Claremont Canyon Conservancy

Jon Kaufman, President of the board, was executive vice president and a partner at Solem & Associates, a San Francisco-based public relations before retiring in 2015. Jon's work involved working with public officials and advising clients on public policy issues, including public utilities and transportation, land use, and energy, throughout the Bay Area. His interest in wildlife conservation and the environment date from his childhood growing up in Cleveland, Ohio where his father was a city planner and worked to save local parkland. Jon oversees the stewardship program for the Conservancy and is a leader in the effort to form a Joint Powers Agency for wildfire prevention and vegetation management in the East Bay.

Rick Marcus serves as Treasurer of the Conservancy, in addition to being a board member. He has been living in the Claremont since 1990, but his roots in Berkeley go back a good deal farther. His father entered the university as a freshman in 1924, and his mother graduated in 1939 (and had a crush while an undergrad on a classmate -- Eldred G. Peck, who went off to Hollywood and made quite a name for himself using his middle name Gregory). Rick's brother and daughter both graduated from Berkeley High, and both have UC Berkeley degrees, as does Rick and as did his late wife Andrea Saltzman. Rick spent the 1970s as a litigating lawyer in San Francisco. Rick's job now is training future litigators at UC Hastings in San Francisco, but roaming the trails and roads in the hills is his hobby, particularly since the onset of the pandemic. He was delighted to return to Berkeley in 1989 after spending the 1980s in Illinois, where the difference in elevation between the lowest and highest point in the entire state is about half the difference in elevation between the lowest and highest points (sea level and Vollmer Peak) in the city of Berkeley. He had not previously appreciated how important hills are.

John Brochu has been active in the field of land conservation and stewardship since 2020, after transitioning from a 15-year career in engineering and construction. Over the last few years, John has volunteered for a number of Bay Area land management agencies, including the Claremont Canyon Conservancy where he is stewardship co-chair along with Josh Borkowski. Previously, John served two terms as an open space technician for the Midpeninsula Open Space District in the Santa Cruz Mountains. His role there was to ensure that the District's vast, diverse park system remained safe and accessible to the public, while fostering healthy, natural ecosystems. His work included vegetation management, trail maintenance and construction, erosion control, visitor engagement, and equipment operation. John has lived in several regions of the US, but grew up in Maine with Acadia National Park in his backyard so has a special love for parks and open spaces. He currently juggles work with graduate studies at Oregon State University, where he is pursuing a degree in Natural Resources.

Greg Call has been hiking and living in the Oakland/Berkeley hills since coming to UC Berkeley in 1981 to attend graduate school. After graduating in 1985 with a law degree and a graduate economics degree, Greg was a commercial trial lawyer for 39 years and successfully represented a diverse range of clients including UC, cities and other government entities, corporations large and small, partnerships and individuals. Greg has served on boards for law firms, non-profits and alumni organizations as well as advising boards in various disputes. Greg and his wife Carolyn enjoy going on hiking adventures near and far. Claremont Canyon is an out the front door resource they, like many others, enjoy and are excited to help protect through participation in the Claremont Canyon Conservancy.