Meet the Board

Ben Lomeli - Board President

Present: US BLM Hydrologist (Retired) – Tucson Field Office; responsible for Soil, Water and Air program (all watershed, water rights, groundwater and riparian resource conservation/management tasks) in the BLM’s Gila District. Consulting Hydrologist, Certified Floodplain Manager, IBWC SEACF, SCC FCD Advisory Board, Friends of the Santa Cruz River – Board of Directors.

Past: Sustainability Teacher, Cochise College – Santa Cruz Campus.
Middle School Math and Science Teacher, Mexicayotl Academy
Water Resources Manager, Rick Engineering Company
Chief Hydrologist, Greg Carlson Engineering, L.L.C.
Senior Hydrologist, Collins/Piña => Tetra Tech Engineering
Tucson Area Hydrologist, San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area, US BLM
Water Resources Specialist Arizona Department of Water Resources
Hydrologist, Kaibab NF, USFS
President, Friends of the Santa Cruz River – (FOSCR)

B.S. Watershed Hydrology/Natural Resources Management – University of Arizona. Consulting Hydrologist and Natural Resources Scientist with 46 years working experience, both in government and in the private sector. Special Emphasis in Engineering, Water Rights, Riparian Ecosystems, Flood Control, Riverine Morphology, Grazing Systems, Erosion Control, Site and Water Development, Groundwater, and International Issues.

Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, (SCC). Volunteer in several community aspects. Volunteering for FOSCR since 1996 because he believes now is the time to address many quality-of-life issues for future generations in this area that is one of the last great places to be discovered. It deserves our attention to insure environmentally sound and economically viable development decisions that promote sustainable land use practices.

“In order to make positive changes on the ground, there must first be positive changes in people’s hearts. We must therefore concentrate on building partnerships wherever possible!”

Nohe Garcia - Board Vice President

How I Got Here:

Born and raised in Hermosillo, Sonora into an agriculturally oriented family.

Sales – At a very early age began selling family raised products into local markets as well as door to door.  Produce included watermelons, potatoes, corn, oranges, eggs, etc.

Management – Supervised large groups of farm laborers while growing up.

Ventured to America – Moved to Nogales, Arizona at age 14 to attend high school.

Produce Industry – Worked at local retail stores stocking, food court and produce departments.

Quality Control – Before graduating from high school, I experienced firsthand quality control produce processes for Mexican products being shipped throughout the US and Canada. This experience became a major influence in my career, business decisions and success.

UA – Graduated from the University of Arizona Department of Agriculture with a curriculum in Agri-Business.

Personal:

Family – Married with 4 charming children!

Social and Community Activities – Rotary, retreats for couples, church functions and Nogales community development!

Special Interests – Biking, hiking, travel, art, music, expanding my understanding and experiencing life fully!

Lah-May Bremer - Secretary

Besides serving as FOSCR Secretary, Lah-May publishes FOSCR’s periodic newsletter, the FLOW, and maintains our membership information.

She has been living next to the Santa Cruz River since 2008 as a member of the spiritual, intentional community, Global Community Communications Alliance, where organic gardening, water harvesting, alternative building techniques, and other sustainable practices are practiced daily. For eight years she was the editor and contributing writer for the Alternative Voice periodical, an activist periodical that addresses local, national, and worldwide issues from a spiritual perspective. She currently works in administration at the Soulistic Medical Institute.

Dr. Rodolfo Martinez Morales - Treasurer

Dr. Rodolfo Martinez Morales was born and raised in Mexico and came to the US for graduate studies at the University of Hawaii and postdoctoral research at Northern Arizona University. His career in agriculture development and extension started while working as Program Director for the Mexican Government, and various directorship positions for international organizations including the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) located in Niger, and the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos islands. His combined education on crop and soil science, and ecology has broadened research and extension to areas like plant and soil ecology, regenerative agriculture and sustainable landscapes. For example, in West Africa, he developed an integrated agro-ecological cropping system strategy to increase sustainable food production and climate change adaptation. Dr. Martinez is the Extension Director in Santa Cruz County and is currently developing a strategy to integrate regenerative agriculture with ecological restoration to enhance small-scale farming in the Sonoran Desert.

