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.

Marilyn Goldhaber, Vice President of the Board, is a native of Oakland and a graduate from UC Berkeley with degrees in mathematics and biostatistics. Before joining the Claremont Canyon Conservancy board she worked in epidemiology at Kaiser Permanente and in two State Health Departments. After the 1991 Oakland Fire, she and 11 other members of the community formed a task group to educate themselves in fire ecology and learn how to live in an wildland-urban interface. The group incorporated as a nonprofit in 2001 and the Claremont Canyon Conservancy was born. Ms. Goldhaber was website manager and newsletter editor for many years and is training others to take over these duties soon.

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.

Nancy Mueller, Secretary of the Board, is a native Californian and has lived in East Bay since coming to study at UC in 1967. After graduating in humanities, she taught sixth grade for a while, then went on to become one of the area's leading realtors. A resident of Alvarado Road since the late 1970s, Nancy was always curious about the overgrown park, we now fondly know as John Garber Park, and thought it would be a wonderful place for her two young boys to play—if only it was more safe and accessible.

Fast forward to the 1991 great fire. Nancy’s husband Robert fought along side firemen saving their house at the very edge of the burn zone. After the fire, Nancy had a further desire to see Garber Park developed and the whole canyon made more fire safe. In conversation with other neighbors, the concept of a Claremont Canyon Conservancy was hatched and Nancy became one of the 12 founding board members. Nancy’s concern about reducing critical fuel loads and her years negotiating real estate transactions encouraged her to rejoin the board in 2016 to work for the safety of all.

Josh Borkowsk is a GIS specialist with former training trail building and landscape management. Josh lives in Oakland and can be found often on the trails in Claremont Canyon as an avid hiker and weekend volunteer.

Elizabeth Stage is a science educator who’s lived in Claremont Canyon for over forty years. She retired from the University of California, Berkeley in 2016 as Director Emerita of the Lawrence Hall of Science. Her past work includes leading professional learning and assessment programs for teachers, researching and evaluating programs for equity in math and science, and teaching students from middle school to graduate school. Having worked at the state, national, and international levels, she is delighted to work locally on the boards of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy as well as the North Hills Community Association, where she is Vice Chair of the Association and heads its public safety committee as liaison with police beat 13Y.

Jerry Kent, formerly with the East Bay Regional Park District, began his career as a park workman in 1962 and retired 41 years later as the Assistant General Manager of Operations. During most of his tenure he oversaw fire related vegetation management programs District-wide. He had a front-row-seat during the expansion of the Park District from six parks that totaled 6,000 acres in 1962 to 65 parks and over 100,000 acres today. He was the Park District's representative while developing the East Bay Hills Vegetation Management Consortium Fire Hazard Mitigation Program and Plan following the 1991 Tunnel Fire. Jerry retired from the Park District in 2003, but continues to devote his time toward fire safety in the East Bay Hills.

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.