Walter Moore, Former President, Advisor

Summary
- A thought leader in the field of land conservation
- An experienced spokesperson and is comfortable with live or taped interviews, video and photography
Areas of Expertise
- Land conservation
- Natural communities
- Wildlife linkages
- Conservation law
- Topical news stories relating to land conservation and state and national environmental policy
Bio
- Walter Moore is an expert in land conservation and law.
- President at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) 2011-2025.
- Volunteered with POST in 1993 before joining as general counsel in 1995.
- Has nearly doubled the number of protected acres and funds raised during his tenure.
- POST has protected nearly 90,000 acres of land.
- Decades of experience working with public, private and nonprofit stakeholders to plan land acquisition, management and transfer to public agencies.
- Adept at balancing the numerous social, economic and environmental aspects of land conservation and preservation, including opening land for public access whenever possible.
- Past board chair and current board member of the California Council of Land Trusts.
- Former board chair of the Bay Area Open Space Council (now known as TOGETHER Bay Area)
- Founding member of the Land Trust Alliance Land Trust Leadership Council in 2012
- Recognized by Bay Nature as a 2018 Conservation Action Local hero.
- J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a B.A. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Irina Kogan, Director of Landscape Conservation

Summary
- A leader in landscape conservation, specializing in floodplain restoration, wildlife linkages, forest health and regional impact projects
- An experienced spokesperson comfortable with live or taped interviews, video and photography
Areas of Expertise
- Landscape conservation
- Landscape restoration
- Forest and restoration project management
- Environmental planning
- Natural resource management
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Climate change
Bio
- Irina Kogan is an expert in landscape-scale conservation and restoration management.
- She has worked in environmental resource management for over 20 years.
- Her experience includes moving up the ranks at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in 2017 to become a director of landscape conservation.
- Previously, at POST, she was senior stewardship project manager and senior landscape conservation manager, managing a 9,000-acre redwood forest and planning landscape-scale restoration in Coyote Valley.
- Previously worked at San Mateo County Resource Conservation managing stewardship programs in climate and agriculture, river and floodplain restoration, and rural roads on working lands.
- She also served as a resource protection specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a professional geologist for 7 years in the private sector.
- Has a master’s degree in Marine and Coastal Geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s in Geological Sciences from Tufts University.
Peter Cowan, PhD, Director of Conservation Science

Summary
- An expert in the field of conservation science and ecological analysis
- An experienced spokesperson and is comfortable with live or taped interviews, video and photography
Areas of Expertise
- Conservation science
- Climate change
- Natural communities
- Ecological analysis
- Redwood ecosystems
- Environmental regulations
- Topical news stories relating to conservation science, state and national environmental policy and scientific research
Bio
- Dr. Peter Cowan is an expert in conservation science with experience in both public and private sectors.
- Experience includes being director of conservation science at Peninsula Open Space Trust, a conservation analyst at Save the Redwoods League and consulting for the Senate Office of Research and the Environmental Quality Committee of the California State Senate.
- Was a policy fellow at the California Council on Science and Technology where he worked with the California Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, and a STEM fellow at Adams Middle School where he collaborated with middle school science teachers to develop curriculum and lessons.
- Teaching experience as a graduate student instructor at UC Berkeley. At the same school he led classes on evolution, ecology and botany, plant ecophysiology and plant community ecology.
- Contributed to a number of research publications that have appeared in academic journals such as American Journal of Botany and International Journal of Wildland Fire.
- Has a PhD in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley, a Masters in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and a Bachelors in Biology from Kalamazoo College.
Marian Vernon, Program Manager, Wildlife Linkages

Summary
- Expert interdisciplinary conservation scientist and practitioner
- Knowledgeable spokesperson comfortable with live or taped interviews, video and photography
Areas of Expertise
- Wildlife conservation
- Ecosystem restoration
- Landscape-scale conservation
- Wildlife crossings and connectivity
- Natural resources policy and management
- Strategic conservation planning and research
- Program development and management
- Conservation science
- Topical news stories relating to human-wildlife conflicts and decision-making in wildlife management
Bio
- Expert in wildlife conservation, wildlife connectivity, and landscape conservation.
- Experience includes being wildlife linkages program manager at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).
- Previous experience includes acting as a strategic initiatives analyst at Sonoma Land Trust and working as a Sierra Meadow adaptation leader for Point Blue Conservation Science, where she worked on ecological restoration projects in the Sierra Nevada.
- Co-authored eight peer-reviewed scientific articles related to wildlife conservation and ecological restoration in addition to numerous other plans, studies, and reports
- Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Yale School of the Environment and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from DePaul University.
- Graduate thesis work focused on elk migrations, management, and policy in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem