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 Primo Santini

Staff  |   Patrick J. Shea, Ph.D. Barry Anderson Kelly Velasco Lisa Williams Anthony Hanrahan

Associates Brent Helm Chad Aakre Gaylene Tupen

WHF Staff Members

WHF is fortunate to have well-qualified and experienced individuals to broaden its preservation efforts and lead it forward into the future.

Patrick J. Shea, Ph.D.

Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director

pshea@wildlifeheritage.org
After volunteering for several years on the board of directors, Dr. Shea joined the staff of WHF in early 2005. As executive director of WHF, Dr. Shea consults with clients and potential clients to prepare documents, negotiate endowments, provide assistance on permitting regulations, and secure conservation easements.

Please also see Dr. Shea's bio as WHF's Chief Financial Officer.

Barry Anderson

Biologist

Barry Anderson is a biologist with more than 35 years of experience. He holds a B.S. in crop production and an M.S. in biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and has done additional graduate work in horticulture (Purdue University) and plant geography and systematics (University of California, Santa Barbara). Mr. Anderson's specialties include wetland delineations, general vegetation surveys, rare-plant surveys, and permitting. He has conducted wetland delineations throughout California's Central Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sierra Nevada foothills, and east side of the Sierra. Over the years, Mr. Anderson has prepared or assisted with the preparation of more than 500 biological resources assessments, many of them in the valley, foothills, and Bay Area. He has conducted rare-plant surveys in nearly every county in California, from the deserts, to Modoc County, west to the north coast, and south to the Santa Barbara area. Mr. Anderson is also a field associate with the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He was selected to be the first permanent staff botanist at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. He helped organize and map the garden's collections and wrote the database programs that documented new and existing garden accessions. Mr. Anderson is familiar with the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act and has prepared numerous applications for both Nationwide Permits and Individual Corps Permits. In addition, he has prepared applications for 401 Water Quality Certifications and 1600 Streambed Alteration Agreements. He is familiar with the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and has prepared biological sections for EIRs and EISs on a number of projects. He has also completed or assisted with surveys for the following species: valley elderberry longhorn beetle, delta green ground beetle, El Segundo blue butterfly, mission blue butterfly, callippe silverspot butterfly, vernal pool fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, California tiger salamander, and California red-legged frog. He is also an avid birder.

Kelly Velasco

Education Program Coordinator

kvelasco@wildlifeheritage.org
Kelly Velasco serves as WHF's education program coordinator. After extensive travel and living in Mexico, Ms. Velasco graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Spanish linguistics and a minor in business foundations. A native of northern California, Ms. Velasco returned to her home town of Davis to receive her BCLAD (bilingual) teaching credential from the University of California, Davis. She taught for 8 years at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, a Spanish-immersion school, in Davis. For 2 years, Ms. Velasco also taught ESL at night for adults at Davis Adult School. Ms. Velasco has extensive experience in curriculum development and published "A Brief Moment with the Maya", an after-school curriculum sponsored by the Woodland Public library and implemented in two Woodland schools. In addition to teaching, Ms. Velasco has translated several scientific documents from English to Spanish and has served as official translator for U.S. Government expeditions to the Sierra San Pedro Martir mountain range in Baja, Mexico.

Lisa Williams

Office Manager

lwilliams@wildlifeheritage.org
Lisa Williams serves as WHF's office manager. Ms. Williams graduated from Santa Rosa Junior College with an Associate of Science degree in dietetics. She has a Human Resource Management Certificate from Sonoma State University and has completed university courses in construction organization & management and construction law & contracts. Ms. Williams has experience working in commercial property management and real estate. Ms. Williams has over ten years of experience in office management, contract administration, human resource management, bidding , and project support for the construction industry. She worked for eight years at a general engineering environmental restoration company specializing in revegetation projects, stream restoration, and wetland projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Clients included the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Transportation, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation districts, various water agencies, conservation districts, cities and counties, developers, and other contractors for projects throughout California. Ms. Williams joined the staff of WHF in May 2008.

Anthony Hanrahan

Technical Specialist

ahanrahan@wildlifeheritage.org
Anthony Hanrahan serves as WHF's Technical Specialist. Mr Hanrahan joined the staff in June 2011 bringing with him extensive computer skills and marketing experience. Mr Hanrahan's responsibilities include Web Development, Graphic Design, Social Media Marketing, SEO Marketing, and he also functions as the onsite IT expert.