ALLAN MORTON
President
Allan has been practicing law for more than forty years, primarily in family law and formerly in business litigation. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government and then attended UCLA School of Law where he was a member of the Law Review. His interest in the Los Padres goes back to the early 1970s when he started hiking and backpacking in the San Rafael Wilderness and around Ojai. “I cherish this beautiful place and want to help preserve it,” says Allan. “It is truly a treasure next door.” Allan currently lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, where he enjoys the beauty of our natural places, and classical music, theater and art.
PAT VEESART
Vice President
Pat is a longtime advocate for wildland conservation in San Luis Obispo County and throughout California. He formerly served as a San Luis Obispo County Planning Commissioner, State Chapter Liaison for Sierra Club, Chair of the club’s Santa Lucia chapter in San Luis Obispo county, Executive Director of the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO), and Sitka Conservation Society in Alaska. Pat currently works in the Coastal Commission’s Enforcement Division, and serves as the caretaker of the historic Goodwin Ranch on the Carrizo Plain National Monument.
PATRICIA KROUT
Treasurer
Patricia Krout has been practicing accounting for more than thirty years and is a Partner with McGowan Guntermann, the oldest accounting firm on the Central Coast. She grew up in Santa Maria and spent much of her childhood hiking in the Los Padres National Forest. Patricia received her degree in business economics from U.C. Santa Barbara, and earned her Master’s Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University. “I discovered at an early age that being outdoors is my best stress relief,” says Patricia. “We need to do everything we can to protect our backcountry so that we still have places to relax and reconnect.” Patricia enjoys volunteering for several local nonprofit organizations, gardening, spending time with her dogs, and birdwatching.
TERRI LAINE
Secretary
With a background in graphic design and photography, Terri directs the production of printed materials at Patagonia in Ventura. She grew up in Arizona and attended Arizona State University before graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Terri has hiked and biked many of the trails in the Los Padres backcountry, as well as cycled through most of the West. ”Our backcountry is special and I love being a part of an organization whose mission is to protect this incredible resource,” says Terri. She lives in Oak View with her husband and two children, and enjoys backpacking, yoga, photography, gardening, and the outdoors.
PETER CASTELLANOS
Peter is an investment manager and general partner at Glacier Asset Management in Santa Barbara. Peter has always had a passion for the outdoors, having worked in various capacities for Ducks Unlimited and as a founding member of Save the Delta. He received a degree in Zoology with an emphasis in Wildlife Management from UC Berkeley. “I admire the regional approach that ForestWatch takes,” says Peter. “It’s the most effective way to protect this landscape, uniting local citizens under a common goal.” When he’s not trading on the stock market, Peter enjoys flyfishing, hunting, skiing, and exploring the woods and rivers of British Columbia.
CHRISTOPHER COGAN
Christopher teaches and conducts research on biodiversity and coastal issues at C.S.U. Channel Islands, where he serves as the Director of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory. Christopher has studied California condors for many years, beginning with backcountry trips with the late Dick Smith, employment as a condor biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and graduate work at U.C. Santa Barbara. “For most of my life I have been involved with the Los Padres National Forest,” says Dr. Cogan. “It has always been clear that citizen and stakeholder groups play a critical role in the successful management of these wild places.” He lives in Camarillo, where he enjoys bike rides, photography, and rock climbing with his family.
BRAD MONSMA
Brad’s adventures in the southern Los Padres over much of the last two decades have given him a deep love of the landscape and a sense for how the Los Padres shapes the identity of the region and the character of its people. His book, The Sespe Wild: Southern California’s Last Free River explores the environmental and cultural history of Sespe Creek. Brad is Professor of English at C.S.U. Channel Islands, where he teaches environmental and multicultural literatures and works closely with the program in environmental science and resource management. “You can only protect a place if there’s a community committed to it,” he says. “ForestWatch is helping build and sustain that community, and I love being a part of that.” Brad’s outdoor play often involves moving water — kayaking rivers throughout the West and surfing — and he also waits winters for the rare chance to ski Ventura County’s backcountry.
RUSS RADOM
Russ has enjoyed and appreciated the Los Padres National Forest since childhood, where he hiked and backpacked at several locations near his family’s home in the Santa Ynez Valley. After graduating with a degree in Natural Resources Management from Cal Poly SLO, Russ worked as a park ranger in California and Arizona prior to returning to school to get an MBA. Upon graduation from business school, he joined a large technology company where he had a long career and held senior executive positions in the US, Europe and Asia. Now retired, he enjoys being back on the Central Coast with close access to wonderful outdoor recreation opportunities. “The Los Padres is a great public asset, and I am delighted to be part of the organization that is focused on protecting it” he says. He has served on other non-profit boards, and continues to contribute his time with various local organizations. His passion for the outdoors includes interests in hiking, biking, running, surfing, fishing, and travel.
MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Michael has played a leading role in nearly every campaign to protect the Ojai Valley over the last two decades. He began his career as a senior executive of a Fortune 500 company founded by his grandfather in the 1930s, and then went on to start Threshold Productions, an independent film production company. Shapiro received his degree in polictical science from the University of Wisconsin (Madison). He has served on the boards of numerous civic, educational, and environmental organizations: a founder of The Coalition to Stop Weldon canyon Dump, co-chair of Oak Grove School, founding member of the Ojai Playwrights Conference, co-founder of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund, co-chair of the Stop the Trucks! Coalition, and a former board member of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.
