Board of Advisors
The Board of Advisors offers experience on parks, people, and biodiversity and assistance with philanthropic donors for the Institute.
UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity
Jonathan B. Jarvis
UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity
Jonathan Jarvis is a conservationist who served in the U.S. National Park Service for 40 years, serving from 2009 to 2017 as Director, appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Jon began as a seasonal interpretive ranger on the National Mall, Washington, DC, for the U.S. Bicentennial. He also served as a protection ranger, resource management specialist, park biologist, and chief of natural and cultural resources, as superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument, Mount Rainier National Park, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and as Pacific West Region Director. Director Jarvis helped establish 26 new national parks. He led the National Park Service through its Centennial, inaugurated the “Every Kid in a Park” program of free park admission to 4th grade students, established a national park climate change program, and mobilized the U.S. National Park Service to co-lead the climate change program of the 2014 World Parks Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He led an update of U.S. national park resource stewardship from static preservation of past conditions to a new goal of managing resources under continuous change to preserve ecological, historical, and cultural integrity. Jon Jarvis was the first Executive Director of the University of California, Berkeley, Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity and now serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors. Jon Jarvis has received the National Recreation and Park Association Legend Award, Sierra Club Edgar Wayburn Award, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Fred Packard Award, and the American Alpine Club David R. Brower Conservation Award. He has recently co-authored two books, The Future of Conservation in America: A Chart for Rough Water and National Parks Forever: Fifty Years of Fighting and a Case for Independence.
photo by Neal Herbert
Grace Anderson
Grace Anderson began her career as a park ranger at Lake Metigoshe State Park in North Dakota. Later, she was a fellow and outdoor educator at NOLS in Wyoming. Since then, she managed the Sierra Club program to increase access to the outdoors, co-led PGM ONE, and been a fellow with the Pisces Foundation. She now works as a consultant to environmental and outdoor organizations, which have included the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Environmental Leadership Initiative of the Packard Hewlett Foundations, the National Wildlife Federation, Patagonia, the North Face, and others. Grace approaches her work with intention, deep curiosity, and an unflinching orientation towards abundance and justice.
Gillian Bowser, Ph.D.
Dr. Gillian Bowser is an Associate Professor in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University. Her research focuses on biodiversity loss and participatory science. In addition, she works on the engagement of all people in the outdoors focusing on African-Americans access to natural resources and environmental justice. Dr. Bowser is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served in the U.S. National Park Service from 1979 to 2009 as an ecologist and wildlife biologist at 8 different parks.
Latham and Watkins LLP
Nikki Buffa
Latham and Watkins LLP
Nikki Buffa is a lawyer at Latham and Watkins, LLP, with two decades of experience in energy and environmental policy. She served eight years in the Administration pf President Obama, including service as Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Deputy Director of Cabinet Affairs of the Executive Office of the President, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages the federal lands and waters of the U.S. Government. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association. Nikki holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mickey Fearn
Mickey Fearn has been a parks professional for over 50 years. From 2008 to 2013, he served as the U.S. National Park Service Deputy Director for Communications and Community Assistance. Afterwards, he was a Professor of Practice at North Carolina State University. Previously, Mickey was Director of the City of Seattle Innovation Project, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Leadership Program, Manager of the Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative, and Director of Communication and Citizen Engagement in the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. Mickey led the creation of programs to end youth violence in Seattle and connect young people with nature. Mickey served as a Washington State Parks and Recreation Commissioner for 12 years. He also worked for the Governor of California, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Mayor of Oakland, California. Mickey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation and Park Administration from California State University and a Master of Science Degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies from the University of Oregon.
Peggy Fiedler, Ph.D.
Peggy Fiedler is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Red List Project, a non-profit collective dedicated to inspiring plant conservation action and engagement on a global scale. Previously, she served as the executive director of the University of California Natural Reserve System, a suite of 41 protected areas across California whose mission is to facilitate and support university-level teaching, research, and public engagement. Earlier in her career, Peggy served as the foundation professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Biology at San Francisco State University. While there, she developed and oversaw the masters' program in conservation biology. Her research focused on the biology of rare species, conservation of threatened ecosystems, and evolution of the Western Australian flora. Peggy holds a B.A. from Harvard and a M.S. and Ph.D. From UC Berkeley. She is a Fulbright Senior Fellow, Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and Fellow of the Linnean Society.
California Coastal Commission
Caryl Hart, Ph.D.
