ANNA DELASKI, President
Santa Ynez Valley
Originally from Austria, Anna studied wood engineering at the forestry department of the University of Natural Resources (BOKU) in Vienna. She’s worked in Canada and Los Angeles for wood manufacturing companies implementing environmental programs, such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). In 2012, Anna and her husband moved to the Santa Ynez Valley and currently farm organic grapes for their own wine label, Solminer. “I feel very fortunate to live in a place where we have access to endless and beautiful wilderness,” she says. “Also from an organic farming point of view, it is crucial that we protect our aquifers and wildlife habitat.” In her spare time she loves to hike, cycle, and do yoga.
SAM THOMAS, Ph.D., Vice-President
Thousand Oaks
For the last ten years Sam Thomas has taught courses in environmental ethics and religion at California Lutheran University. Five years ago he started the SEEd Project (Sustainable Edible Education), which includes a 1/2 acre farm, an apiary, a vermicomposting program, and an outdoor classroom, and he is a leader in other campus sustainability efforts. Sam has graduate degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Yale University, and has published and presented widely in religious and environmental studies. “There’s a well-known saying in environmental circles: ‘We don’t love what we don’t know, and we won’t protect what we don’t love.’ I have come to love this region deeply by getting to know its wild places, which the people of Los Padres ForestWatch work so diligently to protect and preserve.” Sam loves backpacking, fly fishing, and both wild and urban nature. In his spare time he designs and builds custom furniture from sustainable and reclaimed domestic hardwoods.
TERRI LAINE, Secretary
Oak View
With a background in photography and graphic design and a career at Patagonia in Visual Merchandising, Terri now puts to use her 33+ years of employment and tribal knowledge of Patagonia to help create a historical archive and museum for the company. 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.” She lives in Oak View with her husband and two children, and enjoys backpacking, yoga, photography, gardening, and the outdoors.
PATRICIA KROUT, CPA, MST, Treasurer
Goleta
Patricia Krout has been practicing accounting for more than thirty years and is a Partner with Prosperity Partners in Santa Barbara. 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.
CHRISTOPHER COLLIER
Camarillo
Christopher Collier works as a corporate communications executive at Amgen, a leading biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks near the southern end of the Los Padres National Forest. He moved to California from Connecticut in 2013 and focuses on enterprise content strategy, including digital and social media. For almost a decade, Chris worked as a journalist authoring stories about outdoor recreation, fitness, and the environment, writing for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Men’s Journal, Backpacker and others. He also wrote for several non-profits including The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, The Wilderness Society, and The National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has also authored three outdoor recreation guidebooks. Collier studied philosophy and psychology at Denison University in Granville, OH and he has done graduate work in philosophy at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. “I joined ForestWatch because I want to play a pivotal role in the strategy and direction of an important local organization that is focused on effective positive change for the environment.” He enjoys surfing, hiking, fly fishing, and photography.
MACY MCGINNESS
Santa Barbara
Originally from Boston, Macy has spent most of her adult life in California. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she grew to love the mountains and all they offer for year-round recreation. After several years working as an editor for SKI Magazine, she moved to San Francisco and transitioned to a career in marketing where she sought work with purpose-driven companies that supported local manufacturing, people, and the planet. An entrepreneurial spirit and curiosity for Southern California brought Macy and her family to Santa Barbara in 2015 for a job at SeaVees, where she developed and fostered an ongoing partnership with LPFW through 1% for the Planet. Today, Macy is the Director of E-Commerce and Digital at Kate Farms, a mission-based company known for its organic, plant-based shakes and formulas designed for people with a need for healthy nutrition. Macy and her husband have three young children and an energetic black Labrador who keep them busy. They enjoy traveling and exploring new places as a family. In her spare time, Macy enjoys running, yoga, cooking and shuttling her kids around to school and sports.
VIC THASIAH, Ph.D.
Ventura
Vic is a local trail runner, and the founder and board president of Runners for Public Lands, a national advocacy organization that educates, organizes, and mobilizes runners to protect public lands and ensure equitable access to nature. He is also Professor of Environmental Studies and Religion at California Lutheran University. His research focuses on reimagining conservation, finding common ground between people who care about wild places on the one hand and urban nature on the other, and engaging the changing demographics, outdoor recreation cultures, and politics in the U.S. Vic has a background in U.S. social policy analysis and global humanitarian work, primarily in East Africa, and especially in Rwanda. He loves backpacking in the Los Padres National Forest and far beyond, and traveling with his wife in Southern Europe.
NATHAN WALLACE
Ojai
Nathan, a lifelong resident of the Ojai Valley, specializes in working with individuals, endowments and nonprofits, helping them make prudent choices with their assets. He brings more than 15 years of financial and investment experience to ForestWatch with a focus on environmentally and socially ethical decision-making. He founded his own independent financial management firm, Greyfox Investors LLC, to provide ESG focused solutions and align investments with his clients’ ethics, and currently serves as a founding advisor with Savvy Wealth. Nate lives in Ojai with his three children and three dogs, and spends his time outside of work camping, skiing, and volunteering his time with a variety of educational and environmental nonprofit organizations. Nathan grew up hiking, camping, and climbing in the Los Padres National Forest and continues to regularly hike its many trails. “The Los Padres National Forest is an integral part of our community, scenically, biologically and for recreation,” says Nate. “Protecting it enriches our community and keeps safe a much needed connection to the natural world.”
