Baykeeper Board of Directors
Jeff Russell, J.D. – Chair
Jeff is the in-house counsel at Silverado Power, a utility-scale solar generation company. Prior to Silverado, Jeff was a senior fellow at UC Berkeley Law School where his research focused on law and policy-based solutions to achieve California's clean energy goals. He was also an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council where he engaged in litigation and regulatory advocacy to rebuild West Coast fisheries and protect marine habitat. A water enthusiast, Jeff swims in San Francisco Bay and enjoys surfing and exploring California’s coastline. Jeff holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California and received his undergraduate degree from Cornell.
Brian Drue – Treasurer
Brian is a founding partner of Corporate Diligence Specialists, LLC, (“CDS”) a financial consulting firm providing due diligence and advisory services to private equity firms and strategic buyers on mergers & acquisitions transactions. Prior to the formation of CDS, Brian was in the Transaction Services group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in San Jose and Coopers & Lybrand, LLP in Los Angeles. Brian graduated with honors from University of California at Santa Barbara. He has served a variety of nonprofits over the years, with a primary focus on environmental advocacy and youth assistance and education.
James A. Kuhns – Secretary
Jim is retired and has more than 40 years of consulting and management experience and retired as Chairman and Managing Director of Independent Consulting Resources, Inc., a compensation and organizational consulting firm. Formerly a Principal at Sibson & Co. and Kwasha Lipton, where he retired as a Partner, Jim has been CEO of Olanie, Hurst & Hemrich; a Partner at Hewitt Associates and VP of Personnel at American Express. Jim was a Baykeeper Board Member from 1993 to 2001 and once again joined the Board in 2006. He served on the Advisory Council in the intervening years. Jim has served on numerous nonprofit organization boards and advisory councils over the years, including Outward Bound, the Headlands Institute, Yosemite Institutes and Warren Wilson College.
Susan Cleveland-Knowles, J.D.
Susan is a Deputy City Attorney with the City of San Francisco. She works in the land use division, representing the mayor, board of supervisors, planning commission, planning department and other city agencies. She received her J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an undergraduate degree in international economics from Georgetown University. Prior to law school, Susan spent four years in the Czech and Slovak republics working with emerging environmental organizations. She lives in Sausalito and has served on the Baykeeper Board of Directors since 2004.
Doreen Gounard
Doreen is Harbor Manager and a resident of Galilee Harbor, an affordable, cooperative, floating community of Maritime Workers & Artists on the Sausalito waterfront. With her husband, Marc, she helped construct their home – a 33ft sailing catamaran Imani. Aboard Imani, they completed a circumnavigation of the world between 1999 and 2004 while homeschooling their two children. Living aboard for the last 17 years has given Doreen a unique perspective of our local and international waters. She currently serves on Sausalito's Parks and Recreation Commission. Doreen received her BA in Communications from American University in Washington, DC.
Gary Groff
Gary is Vice President and Branch Manager of New Resource Bank, which focuses on banking services for nonprofit organizations while financing green businesses. Gary has more than ten years of banking experience—as well as a commitment to socially responsible banking and community service. Gary is a volunteer advisor for Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit that invests in businesses serving low-income communities, and is a member of the Surfrider Foundation. Gary became a member of Baykeeper’s Board of Directors after serving for two years on Baykeeper’s Advisory Council as an active member of the finance and development committees.
Diane Livia
Diane works in habitat restoration at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. She has experience in environmental permitting, planning, outreach, and program design. Diane has felt a strong personal connection to San Francisco Bay since childhood. She brings great public communication skills to Baykeeper’s Board from her previous 15-year successful career in public broadcast media.
Peter Molnar
Peter manages Poseidon’s Vineyard and Obsidian Ridge Vineyard, and is a partner in Tricycle Wine Company and Kadar Hungary wine cooperage. He is Board Chair of the Lake County Winegrape Commission and Co-President of Califrance. Peter has been involved as a volunteer skipper with Baykeeper’s Bay patrol program for more than a decade and is an avid sailor and open water swimmer.
Benjamin Patton
Ben directs partnership development for an early stage San Francisco-based environmental tech startup. His career has been devoted to developing business and market mechanisms for environmental impact. He launched the emission reductions procurement group at 3Degrees, a company in San Francisco that trades renewable energy certificates and carbon emission reductions. He later managed solar power project finance for Chevron Energy Solution and SunEdison. He often serves in a project management role as a liaison between scientific or technical engineering roles and business development or management requirements. Ben has a B.S. in Symbolic Systems with a minor in East Asian Studies (focused on Japanese) from Stanford University. Outside of work, he stays busy surfing, kiteboarding, and making Japanese style pottery.
Christina (Tina) Swanson, Ph.D.
Tina is the Director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s Science Center, which helps ensure that the nation’s environmental policies are based on sound science. She previously served for 12 years as the lead scientist and then Executive Director of the Bay Institute. Tina brings deep knowledge about the Bay’s ecology and environmental threats, as well as expertise in communicating with public officials about complex scientific issues. A former Fulbright scholar, Tina has authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and is nationally known for her expertise in water quality policy and fisheries management.
