About Us

Audubon California Advisory Board

EMMY CATTANI, Advisory Board Chair, is a fifth-generation agri-business woman from Kern County, California where she and her family grow grapes, almonds and cattle. She represents her family on the Boards of the Famoso Nut Company and Farm Breeze International and on the Investment Committee of Belltown Farms. Emmy oversees family investments in businesses and real estate, primarily focused on the agricultural sector.

Prior to joining her family business, Emmy was a private equity investor with The Shansby Group and VMG Partners and worked as a management consultant at Bain & Co. She received her Bachelors degree from Harvard College and an Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University. Emmy joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2022.

STEVEN BELL served in various leadership roles for Northern Trust over a 36 year career. When he retired in 2019 he was President of the Wealth Management’s West Region for Northern Trust where he was responsible for the overall execution of the firm's strategic priorities to serve high net worth families and business owners in the western United States. Overseeing over 500 talented professionals, his team was unrelentingly focused on the client experience. Every day, they were committed to strengthening the trust and confidence of their clients in Northern Trust.

Connecting with the outdoors is Steve’s favorite pastime. He is often hiking and climbing with his wife, Susan, on weekends and holidays. He has taken extraordinary adventures around the world, and have witnessed unimaginable scenery in the Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rockies, the Sierras and the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Steve joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2021.

SALLY FENTON resides in Portola Valley and supports bird-related conservation issues, Stanford athletics, the San Francisco opera, and educational advancement in underserved areas. Sally is a docent for the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, a position she has held for over 30 years.  A teacher for many years, Sally has volunteered for the Stanford New Schools and sponsored students at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto. Sally is a member of the Garden Club of America and chairman of the Conservation Committee and on the board of the San Francisco Opera. She is also involved in opera education in San Francisco schools. Sally majored in history and received her bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College in 1963. She earned an M.A. from Stanford University in 1964. Sally joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in February 2020.

TOM GALLO is the Vice President of Strategic Business Development for G3 Enterprises. Tom is responsible for key customer relationship management, marketing, advertising and community relations. Tom began his career at Gallo in 1976. Every summer during his junior high, high school and college years, Tom worked in various departments including customer service, shipping & receiving, warehouse, Livingston winery, engineering, wine lab, HR and the ranch properties. Tom is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Communications.

Tom is active in community affairs including the Salvation Army, United Way, the Modesto Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, and San Joaquin River Wildlife Refuge. Tom resides in Modesto, California with his wife Karyn and their four children. Tom joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2018.

JUDY GRADWOHL has more than 30 years of experience with the Smithsonian Institution. In 2016, Judy joined the San Diego Natural History Museum as the organization’s first woman president and CEO. Under her leadership, the Museum developed a new strategic plan that focuses on regional science, collections, education, and conservation.

A native Southern Californian, Judy received her B.A. and M.A. in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also gained her first museum experience: developing and teaching classes at Lawrence Hall of Science, and dusting the case tops at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Interest in tropical bird behavior took her to the Smithsonian’s Barro Colorado Island in Panama and other parts of Central America and the Caribbean, where she conducted research for many years.

She has published scientific and popular books and articles on animal behavior and ecology, conservation, and museum practice. Her favorite days at work are when she is in the field. Judy joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2022.

KEVIN HUNTING retired after a career in wildlife management, conservation planning, resource assessment, and wildlife policy that spanned over 30 years.
His most recent state service was as a gubernatorial appointee under both Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown in the role of Chief Deputy Director for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Prior to that, Kevin served in a variety of leadership roles including Chief of the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch and Deputy Director of the Ecosystem Conservation Division.
After leaving the department, he served as a policy advisor to the California Natural Resources Secretary where he was the lead policy developer and a co-author of the initial 30X30 Biodiversity Conservation statements that became the current state administration policy. He most recently led an effort to update the Wildlife Conservation Board’s Strategic Plan and was the primary author of the document. Over the past few years, he has completed several technical assessments of bird populations in support of global rankings managed by Natureserve.
Kevin has nurtured a keen interest in birds since early life especially raptor biology and conservation. During his career, he has worked closely with Audubon and other state and national bird conservation organizations to effect bird conservation throughout the state. Kevin resides in Davis and spends his time birding, hiking, and enjoying and playing music. Kevin joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2023.
 

ERIC JOHNSON is a lifelong resident of California, having spent time in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and his current home of Sacramento. Eric has served on several non-profit and municipal commissions, beating back an effort to site a gas station in a residential area and updating the American River Parkway Master Plan. He is an active member of the Sacramento Audubon Chapter.

Eric works out of a home office on the second floor, with a view of a 70-foot pecan tree that harbors squirrels, crows, scrub jays and the occasional warbler -- but mostly squirrels. When not birding, he is usually reading, running, baking sourdough with varying levels of success, grilling dinner with much higher levels of success, and trying to figure out how to make at least a little piece of the world a better place.

Eric graduated from Duke University with majors in Mathematics and Philosophy, and USC with a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Eric joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2022.

