RCD & NRCS staff

The work of the RCD is supported with staffing from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director

Kellyx has worked over 20 years with private and public agencies in conservation planning, program and project development and implementation, environmental education, conservation finance, community outreach, and resolving conflicts between growth and conservation.   She holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in Political Science and Environmental Science and a master's degree in Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley.

Jim Howard, NRCS District Conservationist

Jim has been managing ecosystem restoration projects for the past 15 years. He has worked for the U.S. Peace Corps, the private timber industry, two Resource Conservation Districts, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management from Humboldt State University and a master’s degree in Water Resources Management from Duke University.

Renee Moldovan, Fiscal Manager

Renee brings 16 years of business experience in commercial property management and retail, spanning both operations and administration.  She has also been a small business owner of a company that provided bookkeeping services.   She has served the community extensively in a volunteer capacity, including serving on various boards of directors.

Jim Kjelgaard, NRCS Engineer

Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from Penn State and a master’s degree in Biological Systems Engineering and a PhD in Engineering Science from Washington State University.  His research has included monitoring and measuring wind erosion, dust emissions, plant water use, and ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange.  He is a registered Civil Engineer in California and a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control.  He has published numerous research articles and is an expert on earth surface energy fluxes. He’s a former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Yemen Arab Republic), has traveled extensively, and provides technical assistance for the San Mateo and Santa Cruz Resource Conservation Districts.

Carolann Towe, Resource Specialist

Carolann brings extensive experience in watershed stewardship with the Canadian Department of Fish and Game's Stream Keepers, Mount Seymour Fish Hatchery in North Vancouver, and San Mateo County Chapter of Surfrider.  She has worked with  government agencies, landowners, environmentalists, farmers, and equestrians to protect and improve water quality.  Most recently, she founded the Watershed Discovery Foundation to encourage students to become responsible watershed stewards.
 
Marti Johnson, Conservation Associate

Marti grew up on her family's dairy farm in northern San Luis Obispo County. She became interested in sustainable agriculture through the work of Wendell Berry, and consequently worked for Michael Ableman at the Center for Urban Renewal at Fairview Gardens.  She has spent eight years working with multiple RCDs in the Central Coast region and has served the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as the regional RCD Coordinator since 2005.  She has also worked on the Coast and Ocean Regional Roundtables with the Planning and Conservation League Foundation..

Karissa Anderson, Conservation Associate (beginning August 1, 2010)

Karissa was also born and raised on a farm in northern San Luis Obispo County. She holds a bachelor's degree in Geography from San Francisco State University.  Most recently, she worked at the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board, where her work focused on water quality monitoring and data management for the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program.   Karissa's claim to fame is being able to guess creek water temperatures within 0.1 degrees Celsius using only her hands! Beginning in Fall 2010, Karissa will be using her work at the RCD as part of her thesis project to complete her master's degree.

RCD directors

Jim Reynolds

Jim owns and manages a Pescadero farm that has been in the family for nearly 150 years.  He brings over 30 years of experience as a management consultant, communicating in several languages to help diverse industries nationally and internationally manage organizational change, business processes, and reengineering.  

Neal Kramer

Neal is a consulting botanist with a BA in botany from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in Forest Ecology from the University of Idaho, where he studied plant succession and the role of buried seed banks in the Rocky Mountains.  He holds certifications as an arborist and in wetland delineation.  Prior to consulting, Neal was responsible for potted plant production on 35 acres of greenhouses and fields at Nurserymen's Exchange.  In his earlier years, Neal was a helicopter foreman conducting wildfire suppression for the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.  Neal loves being outdoors and has enjoyed photography as a pasttime for over 20 years.

Rich Allen

Rich owns and operates a horse boarding, training, and lesson facility.   He is a founding member of the Coastside Horse Council and serves as Chairman of the San Mateo County Confined Animal Ordnance Technical Advisory Committee.  He is also active with youth through the Sheriff’s Juvenile Diversion Program and on the board of directors of the Watershed Discovery Foundation.  Prior to becoming a full-time rancher, he worked for 20 years in multi-media, film and video production, serving as president of a production company in San Francisco.

Roxy Stone

Roxy brings over thirty-five years of corporate business experience in the hospitality industry, primarily Sales and Marketing, and is currently based at Grand Hyatt San Francisco.  Prior experience included managerial responsibilities in Utah with Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone and Thiokol Chemical Corporation.  She is a self-proclaimed "techie", dabbles in painting and is an avid equestrian.  She is active in the San Francisco Horseman's Association and an active member of the American Quarter Horse Association. She has co-chaired the Ol' Fashion 4th of July Parade for the City of Half Moon Bay for the past 10 years.

TJ Glauthier

TJ is a prominent energy industry leader with a long list of accomplishments in business, government, and technology.  He served in the White House as the Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the Office of Management and Budget, where his work included negotiation of the 1997 Farm Bill.  TJ has also been the second highest official in the U.S. Department of Energy and the Director of Energy and Climate Change for the World Wildlife Fund.

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