Alan has served as the Executive Director since 1989 overseeing ARC's education, stewardship and conservation programs. Alan holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Environmental Administration. He and his family have lived in the small town of Coloma in El Dorado County for over twenty years.

Julie Andert
Public Outreach Coordinator
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Julie Andert started at ARC in April 2006 as an Administrative Assistant.  A native of Southern California, Julie has lived in Cool with her husband and three children for 13 years. She enjoys horseback riding, photography, camping, skiing and the outdoors. 

Alice Cantelow
Environmental Educator
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Alice joined ARC in March 2008, coming with three and a half years of experience in water and watershed education. A 25 year resident of Pleasant Valley, Alice is happiest when outdoors, whether on the trail, skiing or canoeing. She holds a B.A. in geochemistry and an M.B.A.

Elena DeLacy
Conservation Project Coordinator
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Elena has worked with ARC since 2003. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology and Management from UC Davis. Elena is ARC's staff biologist and cartographer. Her passion for the environment was sparked at an early age, with yearly family vacations to several State and National Parks. She lives in Placerville with her husband and three daughters and enjoys gardening, hiking and camping as well as protecting and studying local amphibians. Elena's other passion is music - she enjoys playing violin and piano.

Michael is a native of rural Indiana and growing up spent most of his summers camping with his family. He graduated from Ball State University in 2004, and spent the next couple of years working as a seasonal park ranger with the National Park Service. In January 2006, he moved to California to work in outdoor/environmental education and began exploring the state's forests and park lands. For fun, Michael enjoys participating in all sorts of outdoor activities.

Judith Gossett
Nature Center Docent
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Judith lives in Kelsey overlooking the South Fork American River. She is now retired after 33 years as a Human Services Supervisor in Sacramento County. Judith is happiest when she's working at the Nature Center, volunteering with the PEER Program, hiking or "anything outdoors." Her hobbies include painting, jewelry making and trying new arts and crafts.

Amy joined ARC in 2008, coming with 10 years of experience in operations management and over 8 years of board experience volunteering with an environmental non-profit. A 14-year resident of El Dorado County, Amy is happiest when outdoors. She enjoys hiking, gardening with native plants, snowshoeing and kayaking. She also reads a lot and holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from Caltech.

Molly Hucklebridge
Environmental Education Specialist
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Molly jumped into ARC life in 2009 after a stint in Colorado.  Since 2005, she has worked for environmental education programs near her hometown in the Monterey Bay and throughout the Sierra - including Fish Camp, Lee Vining, and Nevada City.  Her educational endeavors and adventures include undergrad at UC Davis (2004), the Great Valley Fellows Program (2005), trips abroad, and backpacking the John Muir Trail.  Molly enjoys exploring the outdoors, snapping pictures, and journaling about her latest jaunts.

David Morrill
Marketing and Development Director
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David joined the ARC staff in January 2009, coming with over 20 years of experience in marketing and development.  A 13 year resident of El Dorado County, David is happiest spending time with his wife and three kids.  He enjoys hiking, camping, taking the family to the Monterey Bay area and weekend getaways to Silver Lake.

Maureen has worked with the American River Conservancy since 2006. She lives in Shingle Springs with her husband Ken. Maureen enjoys the outdoors and has fun camping and recreating in the Sierras.

"Georgie"
ARC Staff California Tiger Salamander

George is a threatened species in California. He has spent his entire life in captivity. Before living at the Nature Center, George spent his time contributing valuable information about his species to UC Davis researchers. George loves to eat crickets, earthworms and the occasional tree frog!

"Roosevelt" aka "Rosy"
ARC Staff Mexican Rosy Boa

Rosy was born in 1987 and has spent his entire life in captivity. He enjoys eating mice and spending time out of his enclosure. Roosevelt is a very friendly and docile snake and is an excellent representation of his species!

Board of Directors

Board Officers

Penny Humphreys
President

Penny, a native Californian, has lived in El Dorado County for over 30 years.  She moved to the Rescue area to be closer to the river and mountains and to enjoy all of the seasons.  She recently served one term as a County Supervisor.  Penny has for several years served as a Board Member of PAWED (People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado Co.).  She is currently Chairperson of the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council.  She spends much of her time gardening and caring for grandchildren.

David Zelinsky
Vice President

David is a local Attorney, CPA and long time ARC Member. He is a long distance runner and has hiked about 1,000 miles of the Sierras. He has been married 35 years to Connie, has four grown children and two grandchildren. He has served on the Snowline Hospice Board and EDCA Board.

Ray Pingle
Treasurer

Ray's love for the Sierras started as a child with annual family camping vacations in Yosemite. He received his dental degree at UCLA. Recently retired, Ray has held many different kinds of executive positions in large healthcare organizations. Ray and his wife Jana moved to the Sierra foothills in 1995 and now live in Shingle Springs.

Gail Wilson
Secretary

Gail is a graduate of UC Davis in bacteriology. She and her husband Ken have lived in Placerville on their small cattle ranch for 35 years. Ken and Gail have also run their own leather goods manufacturing company for 37 years. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are of particular interest to Gail as well as preserving and protecting the spaces where they can flourish. She believes that the American River Conservancy is the natural place to work locally on these global issues.

