Biographies for Green Ribbon Panel Chairpersons

These are the people to contact should you have a question or input on a particular topic:

These are the people to contact should you have a question or input on a particular topic:

ENERGY – Laurel Faulkner – laurel@sanclementegreen.org
Currently Laurel is a Project Manager at The Energy Coalition where she oversees the implementation of an energy efficiency program called the Community Energy Partnership to six diverse cities in Southern California. By working with city employees, utilities, and various community leaders, Laurel has been able to successfully realize hard energy savings through energy efficiency for community residents.


WASTE REDUCTION ? Mike Giancola (Chair)- mike@sanclementegreen.org, Niki Wilson (Co-Chair)- niki@sanclementegreen.org

Mike Giancola is a Deputy Director at the County’s Integrated Waste Management Department.? One of the landfills he manages is the Prima Deshecha Landfill situated in San Juan, San Clemente and County unincorporated area.

Niki Wilson serves as the Biological Resources Monitor for south Orange County?s Prima Deshecha Landfill.? She previously lived in Santa Barbara, where she was completing a Master?s degree in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara, and working part-time for the City of Santa Barbara as well as the Ventura County Planning Division.? She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and has previously worked both in biological consulting and for non-profit environmental organizations.? Having always loved science, she has an academic and professional focus on water quality, watershed planning, and riparian habitat conservation.? At the landfill, Niki has applied these skills to re-vegetation projects and other natural resources issues, including land-use planning, geology, and storm water control.?

URBAN DESIGN / GREEN BUILDING – Carrie Rybczynski – Landscape Architect – carrie@sanclementegreen.org
Born and raised in Ohio, she graduated from The Ohio State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture. Upon graduation she moved to Southern California and began work at a private practice firm in San Juan Capistrano. After gaining experience in professional practice, she became a licensed Landscape Architect in 2001.? One of the tenants of landscape architectural practice is to act as a ?Steward of the Land? – something she continually strives to uphold. She has always been interested in the social and economic dynamics related to the environment and have continually tried to educate herself in her professional and personal life. In 2007 I became a LEED Accredited Professional to further her awareness of the relationship between the built and natural environment.

URBAN NATURE / LAND USE ? Patricia Holloway – pat@sanclementegreen.org

I have a B.S. in Environmental Planning from UC Davis and an M.C.P. (Master of City Planning) from UC Berkeley. In between Davis and Berkeley I studied marine botany at Stanford?s Hopkins Marine Station on Monterey Bay and crewed on a three-masted schooner from Ensenada to Honolulu. I?ve worked for the Department of Parks & Recreation at San Onofre State Beach, the Bureau of Land Management at Mono Lake, and briefly for the California Coastal Commission in San Francisco. As a city planner I worked in San Diego before moving to Orange County where I served the communities of Lake Forest, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. I later pursued a teaching credential at UC Irvine and was a substitute teacher in the Capistrano Unified School District. In recent years I?ve been a freelance grantwriter and fundraiser for many wonderful nonprofit organizations in Orange County. Finally, in my volunteer life, I?ve been a PTA president and board member for United Way, the County?s Developmental Disabilities Board, the Donna O?Neill Land Conservancy, and now San Clemente Green. I love bicycling, gardening, walking on the beach trail with my husband, and being a soccer mom.

TRANSPORTATION ? Bob Joseph (Chair) – bob@sanclementegreen.org, Pete Van Nuys (Co-Chair) – pete@sanclementegreen.org

Bob Joseph – Grad from Cal Poly Landscape Arch, degree in Environmental Design Certificates in Urban Planning and Transportation Planning. Practiced L A and Planning in Orange County. Worked 16 years for California Coastal commission – managed Orange and LA regions Retired after 17 years managing Caltrans Advance Planning Div in Orange county Chair of citizens group to conserve Marblehead Canyons and resources Member of San Clemente Beach Ad Hoc Committee Member of city’s citizens group for Trolley Program.

Pete Van Nuys ? Marketing Communications professional with extensive experience in active sports and outdoor recreation markets. Graduate of UCI, German Literature and Language/ Art History. Executive Dir. American Youth Hostels. Tour organizer and leader of bicycle tours in Europe and N. America. Founder of Wandervogel Bicycle Touring Association. Marketing Director for Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, former Editor of National Bicycle Dealers Association Outspokin’. League of American Bicyclists, Certified Instructor.

WATER CONSERVATION ? Bill Hart – bill@sanclementegreen.org

Bill Hart serves on the City of San Clemente Coastal Advisory Committee and is President of the Watershed Task Force.? He was involved in San Clemente?s growth management initiative in the 1980?s.? He became a environmental activist in the late 90?s starting with DeRail the Trail and the City?s subsequent focus on coastal management issues.? In non-volunteer hours he is a sales director in the software industry.? He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Economics and Political Science.

EDUCATION/AWARENESS ? Grace Van Thillo (Chair) grace@sanclementegreen.org, Lisa Kerr (Co-chair) – lisa@sanclementegreen.org

Grace Van Thillo – I was awarded CUSD?s Elementary Teacher of the Year, 1985; Environmental Education Volunteer Award, Washington, D.C., 1987; Mentor Teacher and California Environmental Education Grants, 1988-92. I wrote an educational activity guide for the USDA Forest Service 1985-1987, and provided environmental education workshops at Casper’s Regional Park, 1985-1993. I?ve been a free-lance writer/ educational consultant and grant writer, and currently am a development consultant for Media Arts Center San Diego ?Teen Producers? Projects.

Lisa Kerr – received a B.S. in Environmental and Systematic Biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a M.S. in Educational Leadership from Cal State Fullerton.? She has been involved with environmental education for 35 years and currently teaches AP/IB Environmental Science and Biology at San Clemente High School.? Lisa was instrumental in developing the school?s recycling program in 2006 and the water quality testing program in 2000.? Each program is run by students.? The school currently recycles 33% of its waste and was awarded the Blue Water Task Force Environmental award in 2007.?

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