Board of Directors
Michael Jencks
Board Chair
Michael is a 5th generation Californian raised in a family with a strong tradition of public service. He is a teacher, lawyer, hiker, Bioneer, lover of all that remains wild, and a co-founder of two local non-profits, Ecologistics and BiodiversityFirst!
Stacey Hunt
Chief Executive Officer
Stacey spent her early years camping all over California and Oregon and playing at her family’s beach house at Monterey Bay. She raised her children to appreciate wild nature and now enjoys life in beautiful Los Osos. Since co-founding Ecologistics in 2010, Stacey has dedicated much of her free time to bringing environmental enlightenment to others.
Deborah Bayles
Board Member
Deborah joined the Board of Ecologistics® in 2020. She brings her extensive background in e-commerce, education and business to her role as a Board Member. As a psychotherapist, she is passionate about the positive interaction of nature and psychology on the well-being of people. A former member of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, she owned and cultivated an organic avocado orchard with over 300 trees in Fallbrook, California for a number of years, and was a docent of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve. She enjoys hiking, drawing, and spending time with her Golden Retriever and two parrots.
Dawn Carpenter
Board Member
Dawn Carpenter is Canadian born, lived in Southern California then in Toronto, Canada where she graduated from York University and now lives here in the Central Coast. Dawn has always enjoyed the outdoors beginning with camping trips in the Canadian Rockies and lakes with her family. She loves and respects the earth around her having seen such wonderful places as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, mountain areas in Colombia, South America. Dawn volunteered helping with the Ecologistics’ conferences in the early years and have attended the conferences since then and now has become the latest member on its Board of Directors.
Serena Chelberg
Board Member
Serena joined the Board of Ecologistics® in 2020. She is the granddaughter of Ecologistics co-founder Celia Zaentz, and attended several Central Coast Bioneers Conferences, which put into full bloom her growing interest in environmental issues. Serena lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, Brian and their three dogs. She hopes one day to start a 3-D ocean farming project.
Kellie Conn
Board Member
Kellie is a long-time human resource professional currently heading her own coaching and culture consulting business. She is passionate about stewardship of the planet, the arts, and each other. Kellie has supported the nonprofit community as a board member, volunteer, and/or consultant for organizations including Rotary, CASA, The MAK Center for Art & Architecture Los Angeles, Coastal Performing Arts Foundation, SLO Film Festival, Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Pencil Foundation, Hands on Nashville, Belcourt Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Frist Art Museum, Middle Tennessee Society for HR Management, Tennessee Society for HR Management, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Amy McDonald
Board Member
Amy is a lifelong animal and nature lover who grew up in the Pacific Northwest and moved to the Central Coast in 2013. She graduated from Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and is currently attending Monterey College of Law. She is interested in environmental issues and plans to practice environmental law after graduating from law school. In her free time, Amy enjoys hiking, kayaking, rock climbing and spending time with animals.
Dr. Erin P. J. Pearse
Board Member
Erin is Professor of Mathematics and Director & co-founder of the Initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience at Cal Poly (ICLR). Erin grew up in northern British Columbia and originally got involved with environmental causes as a climate activist. These days, he works with SLO Climate Coalition and other local nonprofits and government agencies to find ways that Cal Poly’s students and faculty expertise can be leveraged to accomplish local climate actions.