Joan Barrow

Joan has been working on environmental issues for many years in Mendocino and Sonoma counties. In 2005 she moved to West Sacramento with her husband, whom she met while they were both on the steering committee of the Russian River Watershed Council. After moving to the area she wanted to continue working on river and conservation issues and discovered ARC. She has served on the Board of Directors of Ukiah Natural Foods and Russian River Unlimited, which organized clean up days for the Mendocino County stretch of the Russian River. She has five grown children and one grandchild.

Rosie Chin

Rosie moved to the Coloma Valley about 3 years ago from the Bay Area. Even though she grew up a city girl, she has fallen in love with the beauty and the people in the Foothills. Rosie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist in a hospital setting for a few years, she decided to return to school for an M.B.A. Upon graduation, she has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in various marketing positions. Rosie currently works in the clinical research arena. She is on the business development team of a service company that provides central radiology service to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Rosie and her husband Tym Armstrong live in Lotus and own Gold Rush, a whitewater rafting company on the South Fork of the American River. Rosie enjoys hiking and running in our many beautiful trails. She is also a beginner birder and loves to travel.

Catherine Ciofalo

Cathy has a B.A. in Anthropology from University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master’s from San Jose State University in Library and Information Science. She worked for Bechtel, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey and Santa Clara County before being absorbed into the electronics industry and the information revolution in the mid ‘70s. She is now retired after 32 years of being a Business Analysis and Project Manager at Intel Corporation.

Cathy has kept up her interests in anthropology and archaeology through the years and has been on digs in Israel, Italy, England, and in the U.S. She has been involved with El Dorado Search and Rescue since 1994 and is currently on the K9, Search Management and Georgetown CERT teams. She served on the Search and Rescue Council Board of Directors as secretary and treasurer and is currently the training officer for Search Management. Cathy discovered ARC when she moved up to Garden Valley in 2001 and has delighted in the craft and local history workshops. Recently her interests have expanded to include the ARC Stream Water Quality Monitoring program at Hastings Creek, planting oaks, and assisting with the NEST programs. Cathy has a lifelong commitment to our cultural heritage and to understanding and protecting our environment.

Clint Collins

Clint has been a physician in private practice in Folsom for the last 20 years.   He is the medical supervisor of two free clinics sponsored by Mercy Hospital of Folsom.  Clint is also a commissioner at the First 5 Commission for El Dorado County, representing the county medical society.  He previously served on the board of ARC from 2001 to 2006. Clint was re-elected in 2008 after a 2-year hiatus.  

Courtney Covington

Courtney has strong roots in the American River watershed, having grown up on 40 acres of farmland in the Gold Hill area.  She has fond memories of attending ARC Summer Nature Camp as a youngster. She has a B.S. in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from U.C. Davis, and recently graduated from U.C. Berkeley Law School with a J.D. and a certificate in Environmental Law. Courtney currently works as an environmental attorney at Downey Brand, LLC in Sacramento. She loves hiking, running and bird-watching.

Julie Leimbach

As Coordinator of the Foothills Water Network, Julie works on conservation issues across the Sierra. Julie is a liaison to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and a Steering Committee member of the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Julie coordinates conservation and water-based recreation groups to restore aquatic health in the Cosumnes, American, Bear, and Yuba watersheds through Integrated Regional Water Management Planning and hydropower relicensings. Julie and her husband Kurt live in a straw bale house they built together in Coloma. Julie and Kurt recently added a new family member - their son Ian.

Dan Rathbun

Dan has been a resident of El Dorado County for over 35 years. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees locally from California State University, Sacramento. As avid adventurer, athlete, and outdoor enthusiast, he is passionate about the beauty and benefits our local surroundings offer. As the founder of Team Bones Adventure Programs, he is active in promoting healthy lifestyle choices with various youth adventure programs. He is also an independent project manager for Colleen Malone Construction and has enjoyed a career of creating, maintaining, and renovating projects throughout the region. Having traveled extensively for years while representing Subaru of America, he returned home after each trip even more grateful for the community and surroundings to which he belongs.

Doug Stadler

Doug was raised in Southern California and at 12 years old was introduced to the American River via a family rafting trip.  By the end of that excursion he knew that he wanted to return to this area as a river guide, and did so through his college and graduate years.  After completing dental school at Marquette University, Doug decided to once again return to El Dorado County and was fortunate enough to establish his dental practice here in 1993.  Currently he resides in the Coloma Valley where he still enjoys and appreciates the activities of and life on the river. 

Scott Underwood

Scott did his undergraduate work in Zoology, and then obtained a medical degree in Emergency Medicine. He has been a Conservancy board member since April 1995 and has also served on the Conservancy’s stewardship committee since 1997.

Greg Widroe

Greg is a California native who graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Agricultural Economics. He received his MBA from Cornell University. His career has been focused on financing media and communications businesses. Greg is drawn to the American River Conservancy because of its successful and pragmatic approach to habitat preservation and environmental education. Greg brings to the Board of Directors a passion for the American River watershed and over twenty years of practical business experience.