Who We Are
Board of Directors
Mary Kimball, President
Kathy Ward, Vice President
Kristen Bennett, Secretary
Kenneth C. "Casey" Stone Past President
Marsha Anderson
Dan Clawson
Beth Gabor
Peter Hunter
Kent Lang
Paul Muller, Founding Board Member
Chris Sinclair
Staff
Michele Clark, Executive Director
Board of Directors
Officers
Mary Kimball (President) a lifelong Yolo County resident, joined the Yolo Land Trust board in 2004. Mary serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Land-Based Learning (CLBL), which she helped to establish and grow from a program based at one site with 30 students and a $60,000 budget in 1998 to working at 14 sites with over 2,000 students statewide and a budget of almost $800,000 in 2005. As Executive Director, Mary oversees the three programs of CLBL: the FARMS Leadership Program, the SLEWS Program, and the Farm and Nature Center. Prior to working as the Director for the Center for Land-Based Learning, Mary was the Hedgerow Project Manager for the Yolo County Resource Conservation District (1997-1999). The Hedgerow Project helped farmers in Yolo County install native plant hedgerows as buffers and to harbor beneficial insects and other wildlife. Currently, Mary is active in many local organizations and community efforts; in addition to serving on YLT’s Board, she is the Region Four Appointee for the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation’s Fellows Council, Member of the Yolo County Agriculture Futures Alliance, Vice President of the River City Rowing Club Board of Directors, Secretary of the Ohio State Alumni Club of the Sacramento Valley, and a member of the Education Committee for California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. She is a Class XXXII graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. Raised on a farm west of the town of Yolo, Mary is a 1987 graduate of Woodland High School. Mary holds a Master’s Degree in Human and Community Development from Ohio State University (1996), and a B.S. Degree from the University of California at Davis in Agriculture Science and Management, Plant Science Option (1992).
Kathy Ward (Vice President) grew up on a ranch in Baker, Oregon where she was involved with her family raising cattle, horses, hay, wheat, barley, peas, sugar beets, and potatoes. She earned a B.S. degree in Agronomy from Oregon State University and MBA from Western Michigan University. She and her husband Harold have lived in Woodland for 10 years. She is employed at Seminis Vegetable Seeds in Woodland as the Director of R&D Finance and Operations. She is responsible for overseeing the global resources in over 16 countries involving all aspects of vegetable research including facility construction, farming, greenhouse and laboratory operations. She has served on the Board of the Woodland United Way and Highway 16 Safety Task Force.
Kristen Bennett (Secretary) is a native Californian and has spent the last 20 years living in Yolo County. She began working at the Calgene Campus of Monsanto in 1998, and has been involved in various research projects to introduce traits into crop plants, through biotechnology, that will benefit consumers and farmers. She currently leads a project to enhance drought stress tolerance in cotton. Kristen is a graduate of Class XXXVI of the California Agricultural Leadership program and a member of the American Society of Plant Biology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society. She regularly volunteers her time to community organizations such as Explorit Science Center, Northern California Multiple Sclerosis Society, STEAC and local public schools. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Botany from Humboldt State University in 1988. She then went on to the University of California at Davis, receiving a Master of Science degree in Plant Physiology in 1992 and a Ph. D. degree in Plant Biology in 1998. She currently resides in Davis with her husband Alan, and three children, ages 13, 14 and 15.
Directors
Marsha Anderson became a member of the Yolo Land Trust board in 2004. She and her husband John have lived in Yolo County for thirty-two years. Together, they own and operate Hedgerow Farms, a major grower of California native grassland seed and a leader in farmland ecosystem management and habitat restoration practices. The farm often hosts workshops and tours for agencies (NRCS, Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Conservation Districts), non profits and conservation organizations and has consulted on restoration projects with a number of nonprofit organizations (River Partners, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon California) and numerous Wetland Reserve Program projects. Hedgerow Farms includes a ninety-acre Wetland Reserve Program easement and an additional Fish & Wildlife Service riparian easement. Since 1988, Marsha has bred and raised Hanoverian & Oldenburg horses. She has produced the licensed Hanoverian stallion ‘Warcloud’ and numerous horses competing in dressage and the hunter jumper ring. Marsha has a Bachelor of Science degree in Bacteriology from U.C. Davis and a Certificate in Financial Planning from U.C. Extension. She is a past member of the Winters Joint Unified School District Board; serving terms as President and Clerk. She is currently a member of Soroptimist International of Winters and California Native Grasslands Association.
Dan Clawson is a California native who joined the Yolo Land Trust in 2007. He grew up in Red Bluff and attended college at University of California, Santa Barbara where he earned a degree in business economics. Dan has over 20 years of experience in agriculture and agricultural lending and is currently a Senior Vice President/Chief Credit Officer with Sacramento Valley Farm Credit.
Beth Gabor is a life-long resident of Yolo County, has held the position of Public Information Officer for the County of Yolo for the past four years. Prior to that, she served as Deputy to Yolo County Supervisor Helen M. Thomson. After graduating from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development, Beth held a variety of positions with Calgene, a Monsanto biotechnology and research company. In the middle of her 14 year tenure with Calgene, Beth briefly moved to Monterey, California and worked as a Marketing Assistant for Sony Electronic Publishing Company. While at Calgene, Beth became involved with Explorit Science Center, ultimately serving on the Board of Trustees for seven years. Beth also served on the Board of the Yolo Transportation Management Association. Other community activities have included volunteering as a CPR and First Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross and a volunteer for the Leukemia Society of America’s Team-in-Training program. Beth was a 2004 Fellow in the Great Valley Center’s Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders and holds a certificate in Graphic Design from the University of California, Davis Extension.
