Directors

Chuck Pritchard, President
US-LT RCD Board President: rancher: former president of the California Association of RCDs (CARCD); former member of the California Biodiversity Council; past national councilman of the National Association of Resource Conservation District (NACD); member of Range Management Advisory Council to the State Board of Forestry; Chairperson of the California Grazing Lands Initiative Committee; current chairman of the Central Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council (CCRC&D)

US-LT RCD Board President, San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Liaison Committee, California Agricultural Leadership Alumni Association, NRCS District Work Group, Farm Bill; California Cooperative Extension Work Group, International Society for Range Management, California Cattlemans Association, California Farm Bureau Federation.

Jeffrey W. Pipes, Vice-President
US-LT RCD Board Vice President, raises sustainably farmed wine grapes, almonds and walnuts with his wife and two young daughters. They own Pipestone Vineyards, a small boutique winery located just west of Templeton. Jeff has a B.A in Geology, an M.S. in Hydrogeology, and a J.D. Prior to planting the vineyard, Jeff practiced in both the environmental law and environmental engineering fields.

Bill Bianchi, Director
US-LT RCD Director, Soil Science Society of America, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma XI, Soil Conservation Society of America, PhD, Soil Physics, UCDavis. Retired USDA-ARS. Research in Ground-Water Recharge and Water Quality.

Mike Bonnheim, Director
US-LT RCD 2nd Vice President, Fourth Generation Rancher specializing in Multiple Use Management, State Cattlemen's Association Wildlife Management Committee Chair, Sand Luis Obispo County Range Improvement Association Director, Cal Poly State University B.S. Farm Management 1976, Ranching For Profit School 1990, Holistic Management International Ranch and Rangeland Managers Training Program 2003, San Luis Obispo County Native Tree Committee member, San Luis Obispo County Native Tree Stewardship Award recipient 2006, United States Delegate representing Holistic Management International to Terra Madre Conference in Torino Italy sponsored by Slow Foods International.

Tom Mora, Director
US-LT RCD Director; Rancher; member of County Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC).

Robert Sparling, Director
US-LT RCD Director, Taylor Grazing Act Advisory Board, Agriculture Preserve Review Committee, S.C.O.R.E., Atascadero Police Department volunteer, AARP.

Ben Work, Director
US-LT RCD Board Secretary/Treasurer; Rancher-Farmer, farm-stay program operator.

John DeRosier, Director
A native of SLO county, attending school from elementary through Cal Poly. After Cal Poly, John moved to Paso Robles where he lives and farms a Certified Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic farm, “With The Grain” and manages a 100 acres of dry-land almonds for Hall Ranch Company. John sells his dry-land grains, legumes and seeds through a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and will soon be selling from farmer's market and his certified commercial kitchen in Atascadero where he mills and prepares his grains and grain-products. In addition to his grains, John raises pastured turkeys, chickens, and sheep. John has a deep passion for agriculture and loves sharing the art and science of agriculture with people, young and old, through his talks, tours and classes on organics and biodynamics. John dreams that people will again see agriculture as a beautiful, enjoyable and effective life, directly contributing to themselves, their family, community, country, and world.

Sue Luft, Director
Sue Luft and her husband are hands-on owners of Luft Vineyard, a small head-trained zinfandel vineyard which is Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certified. Sue serves on the SLO County Water Resources Advisory Committee and is a member of the Native Tree Committee. She has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and previously practiced environmental engineering and owned an environmental consulting firm for twenty-three years.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

Gidi Pullen, Associate Director
Gidi has served on the board of directors from 1994 to 2008 and is currently serving the RCD as an associate director. She and her husband, Joel, are small acreage landowners east of Templeton offering rotational grazing opportunities to neighboring ranchers. Joel has recently planted the first 350 olive trees of what will eventually become a larger orchard. Gidi's present RCD efforts in resource conservation are focused on the Neighbor Helping Neighbor Program to control yellow starthistle in the greater Templeton area. She serves on the SLO County Weed Management Area and the Agricultural Preserve Review Committee.

Ray Allen Jr., Associate Director
US-LT RCD Associate Director

STAFF

Ellen Perryess: Biologist	Phone: (805) 434-0396 ext. 5 FAX: 434-0284 Email: Ellen Perryess
Art Pearson: District Engineer	Phone: (805) 434-0396 ext. 5 FAX: 434-0284
Shayna Bailey: Resource Conservation Planner	Phone: (805) 434-0396 ext. 116 FAX: 434-0284 Email: Shayna Bailey
Breanne Ventura: Office & Conservation Assistant	Phone: (805) 434-0396 ext. 121 FAX: 434-0284 Email: Breanne Ventura

TECHNICAL ADVISORS

Margy Lindquist
(805) 434-0396 ext 3
E-mail: Margy Lindquist