Phil Tseng
Phil, a Santa Barbara-based attorney, has worked on a variety of social and environmental justice campaigns. He is a co-founder and former grants manager of the Shoreline Preservation Fund at U.C. Santa Barbara. Phil also created the inaugural Solutions Conference in Vermont, bringing together students, conservationists, and practitioners to develop innovative approaches to problems facing global and local communities. Phil holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Microbiology and a Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School.
Mark Bradley
Mark is a well-regarded national transportation consultant newly based here in Santa Barbara. He is the president of the Coalitions for Sustainable Transportation, COAST. Mark is active in local transportation plannng and you will probably see him around town helping us shift gears away from single occupancy vehicles, say hello!
Steve Dunn
(Vice President)
Steve is a native of Santa Barbara. Professionally,
he has worked in ocean related industries since 1968, as well as
in surfboard and commercial fishing boat manufacturing from 1972
to 1991.
Steve has been a community activist for many years. His community
activities throughout the years include involvement with many
groups/issues, including: the Coastal Zone Initiative; Hammond’s
Reef; LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas); Commercial Fishing; Environmental
Coalition (liaison to local fisher groups); Joint Oil-Fisheries
Committee (Trap Fisheries Representative and Fisheries Caucus
Chair); liaison between fisheries and SB County APCD Innovative
Technologies Group’s marine diesel clean air retrofit program;
Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara County, Inc. (including
steering committee member for area crab fishery, developing and
implementing new mandated resource management plans); Downtown/Waterfront
Vision Committee; Committee for Santa Barbara (wetland advocate);
Committee for Santa Barbara’s Waterfront (wetland advocate);
Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper (board member and current Vice President);
CPA and CPF.
Steve has been involved with CPA and CPF for several years now,
serving as past and current Executive Vice President of CPA, past
Vice President and current President of CPF. Additionally, he has
chaired CPA’s Nominating Committee for the past 4 years,
and has been and continues to be an active member in CPA’s
Comprehensive Planning Committee, Water Committee, and Watersheds
Committee.
Victoria Greene
(Secretary)
Victoria is a 25 year resident of Santa Barbara. She holds a BA
from UCSB and a Master of City Planning from the University of
California, Berkeley. Victoria is a land use planning consultant,
helping nonprofit and community organizations to effectively participate
in the planning process. Prior to starting a consulting business,
Victoria was a professional planner with the County of Santa Barbara
for over 15 years.
Nels Henderson
(President)
Nels has operated a freelance graphic design and
marketing consultantancy that has served the greater Santa Barbara
area for over 15 years. He is a former is Communications Director
for the Dream Foundation in Santa Barbara, and has held numerous
leadership positions for non-profit boards of directors and political
organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. In
1990, Nels was the youngest elected chair of a political party
county central committee in California. Positions Nels has held
or is holding include: President of the Board of Directors
for Sarah House, Secretary of CPF, and previously served on the
board of CPA. He is currently President of CPF.
He has served as an aide to Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum,
former County Supervisor Gloria Ochoa, State Senator Gary K.
Hart and the late Rep. Walter Capps. His current clients include
Mayor Marty Blum, Earl Warren Showgrounds, State Street Ballet,
Antioch University and the California Coast Venture Forum.
Nels received his BA in Political Science at UCSB, and a Master's
Degree in Organizational Management from Antioch University, where
he currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in their bachelors
degree program and teaches management.
Dennis Story
Dennis is particularly concerned with local transportation issues
and is on the boards of SB COAST and CPF. He holds a BA in Architecture,
has worked as a licensed general contractor, home builder, home
inspector, and developer of rental properties, and has designed
various commercial and residential projects. Dennis began studies
in Cal Poly’s Masters Program in City and Regional Planning,
but is presently on leave from that program. In 2001 he established
the incorporated non-profit, Citizens for Intelligent Growth.
Prior to moving to Goleta a few years ago, he was a Buellton
resident and was involved in the Wastewater Treatment Project
in Los Osos and various planning issues in Buellton.
Jennifer Stroh
Jennifer has lived in Santa Barbara for 9 years. She graduated
from UCSB with a B.S. in zoology in 2000. Currently shes an ecologist
contracting with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society, managing
the Snowy Plover Docent Program. She also works with the Museum
of Systematics and Ecology as an assistant to the Executive Director.
