master’s degree in Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona, David was the inaugural Farm to School Coordinator for the Upland Unified School District. Currently, David is a doctoral student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at UC Irvine. He is poised to translate his research into novel management strategies to control invasive plants species in the Upper Newport Bay and beyond.
Jacob Donaldson – Restoration Tech I
jacob.donaldson@newportbay.org
Growing up in Costa Mesa, Jacob recreated and explored Upper Newport Bay throughout his life. He has always had a passion for the outdoors fostered byfrequent skiing and camping trips with his family and friends. This passion was furthered when he moved to the central coast of California for school. Jacob received his bachelor’s in Forestry and Natural Resources from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. While in San Luis Obispo, Jacob worked for the county CAL FIRE pre-fire unit conducting fuels reduction operations such as prescribed burning and manual fuels removal projects. Jacob also assisted with wildfire incident response by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create maps of a fire in relation to other objectives and personnel. As a member of the NBC restoration staff, Jacob will be assisting with restoration activities in the bay.
Mariah Sabo – Education Specialist
mariah.sabo@newportbay.org
Mariah’s innate love of nature and conservation stems from her childhood in local Silverado Canyon. While she spent most of her time playing in creeks and the nearby forest, she was ultimately drawn to marine life. At a 5th grade outdoor camp in Catalina Island, she realized her dream of becoming a marine biologist. She fulfilled this dream when she graduated from Cal State University, Fullerton with a degree in Biological Science, Marine Biology Concentration, BS. Following graduation, Mariah began her career as a marine naturalist interpreter for the City of Newport Beach. She first became involved with Newport Bay Conservancy when she became an Outdoor Education Leader for the FIIN program in September 2022. Her passion for environmental education landed her a permanent position as the education specialist at NBC in December 2022. She looks forward to using the bay’s natural resources to educate all who are willing to learn.
