About WHF  |   President's Message

Careers  |

Services  |   Conservation Easements Land Management and Endowments Land Stewardship Project Monitoring Ecological Restoration Planning Conservation Education

Objectives  |

Conservation Values  |

Board of Directors  |   Riley Swift Patrick J. Shea, Ph.D. John H. Anderson, D.V.M. William (Bill) Clark Alexander Ferreira Robert Weygandt

Staff  |   Patrick J. Shea, Ph.D. Barbara Rocco Kelly Velasco Natalie Summers Lisa Williams

Associates Brian Williams Barry Anderson Brent Helm Chad Aakre Mark Jennings, Ph.D. Michelle Korpos

WHF Board of Directors

Riley Swift

President

Riley Swift is responsible for overall leadership of the foundation. Mr. Swift founded Sierra View Landscape in 1979 and, for 10 years, constructed industrial, commercial, and custom residential landscape projects. Since that time, his work has included site evaluation, opportunities and constraints analyses, construction technique evaluation, constructed habitat design, water management facilities design, irrigation system design, and cost estimating. Under Mr. Swift's direction, Sierra View Landscape became a habitat restoration contractor in 1989 and has since completed some of the largest wetland- and riparian-habitat mitigation projects in the state. In 1990, Mr. Swift co-founded Wildlands, Inc., one of the first mitigation-bank development companies in the United States, where he served as the chief technical advisor, director, and president until he left the firm in 2002. He then changed the name of Sierra View Landscape to Restoration Resources and relocated its facilities to Rocklin, California, where he continues to serve as the president and principal. Mr. Swift is licensed by the State of California as a Class B General Building Contractor and as a Class C-27 Landscape Contractor. He holds a B.S. degree in wildlife biology from Humboldt State University and a M.S. degree in biological sciences from California State University, Chico.

Patrick J. Shea, Ph.D.

Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director

Dr. Patrick Shea was a principal research entomologist for 35 years at the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, before retiring in January 2000. Early in his career, his primary research responsibility was to investigate the potential nontarget effects of conventional organic insecticides on forest fauna. The last 25 years of his career were devoted to research aimed at developing strategies and techniques to reduce the impact of bark beetles on forest ecosystems. Dr. Shea's primary focus was on testing semiochemical-based (pheromones and other biological methods) pest-management systems to ameliorate the negative effects of bark beetles. In addition, his research was aimed at understanding the role bark beetles play in sustainable forest ecosystems, especially in creating critical wildlife habitat. Dr. Shea has conducted research throughout North America, including Alaska and Mexico, and has served as an advisor to the Chinese National Forest Commission on management of a bark beetle that is native to North America. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Shea has published in excess of 100 technical publications and reports in both national and international science journals. After retirement, he served as program manager (2000-2005) of the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station's Sudden Oak Death Research Program. Dr. Shea earned a B.S. and M.S. in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in insect ecology from the University of California, Davis. He considers himself a conservationist, as defined by Aldo Leopold in his seminal book, "A Sand County Almanac".

Please also see Dr. Shea's bio as WHF's Executive Director.

John H. Anderson, D.V.M.

Board Secretary

Dr. Anderson serves as board secretary and as a member of the finance committee. He helps coordinate WHF's programs to restore native grasses, forbs, and other native plants on protected and managed foundation lands. After practicing small-animal medicine for 3 years, Dr. Anderson joined the veterinary staff at the California Primate Research Center at the University of California (UC), Davis, where he worked from 1974 to 1994. At UC, Davis, he practiced medicine, surgery, and management of nonhuman primates. In 1979, on his farm north of Winters, California, Dr. Anderson began to establish wildlife habitat programs and, since then, has become an authority on restoring native plant habitats in northern California. He participates in training workshops and lectures to numerous groups, and does private consulting relative to habitat restoration. His 500-acre Hedgerow Farms is a major producer of native grass and wildflower seed for restoration projects and also serves as a teaching and demonstration resource for farmland habitat restoration in the region. Dr. Anderson has served on a number of conservation-related boards and is currently the immediate past president of the California Native Grass Association and board member of National Audubon and Audubon California. He is a past board member of the Yolo Basin Foundation and past director of the Yolo County Resource Conservation District.

William (Bill) Clark

Director

Mr. Clark acts as an advisor to the wildlife enhancement activities of WHF. He spent 35 years building and coordinating programs related to wildlife health, disease, and translocation at the Wildlife Investigations Laboratory, part of the California Department of Fish and Game. The Wildlife Investigations Laboratory is one of the few operated by a state agency in this country. As a wildlife pathologist and later as the laboratory coordinator, Mr. Clark and his staff were responsible for wildlife health statewide. Serving as wildlife pathologist, he established a communications network comprising biologists throughout California and neighboring states. Based on their reports, he conducted field investigations, determined and studied causes of disease, and provided training and guidance to field staff regarding management. He also developed and taught wildlife capture and restraint classes to wildlife professionals throughout the western United States for 25 years, and authored numerous scientific publications. Mr. Clark retired from state service in 1998.

Alexander (Alex) Ferreira

Director

Mr. Ferreira serves as WHF's agricultural program coordinator. A native of Placer County, he is serving his sixth year on the board of directors of the Placer County Water Agency and served 24 years with the Placer County Board of Supervisors. A World War II veteran, Mr. Ferreira has also developed and maintained a dairy farm and a wine-grape vineyard. He currently raises cattle, rice, and hay, and oversees all farm management activities on his 900-acre family farm.

Robert Weygandt

Director

Robert Weygandt serves on WHF's finance committee. He oversees the investment and management of endowment funds held by WHF for the stewardship of habitat preserves. Mr. Weygandt was an instructor for 6 years at West Kern Community College, Sacramento City College, and Cosumnes River College, teaching a variety of classes in business administration. Mr. Weygandt was the vice president and chief financial officer of WECO Aerospace Systems, a Lincoln-based firm. He is now a member of the Placer County Board of Supervisors, is currently serving his third 4-year term, and represents the rural western sector of Placer County; the communities of Lincoln, Rocklin, Newcastle, and Sheridan; and the rural residential foothills below Auburn and north of Loomis. Mr. Weygandt has been a leadership voice on the board of supervisors regarding Placer Legacy-a program to protect land, water, and open spaces within Placer County. Placer Legacy was initiated by the board in 1997 and represents a planning effort that took more than 2 years and cost more than $1 million. He has also served as a Placer County planning commissioner and a member of the Placer County Economic Development Board.