Board of Directors
President
Earle Cummings
Vice President
Walt Ryan
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Directors
Ron Rolleri
Dennis Murphy
Steve Thomas
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Associate Directors
Richard Mounts
Matt Greene
Julie Collins
Raymond Krauss
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Directors
Earle Cummings, Board President, resident of Sonoma County since 1965 lives in Geyserville, California. He is currently retired but has worked in agricultural chemistry manufacturing and a variety of natural resources jobs for State of California agencies. Earle joined the Board of Directors in 2001 and has been Board President since June 2009.
Walt Ryan, Vice President grew up in Sonoma County in both the Bodega and Santa Rosa areas, and graduated from Santa Rosa High School. After earning a degree in Mechanical Agriculture from Cal Poly, Walt assisted his family working part-time on the family ranch in Bodega while working in the field of public works. He left the public sector in 2002 to manage full-time the ranch where his family has been raising livestock for five generations. Walt serves on the Board of Directors of the Farm Bureau, and has been on the Sotoyome RCD Board of Directors since 2005.
Ron Rolleri, resident of Sonoma County since 1971, owns land in the Russian and Gualala River watersheds. He currently resides in Sebastopol. He is a former landscape contractor specializing in irrigation and former vineyard manager in Alexander Valley. After service as Associate Director Ron became a Director in September 1998. He was Board President from 2000 until stepping down in June of 2009.
Dennis Murphy, a former partner in Murphy-Goode Winery and a partner in Murphy Ranches, has been a grape grower in the Alexander Valley since 1967, moving to Sonoma County full-time in 1973. He is a resident of Healdsburg. He served as the Vice President of the Board from 2000 - 2009. Dennis also serves on the Sonoma County Planning Commission.
Steve Thomas resides in Healdsburg and has worked in the vineyard industry since 1981 and now works at Kunde Estate Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma County. He is a California Certified Pest Control Advisor and is interested in vine health as well as sustainable agriculture. Steve serves as an Alternate on the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, and has been a Board member since since 2008.
Associate Directors
Richard Mounts was born and raised in Dry Creek Valley, where his family has been growing grapes since 1950 and where he still resides. In 1969, Rich became a full-time vineyard operator on his family's ranch. A second generation Sotoyome RCD Board Member, Rich has served on the Board of Directors since 1986 and was Board President from 1988 - 1992. Richard also serves on the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.
Matt Greene moved to Plantation in western Sonoma County in 2003, and is our newest Associate Director as of October 2008. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 with a degree in Forestry & Wildlife Management and began working for Edward A Tunheim Consulting Forester, a company that helps landowners promote healthy vigorous forests through long term sustainable management. Matt has been a Registered Professional Forester since 2003 and has written numerous harvest plans and other forest management documents as well as conducted wildlife surveys for state and federal listed species.
Julie Collins grew up in Sonoma County, graduating from Santa
Rosa High School and Santa Rosa Junior College. She earned a degree in
Civil Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, which lead to a
career in the agriculture industry with a focus on vineyard development
and regulatory requirements. Julie has also served as a Steering
Committee Member on the Sonoma County Business Environmental Alliance
from 2006 to 2009 and is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for
Ecology and the Environment. She also currently serves on the Natural
Resource Committee at Sonoma County Farm Bureau.
Raymond Krauss
lives in the upper Mark West watershed where he and his wife have raised organic fruit since 1973. Ray is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan with a degree in Biology. He is a retired environmental planner and resource management specialist.
For information about Board meetings, see the
Events page.
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