Peter Hunter is a lifelong Yolo County resident who brings a unique combination of small farm experience and computer expertise to the Board. He holds a B.S. degree in Zoology and a Ph.D. in Ecology, both from U.C. Davis. His work was focused on computer simulations of global energy use and societal change. Subsequently, he has worked professionally in computer database design and management in various scientific and business environments. In 1988, Peter and his wife took over the family farm operation, growing French Prunes on an orchard near Winters. With a goal of long-term sustainability, the Hunters placed their farm in an agricultural conservation easement in 2001, using the proceeds to replant an aging, unproductive orchard using best practices for water conservation, soil management and integrated pest control technology. Peter joined the Yolo Land Trust board in 2003, served as Vice President in 2005, President in 2006 and 2007.
Kent Lang has lived and farmed in the Elkhorn area of Yolo County all his life, except for his college years at Chico State College and a tour of duty in Vietnam. A lifelong walnut grower, Kent as been involved in leadership roles in many organizations, including the Yolo County YMCA, the Yolo County Farm Bureau and the Yolo County Planning Commission. He currently farms with his sons along the Sacramento River and north of Woodland along Cache Creek.
Paul Muller is a founding member of Yolo Land Trust. During his 18 years on the Board of Directors, Paul has seen the organization grow from a small group of dedicated volunteers working around a kitchen table and meeting at the farmer’s market to one of the most active agricultural land trusts working in the Central Valley. Over the years, Paul has been involved in every aspect of the land trust - outreach, negotiating easements, stewardship and monitoring, public policy, landowner relations, and of course, fundraising. Paul, along with his family and partners, owns and operates Full Belly Farm - a 250-acre certified organic farm located in Capay Valley, an hour northwest of Sacramento. Full Belly Farm grows and markets over 80 different crops year-round; provides year-round employment for farm labor; uses cover crops that fix nitrogen and provide organic matter for the soil; develops innovative marketing strategies; and plants habitat areas for beneficial insects and wildlife. This set of strategies allows the farm to integrate farm production with longer-term environmental goals.
Chris Sinclair Walnut Manager- Woodside Electronics Corp. Chris began working for Woodside Electronics Corporation in the winter of 2001. Woodside Electronics is a manufacturer of electronic color sorters primarily dealing with blueberries, tomatoes, and walnuts. Chris manages the walnut division for Woodside Electronics. This division provides sorting equipment at the huller/dehydrating plants and also provides equipment to monitor moisture content in the drying of walnuts. Chris grew up in Davis, CA and graduated from UC Davis in the spring of 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Science and Management. Growing up in Davis allowed Chris to get involved in his grandparents’ farming operations which consisted of growing prunes and walnuts just north of the town of Winters. Chris is also a graduate from Class 36 of the California Agriculture Leadership Program. Chris and his wife, Casey, moved off the family farm in 2008 to Sacramento. They were pleased to announce the birth of the first child, Addison, on May 16, 2009. When not helping on the family farm, or busy with his daughter, you can find Chris on the ski slopes, especially on a weekday with 6” of new snow.
Kenneth C. “Casey” Stone is a life-long resident of Yolo County, having grownup in Woodland and residing now in Winters. After earning a B.S. degree in Business Administration from CSU, Chico, Casey joined the family farming and ranching enterprise, Yolo Land & Cattle Co., where he serves as Vice President overseeing specialty product sales and ranch tours/events. In addition to the family business, he is also a Managing Partner of Beamer Street Storage, a Woodland self-storage complex. Casey is a Past President and current Director of the Yolo County Farm Bureau, Chair of the CFBF Beef Commodity Advisory Committee, and a member of the Yolo County Economic Development Committee where he has served as past Chair of the Ag Advancement and Tourism Committees. Casey has been on the YLT Board since 2005.
Staff
Michele M. Clark (Executive Director) is a native Californian who has spent the last 15 years living in Yolo County. Michele joined the Board of the Land Trust in 2008 after being a supporter of the Land Trust for many years. Michele vacates the position of transaction director for the California Rangeland Trust, a state-wide land trust whose mission is to preserve working ranches in California. Michele is a graduate of Class XXXVII of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. She earned her law degree from Rutgers University and practice commercial real estate law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boca Raton, Florida and was a shareholder with the Sacramento law firm of McDonough, Holland & Allen until 2000. While at McDonough, Michele represented the City of Davis in one of the first conservation easement transactions funded by the California Farmland Conservancy Program, an easement currently held by the Yolo Land Trust. During that time, she also represented the Merced County Farmlands and Open Space Trust in the acquisition of conservation easements over agricultural land. Michele also served as western regional counsel for the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization. Michele has taught numerous classes on conservation easements for the Land Trust Alliance including its annual conference and at regional conferences. She has spoken at farm bureaus throughout the state as well as at colleges and other groups interested in conservation easements. Yolo Land Trust welcomes her as the new Executive Director.