Board of Directors

Sustainable Fairfax (SFx) has retained qualified and experienced Board members that develop and implement policy and programs for the organization. The Board strives to bring excellence and success to the organization.

Rebekah Collins (Co-Founder and President) – Ms. Collins has spent seven years on the Board of SFx and is a major visionary and benefactor to the organization. She is a long-time activist organizing around the issue of global warming and is the founder of Marin CAN (Clean Alternative Energy Now). Her background of growing up and working in an intentional community in Alaska with organic farming has provided her with a foundation in sustainable living. Ms. Collins lived overseas and worked on a diverse number of farms for several years in the Middle East and Europe. In Marin, she studied horticulture at the College of Marin and operated a non-toxic gardening business for over 10 years.

Bonnie Leonard (Vice President) – Ms. Leonard has been a Board member for over five years working on the early SFx projects and participating in the Community at Work Training. She is a strong force on the Board and wishes to expand sustainability principles to the community and beyond. Ms. Leonard brings a business background having worked as an office manager for internal medicine physicians and staff and as an office and production manager for jewelry artists and manufacturers. She is currently an independent consultant representing numerous jewelry artists and manufacturers. Ms. Leonard procured the organizations 501(c)3 determination and offers SFx her business and creative support.

Pam Hartwell-Herrero (Executive Director) – Ms. Hartwell-Herrero has spent two years as the SFx Board Executive Director. She has experience working with non-profit organizations and is an invaluable asset with a B.A. in Communications, an M.A. in Theological Studies. Ms. Hartwell-Herrero was President of the Marin Master Gardeners Board for several years and has worked organizing and inspiring volunteers at the Marin Rape Crisis Center as Volunteer Coordinator and the American Red Cross as the Director of Emergency Services. She is a certified Marin Master Gardener and owner of a landscaping business in San Anselmo, bringing a wealth of knowledge on sustainability and permaculture.

Don Hodge (Secretary) – Mr. Hodge has been a Board member for over a year. He has a B.A in Economics and a Masters of Computer Information Systems and works as an Environmental Protection Specialist with the Agriculture Program of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in San Francisco. His work at the EPA involves strategic planning, program management, and grants administration. Mr. Hodge has experience in several local sustainability-related efforts involving local pedestrian and bicycle planning, neighborhood livability, and local government awareness. He chaired a workgroup for Sustainable North Bay on indicators development, chaired the Quality of Life Commission for the Town of San Anselmo, and initiated and coordinated the Brookside Safe Routes to School group. His interests include deep ecology and group dynamics, consensus-building, and decision-making.

Nathan Johnson (Treasurer) – Mr. Johnson is a new Board member. He studied journalism and environmental science at UC Berkeley and received a master’s degree in each discipline. Before joining the Board of SFx he was an environmental reporter for NPR’s award winning environmental news program, Living on Earth and worked as a naturalist and volunteer with SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network). Prior to that, he worked in New York City for the Chase Manhattan Bank as an investment and financial analyst. Mr. Johnson has lived, on and off, in Marin County since 1968.

Kevin Bose (Training Chair) – Mr. Bose has been a Board member for over a year and has an M.A. in Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community from the New College of California. His thesis work involved evaluating the past and future of sustainable living in tribal cultures and ecovillages. Mr. Bose has a permaculture design certification from the Permaculture Institute of Northern California in Bolinas. He holds a deep and longtime personal interest in physical and spiritual alternatives to the present globalizing culture. Mr. Bose is from Vermont where he did volunteer work for the Peace and Justice Center and currently volunteers at the Novato Charter School garden and Commonweal Garden in Bolinas.

Melanie Grubman (Curriculum Co-Chair) – Ms. Grubman is a new Board member and brings ten years of teaching experience working with youth and community organizing to her current work as the Education Coordinator of the Marin Safe Routes to Schools program. She is responsible for the development of all classroom curriculums, teacher training, and guidelines and activities for middle and high school student program participants. She is an energetic and highly skilled organizer, with the unique ability to inspire children of all ages. Ms. Grubman was an intern at Aprovecho, a program in Oregon that teaches sustainable living skills and has studied models of local government and community empowerment in six countries around the world. She was the founder of the first annual Fairfax Human Powered Parade and many other colorful community events.

Dorinda Himes (Center Chair) - Ms. Himes has been a Board member for over a year and was a SFx volunteer on early projects. She has a B.S in Geology and graduate course work in Engineering Geology and Psychology. Her work as an environmental scientist for over 22 years focuses on environmental regulatory compliance, assessment and remediation, and litigation support for sites with soil and groundwater contamination. Additionally, she provides consulting services in risk management program development and green business certification support. Ms. Himes was a part-time science lecturer at the California State University at Los Angeles and worked in Zambia Africa for U.S. AID and the Zambian government evaluating environmental pollution of government facilities for privatization. Her community involvement includes being a former member of the Fairfax General Plan Advisory Committee and publicity chair for WildCare in San Rafael. Her early experience was in retail management, purchasing and sales.

Ellen Hopkins (Curriculum Co-Chair) - Ms. Hopkins has been a Board member for half a year. She has a B.S. in Biology and is a graduate of the New College of California’s Green MBA program. Her graduate work included projects on alternative energy resources, Community Choice Aggregation, sustainable living practices, and affordable co-housing in Northern California. Ms. Hopkins is currently a business consultant helping socially and ecologically responsible organizations with various aspects of their businesses. She co-created a business plan for the owners of a natural home products company, developed a financial outline for an educational organic farm with the Marin Agricultural and Education Alliance and supports the New College in researching and writing grants to finance a campus renovation. Ms. Hopkins is a certified Green Building Professional from Sonoma State University and has a permaculture design certification from the Permaculture Institute of Northern California. Her former career was in the biotechnology industry.

Stacie Wickham (Marketing Chair) - Ms. Wickham has been a Board member for over a year and is a graduate of the New College of California’s Green MBA program. She also has a permaculture design certification from the Permaculture Institute of Northern California. Ms. Wickham became interested in sustainability while working as a production manager for a small clothing company in San Francisco where she became concerned about the impact her work was having on the environment. Currently, she is the Director of Marketing and Operations for the Green MBA program at the New College of California continuing to develop this pioneering program. Ms. Wickham believes that business is the most effective tool for creating change in today’s rapidly changing world. In addition, she is working with a group of local sustainability consultants, educators and green businesses to develop an annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference for Northern California.