California Coastal Commission
Caryl Hart, Ph.D. is an attorney and expert in public lands and park policy, with over 25 years of advocacy, scholarship, and administrative experience. She is currently Vice-Chair of the California Coastal Commission, where she has served since 2019. Dr. Hart served for 13 years as a member of the California State Parks Commission, including seven years as Chair. In 2014, Dr. Hart was appointed by Governor Brown to serve on the Parks Forward Commission to assist in forming a sustainable path forward for the California State Park System. From 2010 to 2017, Dr. Hart was Director of Sonoma County Regional Parks, a system of 50 parks and regional trails including Doran, Stillwater, and Gualala Point Regional Parks on the Sonoma Coast, and Spud Point Fishing Marina in Bodega Bay. As a native Californian, born in Los Angeles and raised in the Santa Barbara area, Dr. Hart is dedicated to the protection of our coast and ocean and ensuring maximum public access for all Californians and visitors to our state.
Zachary Knight
Zach Knight is a co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Forest Conservation. Zach leads the Blue Forest outreach program with foundations and the conservation finance community. Zach also leads Blue Forest work with the USDA Forest Service and the State of California. He started his career in finance at Merrill Lynchm where he specialized in structured finance. Zach also served as a high-yield and distressed corporate bond trader. He left Wall Street to pursue an M.B.A. at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, focusing on sustainability and environmental investing. Zach also holds a B.A. in economics from Cornell University.
Christine S. Lehnertz
Chris Lehnertz is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Her distinguished career at the U.S. National Park Service included service as Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, General Superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Deputy Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, and Director of the Pacific West Region. She successfully oversaw the final stage of removal of the Elwha River dam in Olympic National Park, addition of lands to Joshua Tree National Park, improved working conditions at Grand Canyon National Park, and stewardship of natural and cultural resources in the face of substantial increases in visitation. Chris previously served 17 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Denver and Washington D.C. She started her conservation career in the Rocky Mountains working seasonally for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. She received a degree in environmental biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Gary Machlis, Ph.D.
Dr. Gary Machlis is University Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University. His research focuses on coupled human/natural systems, the politics of science, and sustainability policy. Dr. Machlis is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as the first Science Advisor to the Director of the U.S. National Park Service, from 2009 to 2017.
Michael Mantell
Michael Mantell founded the Resources Legacy Fund to help design and administer land, water, and ocean resource conservation and climate change initiatives for philanthropists. He also funded the affiliated Fund for a Better Future to work on lobbying and political campaigns and created the independent Resources Law Group. MIchael currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Resources Legacy Fund. He previously served as Undersecretary for Resources for the State of California, General Counsel for the World Wildlife Fund, and a Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles. Michael currently serves a chair of the Governing Council of The Wilderness Society and sits on the boards of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Parks California.
University of California, San Francisco
Daphne Miller, M.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Miller is Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Joint Medical Program, and Director of the Growing Health Collaborative. Her work focuses on elucidating the causal links between natural systems and human health. She was previously a Fellow at the Berkeley Food Institute. Her books include Farmacology and The Jungle Effect.
Jason Morris
Jason is a senior program officer for Environmental Education at the Pisces Foundation, implementing strategies to advance environmental know-how nationally. His career in environmental education has taken him from the Navajo Reservation in Utah, to the San Francisco Bay, to national parks across the country, where he led the design and delivery of high-quality, research-based programs serving hundreds of thousands of young people. Jason was executive vice president at NatureBridge, which provides hands-on environmental education programs for children and teens. In that role, He oversaw all aspects of NatureBridge’s residential programs in six national parks across the country. He also co-founded ChangeScale, a collaborative of leading academics, funders, practitioners, and thought leaders working together to build and strengthen the field of environmental education. Jason is currently the chair of the board of Blue Sky Funders Forum, a national collaborative to learn, connect, and grow philanthropy that supports the many benefits of environmental literacy and stronger connections to nature. Jason holds an M.A. in nonprofit administration from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in anthropology from Fort Lewis College. Jason enjoys outdoor adventures with family and friends, fly-fishing, and live music.
Former Members
Paul Bardacke, 2023
David Graber, U.S. National Park Service, 2017-2022
Rue Mapp, Outdoor Afro, 2017-2022
Nina Roberts, San Francisco State University, 2017-2022
Message from Jonathan Jarvis
- Former Director of the U.S. National Park Service (2009-2017)
- First Executive Director of the Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity (2017-2019)
- Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity (2020-present)