Ross Clark, CCWG Founder

Kevin O'Connor, Program Director

Kevin O’Connor is an ecologist specializing in wetland restoration, monitoring and assessment, and is the Program Director for CCWG.  He received his Bachelors degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz in 2004 and his Masters degree in Biology from San Diego State University in 2007 where he investigated the effects of kelp forest disturbance on kelp associated fishes on Santa Catalina Island. Kevin joined CCWG in December 2007 and is currently involved with wetland and upland restoration in the Moro Cojo Slough, the development and implementation of a estuary MPA monitoring program, and participation with the California Wetlands Monitoring Workgroup.

Committee Participation:

• NGO Co-Chair of the California Wetlands Monitoring Workgroup
• Chair of the Science and Data Committee for the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership
• Member of the Waters Committee for the West Marin Environmental Action Committee

Sarah Stoner-Duncan, Coastal Resilience Project Manager

Sarah Stoner-Duncan is an environmental scientist with a background in wetland ecology and restoration, conservation biology, and environmental education. She has been working at CCWG since 2011 and in her current role is a Project Manager for several upland and wetland restoration projects. She also participates in monitoring and assessment activities, and provides GIS, graphic design, and grant writing support to the CCWG team. Previously, she spent several years working in the San Francisco Bay as part of a project studying the effects of mercury contamination on waterbirds.  She has also worked on conservation projects in Mauritius and Guatemala. Sarah received her BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz in 2004 and her MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England in 2010, where she studied Conservation Biology and Environmental Education and how these two disciplines can intersect to meet the goals of each. Besides wetland ecology, Sarah is interested in community based conservation, curriculum development, and graphic design. She enjoys living by the ocean, visiting the mountains, and spending time with family and friends.

Jenny Balmagia, Watershed Coordinator

Jenny is a water resources scientist with a background in ecology, wetland restoration and assessment, and water quality monitoring. She received her Bachelor's degree in Biology in 2014 from Reed College in Portland, Oregon and her Master's degree in Environmental Science and Management, specializing in water resources management, from the Bren School of Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara in 2020. For her Master's project, she helped design a decision support tool to aid groundwater managers in California's Central Valley in identifying the most suitable sites for managed aquifer recharge projects that have the potential to provide additional benefits to communities and ecosystems. Jenny began working for CCWG in 2015 as a Watershed Stewards Program member assessing watershed health using CRAM and RipRAM, and continued working as a research assistant constructing and studying treatment wetlands and woodchip bioreactors. After leaving to earn her Master's degree she rejoined CCWG in 2021 as the Lower Salinas Valley Watershed Coordinator. In her current role she is responsible for coordinating the implementation of multiple benefit watershed projects through facilitating interagency coordination and partnership development with regional stakeholders including surface and groundwater managers, agricultural entities, and community-based groups. Jenny has also been rock climbing for over 15 years, and when not trying to create healthier watersheds, she can often be found on the side of a rock in the mountains or desert.

Brooke is a data analyst with a background in marine ecology and water quality monitoring. She received her Bachelor's degree in Marine Science in 2018 and her Master's degree in Environmental Science in 2022, both from CSU Monterey Bay. As a graduate student, she worked on multiple projects including monitoring water quality in the Central Coast Region, modeling fish populations in estuaries, and analyzing changes in kelp forest biomass along the California Coast over time. Brooke is also an avid SCUBA diver and does research diving for various projects and leads dive tours in Monterey Bay.

email: brooke.fulkerson@sjsu.edu

After completing a Bachelor's of Science in Marine Biology and a Master's of Science in Marine Science, I made my way to benthic infauna of California via some stops in seagrasses of North Carolina and Florida and tidal creek communities of South Carolina. I'm interested in disturbance ecology, from erosion and habitat loss in benthic infaunal communities to iceberg scour in Antarctic sponge ecosystems. I also work in restoration, where my tasks range from research and permit writing to planting and monitoring coastal wetland and terrestrial flora. When I'm not analyzing data I can often be found knitting or weaving with naturally dyed fibers.

• Charlie Endris
• Aubrie Heckel
• Cara Clark
• Hannah Travers
• Jason Adelaars
• Jessica Williamson
• Kim Null
• Sierra Ryan
• Walter Heady
• Kellie Ray

• Sean O'Connell and Marwah Dawoody (2023-2024)
• Athena Lynch and Elizabeth Allen (2022-2023)
• Jay Ryan and Ashley Baillie (2021-2022)
• Maya Vavra and Alex Johanson (2019-2020)
• Sara Galindo and Maddy Luthard (2018-2019)
• Rachel Stump and Emily Cain (2017-2018)
• Blair Libby and Madeline Chavira (2016-2017)
• Jenny Balmagia and Kyle Monper (2015-2016)