The Banning Ranch Conservancy, a Sec. 501(c)3 non-profit conservancy, is dedicated to funding the effort to acquire, restore and maintain the entire Banning Ranch.
We are a group of people that want to protect the last bit of available open space left in the Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Huntington Beach areas.
BANNING RANCH CONSERVANCY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Terry Welsh
President
Dr. Terry Welsh is a community physician and dedicated coastal open space activist. After working with the Bolsa Chica effort, he founded the Sierra Club Banning Ranch Park and Preserve Task Force and has served as its chairperson since 1999. He has served as president of the Banning Ranch Conservancy since its creation in 2008.
Jim Mansfield
Vice President
Jim Mansfield is a retired executive from a computer company and has been a resident of Costa Mesa 1978. He was a former board member of the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation and currently is a member of the Mesa Verde UMC and has held many leadership positions within the church.
Steve Ray
Executive Director
Debby Koken
Secretary
Debby Koken has been involved in efforts to preserve Banning Ranch for the last 2 years.
Jennifer W. Frutig
Treasurer
Dr. Jennifer W. Frutig has a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and is also the assistant treasurer of Greenlight. She moved to Beacon Bay in 1977 from Washington, D.C. and grew up in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. She has taught courses in the California State University system, worked as a research analyst for the County of Orange, and is presently working for a nonprofit organization that advocates for disability rights. She had worked with Jean Watt and Jan Vandersloot on several initiative campaigns in Newport Beach and has represented the Orange Coast River Park, Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks, and SPON at the Orange County Fair for several years.
Other Board Members
Patricia Barnes
Patricia Barnes is a professional musician who is passionately committed to the Sierra Club‘s mission to "explore, enjoy, and protect" the planet. She is presently serving as the Club's Orange County Group Executive Committee Chairperson. She is also active in the Angeles Chapter as an Outings/Hike Leader, and since 2004 has led hikes for the Club's Urban Conservation Series which highlight Banning Ranch and the need to preserve the endangered ecosystem existing at the confluence of the Santa Ana River and the ocean. She also speaks regularly at various functions throughout the county about issues pertinent to good stewardship of our precious and limited natural resources.
Kevin Nelson
Kevin Nelson is a local software business owner and has lived in the area since 1955. He has been involved in efforts to preserve Banning Ranch for the last two years.
Mark Tabbert
Mark Tabbert is a trained docent with the county of Orange and has volunteered at two different parks. He has been an environmentalist for the past 10 years. He currently serves on the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment (OCICE) Planning Committee. He has served both on their Board and as Treasurer. He also started a group that worked with a national non-profit group, Reclaim Democracy. Mark first attended a Banning Ranch Conservancy meeting in 2002. He currently works with M&A with small and medium sized California businesses and has been a business owner for the past 11 years.
Become a Volunteer
If you are an individual or an organization and wish to support Banning Ranch Conservancy, please join us today!
