The Foundation
Board of Directors
Our diverse board of directors is composed of business leaders, conservationists, scientists and educators, and is representative of the Laguna’s broad appeal to Sonoma County’s many cultural and economic communities. Our strategic approach is collaborative, building a “big tent” embracing private landowners and public agencies to jointly solve problems and improve management of the Laguna’s natural resources. Our directorship, accordingly, reflects a wide range of perspectives and interests, but shares the common goal of improving the health and functioning of the Laguna.
President
David Bannister is the former chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club and has represented the group in large community-wide land use/policy development processes. He is the former owner of The Nature Store and currently works as a business broker with the BTI Group. He joined the Foundation board in 2004.
Vice President
Jeanette Anglin retired as Director for Secondary Schools of the Santa Rosa City School District after 21 years as a Principal in local middle and high schools. She has served on the board of the Community Foundation Sonoma County and a variety of education and professional school administrator organizations including the Sonoma State University Academic Board of Directors and the State Board of the California School Administrators Association. Of Native American ancestry, she serves as Secretary on the Tribal Council of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria.
Secretary
Brad DeMeo grew up next to the Laguna. He is the principal partner with the law firm of DeMeo & DeMeo, which has been a prominent local legal firm and active in charitable and public efforts since the mid-20th century. Primarily focusing on Estate Planning, Probate, and Business Law, he has served as professor at Empire College of Law and Sonoma State University, and on many local boards and associations, including the Community Foundation Sonoma County.
Treasurer
Jim Beyers is a principal partner with the law firm of Beyers Costin. He practices commercial, real estate and land use law in Sonoma County, and numbers among his clients many of the region's largest land development and construction firms. He has served as past President of the Sonoma County Alliance, the primary advocacy group for the business community in Sonoma County.
Directors
Jeff Allen is a founder and board member of American BioDiesel/Community Fuels, and is President of Allen Land Design a Sonoma County landscape firm which has been creating award winning gardens throughout the Bay Area for over 25 years. An entrepreneur in the classical sense, Jeff has the natural ability to recognize what it takes to create a successful venture, energy to carry out the necessary tasks and the insight to choose a talented team of players in which to surround himself. Jeff lives near the Laguna with his wife, Anne-Marie, and their three daughters.
NIna Arrabit has been a resident of Sonoma County for 65 years. She attended Santa Rosa High School, Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University. Nina is married with three children and seven grandchildren. For 32 years, she owned and operated a food market. She has been retired for 20 years and now takes groups around the world on tours. Nina has been to over 100 countries. She has also served on boards and commissions for Sonoma County, City of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Junior College and various nonprofits.
Alan P. Bertozzi, an accountant with the Santa Rosa CPA firm, Linkenheimer, LLP, joined the Laguna Foundation Board in March of 2006. In addition to his accounting and finance experience, he has an extensive background in advertising. He and his wife and two children have resided in Sonoma County since 2000.
Bill Bettinelli joined the Laguna Foundation Board in August of 2003. He is a retired Superior Court judge with strong relationships in the local agricultural and legal communities, and currently serves as a mediator and conflict resolution consultant. He has served on many local boards and committees and is currently President of Judicial Arbitration Services, Inc., one of the nation's largest legal mediation firms.
Denise Cadman is the Natural Resources Specialist for the City of Santa Rosa. She holds a Masters Degree in biology from Sonoma State University and is a member of the adjunct faculty of the Santa Rosa Junior College biology department. In her position with the City, she is responsible for the management of natural lands within the City's land holdings in the Laguna. She leads hundreds of visitors each year on tours of the Laguna.
Caroline Christian is on the faculty of the Department of Environmental Studies and Planning at Sonoma State University. She received her PhD in population biology from UC Davis in 2002 and has done ecological research on a broad range of conservation and land management issues, including invasive species, grassland and riparian restoration, livestock grazing and prescribed fire. Prior to her position with Sonoma State, Caroline was a Smith Postdoctoral Fellow with The Nature Conservancy at UC Santa Cruz and then held a position with TNC as a senior ecologist.
Susan Churchill holds a Masters Degree in biology from the University of Montana and retired after selling her environmental consulting firm, where she specialized in toxic clean-up and compliance issues in the built environment. She serves on the marketing committee for the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association and is an active docent with the Foundation's environmental education program.
Robert Hillmann never forgot the months he spent on the edge of the Laguna in 1970 and has come back from a peripatetic life as a documentary filmmaker to settle on top of Vine Hill with a view of the floodplain in winter. A three-time EMMY and Academy Award Nominee, he was elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and also serves on the committee that selects the nominees for Best Documentary. He has made international award-winning films for the TV screen on up to six-story high IMAX. He has a B.A in History from Haverford College, an M.F.A. from Columbia University and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as grants from the NEA, the AFI, the CPB, etc. This past year he filmed and camped on both sides of the Brooks Range in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Locally he serves on the Board of the Laguna Foundation and the Community Board of North Coast Bank.
Guy Smith grew up along the Laguna. He and his family have lived and farmed on the Laguna for over 50 years and he has broad longstanding relationships in the agricultural community. He serves on the Board of Directors of both the Pacific Coast Air Museum and the Sonoma County Historical Society. He is a lifelong construction professional specializing in large-scale earth-moving projects.
Jim Shelton and his brother founded Food For Thought natural food stores in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, which they sold to Whole Foods in 2000. Since then, he has been an independent businessman. He is the current treasurer of the board of Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County and active in a range of charitable work.
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