MARION KRAUSE was born in Hawaii, but moved to Palo Alto, California when she was only 8 months old, so she considers herself a true Californian.  Marion graduated from University of the Pacific and later earned an MBA from Santa Clara University. Marion spent much of her career working for Palo Alto Unified School District as a teacher helping Special Needs kids transition from high school into whatever their next steps were after graduation. It was rewarding and fulfilling work.

Marion is a life-long birder and environmental activist. She believes that exposing young children to our natural world and teaching them the importance of a healthy planet, is a key component in producing the next generation of environmentalists. After retiring in 2013, she joined Environmental Volunteers, first as an environmental education volunteer and later as a Board member.

In addition to her volunteer work, Marion and her husband have taken extraordinary adventures around the world, including treks in the Himalayas, the Andes, and the Southern Alps of New Zealand, fly fishing in Argentina and Mongolia and searching for polar bears above the Arctic Circle. She continues to be awed by the glory and beauty that our planet has to offer and the need to support organizations that are working to preserve it. Marion joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2021.

BRITA LUNDBERG works in Marketing & Publicity at Lundberg Family Farms, a family-owned and -operated business that uses organic farming practices to create thoughtfully crafted rice and quinoa products. In 1937, Brita’s great-grandparents—Albert and Frances Lundberg—left Nebraska in the wake of the Dust Bowl with their four sons, a Farmall tractor, and a flatbed Chevy truck. They saw how short-sighted farming techniques stripped the land of its topsoil. So, when they moved to California, they decided to do things differently by tending to soil, air, water, and wildlife as carefully as their crops.

As a fourth-generation member of the Lundberg family, Brita has boots-on-the-ground experience in the fields, where she learned the importance of working in partnership with nature—from managing weeds with water to providing habitat for hundreds of species. After growing up on the farm and gaining experience in different areas of the company, Brita studied literature at Pepperdine University, attended the Columbia Publishing Course, and spent several years honing her storytelling skills in the New York publishing world, most recently at Simon & Schuster. However, Brita’s favorite story to tell is her family’s. Now, as a resident expert on the brand’s rich history and heritage, Brita shares the Lundberg story with a broad base of eco-conscious consumers. Brita joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2022.

ROBERT SNOW was born and raised in Chico, CA. He received his BA degree in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington. Following a career in Neurophysiology at the University of Maryland Medical School and Tulane University Medical School, Robert joined the fledgling GPS industry in Anaheim, California. He worked for 24 years in that industry, defining GPS systems for precise applications such as timing, geodesy, surveying, and mapping. He currently chairs Special Committee 104 of the Radio Technical Commission for maritime Applications, which defines message standards for Global Navigation Satellite Systems. Robert retired in 2009 and moved to Fresno in 2010 to be close to family and to enjoy the proximity to the mountains. Robert is currently Secretary of Fresno Audubon Society as well as the website administrator and the editor of the newsletter, The Yellowbill. He enjoys birding and hiking, as well as working in his native plant garden. Robert joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2015.

KENNETH SOBON is a life-long resident of Northern California and a science teacher of 25 years. He has been the science department chairperson at Nelson Avenue Middle School since 2000, the School Site Council president from 1998-2016, and is currently a member of the technology advisory committee. In addition to these positions, he was the school board president for Paradise Charter Middle School from 2007-2012. His participation in those positions led him to be part of the Butte County STEM Advisory Council, a group that networks educators and administrators with business owners and leaders using science, technology, engineering and math in the daily operations of their businesses. In addition to these education focused leadership roles, Ken has held the Lands and Refuges position since 2014 and served as vice-president of Altacal since 2015. Finally, he has been the Director of the Northern Saw-whet Owl Research Project for the past three years. Ken joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2019.

DAVE TYRA is a native Californian who grew up in Santa Cruz.  For much of his career, he served in various roles in Operations and IT management for high tech companies in Silicon Valley, where he worked for 25 years. He ran his own video services company for 6 years, until moving from San Jose to Paso Robles in 2006.  He and his son had been casual birders for some time and joined Morro Coast Audubon in 2011. At his son’s request, they attended the National Audubon Conference in Stevenson, WA in 2013.  He has served as Treasurer and President at Morro Coast Audubon Society, and has been asked by the MCAS board to serve another term as President.  He has coordinated the California Brown Pelican survey and Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey for San Luis Obispo county. Dave joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2017.

TAMMAH WATTS has lived a life devoted to serving people and communities in need. For over 25 years, she served as a Program Manager for a private, nonprofit Child Abuse Prevention Agency in San Diego County and was responsible for the establishment and operation of residential treatment facilities, school-based programs, mental health outpatient clinics and innovative family services. Tammah is a rare-breed native San Diegan and in addition to living primarily in Southern California, also lived for three years in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, in the mid-80s to experience transborder live/work cultural immersion. She is passionate about birds and ideally, birding with her grandkids, nature conservancy and advocacy. Tammah is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and received her MA in Counseling Psychology from National University. Her first book, Keep Looking Up: Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching, with Hay House Publishers,was published in Spring 2023. Tammah joined the Audubon California Advisory Board in 2021.

The ACA Board tours Lundberg Farms
The ACA board goes on a tour of Lundberg Farms to understand our work partnering with rice farms to create bird habitat

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