Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: President Don Horsley, District 3
Subject: Appointment and Reappointments to the Resource Conservation District Board of Directors
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Recommendation for one appointment and three reappointments of directors to the Resource Conservation District Board of Directors:
A) Michelle Weil, appointment for an initial partial term ending December 31, 2025; and
B) Adrienne Etherton, reappointment for a first full term effective January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023; and
C) Barbara Kossy, reappointment for a third term effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026; and
D) Rudy Espinoza-Murray, reappointment for a second term effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026.
body
BACKGROUND:
The Resource Conservation District (RCD) uses very diverse means to further resource conservation and acts as a focal point for local conservation efforts on public and private lands. The RCD collaborates with land owners and managers, technical advisors, area jurisdictions, government agencies, and others to protect, conserve, and restore natural resources. The RCD provides education and technical assistance, helps with permitting, assists with conservation planning, and implements on-the-ground projects. Subject to Division 9 of the State’s Public Resources Code, directors may serve 4-year terms and extend indefinitely until their successor has qualified.
DISCUSSION:
Michelle Weil is being recommended to serve an initial partial term for a seat vacated by TJ Glauthier. Upon approval of this appointment, this partial term will be through December 31, 2025.
Adrian Etherton has served on the RCD since a partial term began in May 2019 and is being recommended to serve a first full term from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023.
Barbara Kossy has served on the RCD since January 2013 and is being recommended to serve a third term from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026.
Rudy Espinoza has served on the RCD since a partial term begain in May 2019 and is being recommended to serve a first full term effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026.
Michelle Weil is a marketing executive who is passionate about the intersection of business and the environment. She has held leadership positions in multiple conservation-focused companies, including her current role as CMO of NatureEye. She holds an MBA degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Weil currently serves on the Midcoast Community Council and lives in Moss Beach with her husband and two daughters, Kalia and Sadie.
Adrienne Etherton is the City of Brisbane’s Sustainability Manager, supporting the Open Space and Ecology Committee and implementing the City’s Climate Action Plan and other sustainability initiatives. She previously served as Executive Director of Sustainable San Mateo County, a grassroots nonprofit organization, and has also worked in design, construction and logistics. Ms. Etherton has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has studied architecture, green buildings, energy efficiency and renewables. She lives in Half Moon Bay and is the Vice Chair of the city’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
Barbara Kossy is a devoted conservationist who has worked with organizations such as Friends of the River, the Northern California Recyclers Association and as an editor and writer for Bay Area environmental engineering firms. She also served more than ten years on the San Mateo County Weed Management Area Committee- most recently as Chair, on the City of Richmond Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Recycling, and on a committee overseeing the US Navy’s Cleanup of the Pt. Molate Fuel Depot. Ms. Kossy is also an avid sea kayaker and regularly leads kayaking tours in Italy.
Rudy Espinoza-Murray has held executive, board, and founding member positions in multiple organizations. He has a strong background in agriculture that includes an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Agriculture and Rural Development, a fellowship with AgriCorps in Nicaragua, working for the US Department of Agriculture, co-founding, and leading the San Mateo County Farmworker Affairs Coalition. Rudy and his husband have a daughter, Avery Elena, and their kitty, Leia.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.