Neil Havlik is the former Natural Resources Manager (now retired) for the City of San Luis Obispo, which position he held for seventeen years (1996-2012).  In that position he directed the creation of a public open space system for the citizens of San Luis Obispo which currently includes a dozen properties open to hiking and biking, plus a large number of conservation easements on farmlands and range-lands in the area.  A graduate of Cal Poly, Neil earned his doctorate at UC Berkeley in 1984 while working for the East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland.  He later served as executive director of the nonprofit Solan Land Trust in Fairfield, California, before returning to San Luis Obispo in 1996.  He served on the Monument Advisory Committee for Carrizo Plain National Monument for ten years and is currently the President of the Carrizo Plain Conservancy.  He also continues to serve on the boards of several other local organizations and remains active in conservation matters.