One of Jennifer's main concerns/goals is to help find a balance
in the relationship between conservation issues and the way people
live.
Eric Zimmerman
(Treasurer)
Eric has been a member of the south coast community
since 1990. He originally
moved here to attend UCSB and in 1994 graduated with a B.S. degree in Biological
Sciences and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Since graduating he has worked
as the Student Affairs Officer/Internship Coordinator for UCSB's Environmental
Studies Program. As one of the oldest, largest, and most respected undergraduate
environmental programs in the country, Eric is proud to have helped more than
1,300 students attain their degrees and move on to work to help preserve and
enhance our local and global environments.
Over the years Eric has volunteered with a number of different
campus organizations including the Chancellors Staff Advisory
Council, UCSB Recreation Center Governance Board, and UCSB's
Staff Assembly, of which he was chair for two years. He also
served as one of two campus delegates to the UC System wide Council
of University of California Staff Assemblies and currently serves
on UCSB's Highway 217 Review Committee. He was also a founding
member and four-term president of the UCSB community support
group, Environmental Studies Associates.
Some of the community organizations he has been involved with
include the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary's Marine
Educator's Regional Alliance (MERA), The Nature Conservancy's
Island Fox Program, and the Santa Barbara Whale Festival.
Eric joined the CPA board because of his commitment to protecting
Santa Barbara County's unique environment and quality of life. He
currently serves on the CPF board as its Treasurer, and chairs
CPA & CPF’s Outreach & Development Committee.
Naomi Kovacs
(Executive Director)
Naomi Kovacs has worked in the nonprofit world for more than 15 years. She has
been Executive Director of CPA & CPF since 2001.
Naomi began her career as a Residential Counselor & Program Coordinator for
developmentally disabled and dually-diagnosed clients at the Devereux Foundation
in Santa Barbara. She moved on to work in International Operations with the University
of California’s Education Abroad Program, at the administrative headquarters
for all UC campuses and numerous study centers abroad.
Naomi then joined the Peace Corps and served as a Community Development Extension
Agent in Cameroon, Africa, primarily focusing her work on water & sanitation
education and projects, as well as the formation and legalization of community
groups. She later returned to Cameroon as a Technical Trainer for the Peace Corps’ Water
and Sanitation Project.
Following her return to the States, Naomi pursued a graduate degree at the University
of Southern California, during which time she completed an internship with the
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles in Section 8 Administration, as
well as an internship with the Office of Development and External Relations at
USC’s School of Policy, Planning, and Development. She also served as a
research assistant for the USC’s Neighborhood Participation Project.
Naomi’s main interests have been in grassroots planning and community development.
As Executive Director of CPA &
CPF, she has been able to combine these interests with her
master’s degree focus in nonprofit management.
Naomi holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and French from the University
of California, Santa Barbara. She spent a year studying at the Université Paul
Valèry in Montpellier, France. Her master’s degree is in Public
Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the University of
Southern California.
Naomi has served on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Peace Corps Association
since 2002, sitting for 2 terms as President and currently as Secretary. She
served on the Board of the USC Graduate Policy & Administration Community,
and was an Ambassador to the USC Masters of Public Administration program. She
has been a member of the USC Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration;
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society; and Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society
for Public Affairs
& Administration.
Naomi also volunteers when possible for a number of local nonprofit organizations,
and was formerly an active Special Olympics coach.
Kamron Sockolov
(Outreach and Development Coordinator)
Kamron moved to the Central Coast in 2000 to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies and Physics at UCSB. While a student, Kamron volunteered with numerous campus organizations including Environmental Affairs Board and Associated Student’s BIKES committee. While serving as a co-chair, the BIKES committee completed the Broida Bike Path and resurfaced the Goleta Beach Bike Path – two significant facets in campus and coastal bicycle infrastructure.
Upon graduating UCSB, Kamron chose to make the Central Coast his home. He worked as an engineer in Goleta and concurrently volunteered with Save Naples – a coalition consisting of several local organizations including Citizen’s Planning Association. In 2007 he accepted the Outreach and Development Coordinator position with Citizen’s Planning Foundation.
