Friends of the Petaluma River is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to celebrating and conserving the Petaluma River, its wetlands, and wildlife.
Our mission: To promote stewardship of the Petaluma River. We work throughout its watershed; providing access opportunities, educational materials, and conservation programs. We also provide a voice for the River’s inhabitants and resources in public affairs.
Our Goals: Access, Education, and Conservation

• To establish a permanent presence in the watershed; becoming the first non-government organization to work fulltime for the betterment of the Petaluma River . and its inhabitants
• To pursue outreach and educational activities that will foster enthusiasm and commitment in the watershed for long term sustainable stewardship.
• To monitor conditions and engage in activities that will reduce or prevent pollution and lessen other harmful impacts on the River and its wetlands.
• To create a River Heritage Center as a community resource. A place to archive information, host events, administer programs, and coordinate river related activities.

Grant Davis
Grant is Executive Director of The Bay Institute, and has been responsible for overall management of the organization since 1997. He has an extensive legislative background and has been involved in environmental protection, water resource management and energy issues for over twenty years. Prior to joining TBI, he directed Rep. Lynn Woolsey’s first congressional campaign, managed her district office, and was responsible for environmental legislation. He has provided critical leadership in a large number of environmental campaigns. Grant previously owned a successful small business, specializing in nonprofit development, strategic planning and marketing. Grant graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986 with a degree in political science. He is a Petaluma resident.

Dr. John Shribbs Ph.D.
John has a PhD in Horticulture with minors in Weed Science and Statistics. He has published several manuscripts which have won journalistic awards. He has patents in herbicide chemistry and uses and has been an expert witness in patent litigation. John has been teaching high school science for 7 years in Petaluma and is currently constructing a Native Plant Nursery on the high school grounds with a grant from the City of Petaluma, the Regional Water Quality Board, and The Bay Institute. He is also organizing a cross-disciplinary environmental study program at his High School and has acquired instruments for doing water monitoring with students. John lives in Petaluma and frequently kayaks on the River.

Elizabeth Howland
Elizabeth is a principal in andHow, a marketing organization focused on helping companies more effectively reach the women’s market. Before founding andHow, she was Vice President of Marketing at Athleta, the premier women’s sports apparel retailer, where she oversaw all marketing functions and spearheaded the design and production of the Athleta catalog. Before joining Athleta, Elizabeth spent several years in executive positions for direct marketing firms including Triplex, Gymboree and Bio Bottoms. Elizabeth helped found the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance, an organization currently devoted to education and stewardship of the Petaluma Wetlands. She has lived in Petaluma for 25 years and is an active outdoor enthusiast.

Cari Pace-Koch
Cari is a 32-year real estate broker focused on course writing, training, and expert witness testimony for the real estate community. She has authored state-mandated courses, published numerous articles, and writes a monthly column in Broker-Agent magazine. She has served as President of the Marin Association of Realtors, was a founding member of the No Wetlands Landfill Expansion Group, and is on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Marin Center, an outreach non-profit for the performing arts. She is an award-winning landscape watercolorist and has taught painting with several organizations. Cari and her husband Bob Koch live in the northern end of Novato and have a newly-purchased kayak which is already blessed with Petaluma’s mud.

Patrick Campbell
For the past eight years, several times a week, I have done my kayak training on, and occasionally in, the Petaluma River. The river has been good to me, and it’s time to give back. I’m particularly interested in encouraging human-powered boat use and discouraging wetlands development. Since 1994, Patrick has farmed vineyards on Sonoma Mountain. In addition to his local operation, he produces wine in Argentina and Lodi. During much of this time, he has had leadership roles in national wine industry organizations and been actively involved with local land use issues. Patrick has a BA in English literature from Pomona College and a MA in philosophy from Harvard University. His wife, Faith, and he have three grown daughters.

Andy Rodgers
As a consulting geologist, Andy has been working in the environmental management profession since 1986. His focus has been evaluating and managing issues related to soil, groundwater and surface water quality. In 1999, Andy founded ECON (Environment, Community & Opportunity Network) - a for-profit cooperative network of independent professionals and specialists.

Important to Andy is giving back to the community in which he lives and works. Andy is involved with various volunteer efforts including;

• Vice President – Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation
• Advisory Council Member – Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District
• Treasurer – Petaluma River Works
• Council Member – North Bay Watershed Association
• Chair - Sonoma County Business Advisory Group (to the 4 Sonoma County CUPA’s)
• District 2 Citizen Advisory Committee - Sonoma County General Plan 2020 Update
• Former Board Member - Sonoma County Economic Development Board, Business Environmental Alliance
• Leadership Petaluma - Class of 2002 Graduate

Andy is married with two daughters and lives on a small farm north of Petaluma in the Liberty Creek subwatershed.

Jaimey Walking Bear
Jaimey Walking Bear is a 30 year resident of Petaluma and an active member of the community. He has a background in environmental education, media production and creative design. Jaimey is an ardent supporter of strong environmental policy and arts based education. He is currently President and Board Chair of the Petaluma High School Music Boosters, Inc. and is an active contributor to many grassroots organizations including; Petaluma Bounty, Daily Acts and, of course, Friends of the Petaluma River. He and his wife Tiffany Renée created and maintain Friends’ web site and they teamed up to produce a highly acclaimed informational video for use in Friends’ outreach efforts. Jaimey loves sharing a good story, spending time on the River, and riding his bicycle around town.

David Hansen
New Zealand born landscape architect David Hansen recently retired from a very successful career working for three Bay Area open space districts. His work over the past 33 years with the Marin County Open Space District (Planner and Acquisition Manager), the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Land Manager) and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (General Manager) was recently honored at several events by the boards of each agency and the Bay Area Open Space Council of which he was a founder and first chair. David was responsible for the acquisition and management of over 70,000 acres of open space and farm land in four counties of the Bay Area. He was also a co-founder and Board member of several environmental non-profit organizations including the Bay Area Ridge Trail, The Trail Center, Whole Access and LandPaths of which he currently serves as Board Chair. He is also a recent appointee to the Board of the newly formed Marin Open Space Trust. Among numerous avocations David enjoys singing with Sonoma Chanson, gardening, backpacking, running and kayaking. David has an art degree from Willamette University and studied for his Masters in Landscape Architecture at U.C. Berkeley. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Brasil for three years in the 60s, served as Director of the Oakland Zoo Society in 1974 and was a planning commissioner in the town of Fairfax in the late 70s. David lives in Santa Rosa with his wife Marjorie and has two adult children Alexander and Miranda.

Friends of the Petaluma River Staff:
David Yearsley; executive director
David launched the Petaluma Riverkeeper program, sponsored by San Francisco Baykeeper, in 1998. In conjunction with his Riverkeeper work he was founding chairman of Petaluma Wetlands Alliance from 2001-03; which successfully promoted constructed wetlands as part of Petaluma’s new waste water treatment & recycling facility. In 2004-05 he led Friends of Tolay’s successful grassroots campaign for the acquisition of Tolay Lake Regional Park, preserving a pristine 1,800 acre valley adjacent to Petaluma River. David collaborates with many other organizations that promote stewardship of the river and its wetlands including; the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, Bay Area Audubon Council, the Petaluma River Cleanup Committee, the Petaluma River Authority, and the No Wetlands Landfill Expansion group. He served 4 years in the USAF during the Viet Nam war, 1965-68, and earned a B.A. magna cum laude, from San Francisco State University in 1975. He lives in Petaluma and has been active in the Petaluma Watershed for over 30 years as a recreational user and conservationist.

We promote appreciation of the Petaluma River and protect the vitality of its natural resources.

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