Board Members

Board Member and Senior Policy Director - Bob Schneider

Bob is long time conservationist.  He came to Davis in 1966 to attend the University and graduated with a B.S. degree in Geology. He worked as a volunteer on the establishment of the Redwood National Park and fought Forest Highway 100 that would have bisected Sierra wilderness with a road from Fresno to Mammoth. He co-founded the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC) in 1976. Bob received the Conservationist of the Year award from the Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter in 1993, and the John Zierold volunteer lobbyist award from Sierra Club California in 1997. He served as the California Wild Heritage Campaign Director and the Interim Director for the CWC.  Bob currently serves on the Central Valley Water Board and the Bureau of Land Management Northwest California Resource Advisory Committee.  He has a particular interest in oak woodlands, water issues, and mercury clean up. Contact by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Board Member - John and Judy Ahmann

 John & Judy Ahmann met at a California Tip Toppers Dance in Los Angeles, and moved away from there as soon as they were married.  They bought 12 acres in San Juan Bautista before moving back to IBM's R&D facility in Dayton, NJ in 1967.  Upon returning to CA (first to LA where IBM had sold a new voting system to the county and John was sent to install it), they bought more land and added cattle to graze.  The cattle helped them pay property taxes in the country and were fairly self-sufficient, while the Ahmanns were manufacturing voting equipment for the US (they started their own company in 1978). They sold their business in 1986, and retired from the conglomerate that bought it in 1993.  Then they became more deeply involved in ranching, and purchased ranches in eastern OR.  Still supplying a few ballots and voting supplies, the Ahmanns split their time between CA and OR, and are very concerned about the loss of open space and privately owned rangeland.  That is why they donated a trail to connect two areas of public land on their Berryessa ranch, as well as setting aside a conservation easement on the same property (to ensure that the land can only be used for agriculture).  They are attempting to lead a more quiet life, but the word "retirement" doesn't seem to be in their dictionary.

Board Member & Youth Program -  Jeff Falyn & Lyndsay Dawkins

Lyndsay’s passion for the outdoors developed from a childhood of camping trips and world travel.  She earned a BFA from U.C. Santa Barbara in Theater Arts with an acting emphasis.  Lyndsay spends most of her time writing, expanding the scope of Nature’s Theater, playing with kids and enacting characters like Mother Nature, Star Walker or the Jester.

Jeff infuses a depth and subtlety to the Nature’s Theater stories.  With 14 years of outdoor programming for UCLA and UC Davis, and a Masters degree in Psychology, he finds harmony in writing, performing, training Nature’s Theater leaders, and inspiring the next generation to care for the natural world.  Contact by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Board Member - Glenn Holstein

Dr. Glen Holstein received his PhD in Botany from U.C. Davis and is retired from his position as Senior Scientist with Zentner and Zentner, a local biological consulting company. He has published peer reviewed research on California Prairie in Madroño, the journal of the California Botanical Society. Glen is Chapter Botanist for the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society , represents that Chapter at Habitat 2020 and was the California Prairie spokesman at its Wildflower Weekend in April , 2005 . He is also on the Board of Tuleyome, a non-profit organization working to protect the Cache Creek watershed and other areas in Yolo County, and on the steering committee of Yolo County's new NCCP.

Board Member - Chad Roberts 

Chad Roberts is a conservation scientist and a conservation activist. He was the Conservation Chair of the Redwood Region Audubon Society (northwestern California) for fifteen years, and currently serves as the Conservation Chair for the Yolo Audubon Society. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis in 1976 studying oak woodland birds, and has been involved with oak woodland research and decision-making for three decades. Dr. Roberts is certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America and as a Professional Wetland Scientist by the Society of Wetland Scientists' Professional Certification Program. He works as an environmental consultant and planner, primarily for public agencies.