Skye Leone - Board Member

I moved to Tubac in 2019 after living in Santa Cruz, California for 43 years. I am a retired educator. Water is my enlightenment. I am a new board member of Friends of the Santa Cruz River (2023). Founding Board Member of The Calabasas Alliance/La Aliance Calabasas (2023) Founding Board Member of Friends Foundation International (1990) Experiencing, understanding, and being informed by watersheds is my lifelong passion. I, like so many, am completely enchanted by the Santa Cruz River and its cottonwood gallery riparian corridor. I have a strong affinity for the Upper Santa Cruz River Valley. Since 1980, when my mother moved to Tubac, I have walked along the Santa Cruz River at least once a year, every year. I now frequent the river many times each season and have discovered each time the experience is very different from the last. Protecting and improving the health of the Santa Cruz
River as well as educating others about the river – its value and challenges – are my goals. 

Past 

Director and Instructor, Sierra Institute, University of California. Part Time Faculty, Botany and Zoology, San Jose State University. California High School Science Teacher, Biology, Life and Marine Science. California New Teacher Project, Master Mentor in Science UCSC Recreation Department, Senior Recreation Supervisor.

Degrees
B.A. Environmental Planning, University of California Santa Cruz
M.A. Natural Science, San Jose State University
M.A. Education, University of California Santa Cruz

California Life Sciences Teaching Credentials 

Director and Instructor, Sierra Institute, University of California Santa Cruz.

Lecturer, Environmental Studies and Education Departments, UCSC.

 

Blue Evening Star, Member
Blue Evening Star - Board Member

Blue Evening Star relocated from Northern California to Northern Arizona in 1992, and then to Santa Cruz County in 2008. She is a community organizer and networker, folk musician, and writer — who appreciates the opportunity to serve on the board of FOSCR, working together to safeguard and improve the conditions of the river in her own backyard.

Her home, Avalon Organic Gardens and EcoVillage (established in 1991) is a successful experiment in creating a sustainable culture where children, the elderly, and rivers are honored. She loves Santa Cruz County because it is a place full of good neighbors who take care of the land and each other.
Since 2010, Blue Evening Star has coordinated FOSCR’s Celebrate The River Student Art Contest, where students throughout the region learn to understand, appreciate and love the Santa Cruz River.

Scott Vandervoet, President
Scott Vandervoet - Board Member

I have lived my entire life in the Santa Cruz River drainage and feel a strong connection to the land and the communities that share this space. I am very concerned about the environmental health of the river valley, especially the stretch north of the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant. I think that awareness of the importance of the river and the habitat that it provides is paramount to the betterment of the ecosystem. The communities of Ambos Nogales and Rio Rico are crucial to this betterment, due to their continued growth and dependence upon the groundwater of the river valley.

I hope to be able to work towards increased awareness of the ecological issues that affect the entire river valley—though with a priority on the river in Santa Cruz County, AZ and within Mexico.

Laurinda Oswald - Board Member

I have lived on the East side of the Santa Cruz River for most of my longish life, which means I have an intimate relationship with this part of the river.  From floods to droughts, I have seen it all.  We ranch on both irrigated pastures and floodplain using a rotation program which has rehabilitated and improved many acres of abused and abandoned land.

I serve on the Boards of the Sonoran Institute, the Montessori De Santa Cruz school in Tubac, and Maketai (a non-profit organization that helps the Achuar tribe in Equador).

One of the reasons i have joined the FOSCR Board is to learn more about, and help with, what is happening upstream, since it affects the “wet” crossing at Amado Rd which I use regularly.

Wendy Islas - Board Member

Wendy has served the public in government for thirty-six years. She has served and assisted on nonprofit boards and organizations, respectively, in which she contributed to website administration, events, and fundraising. She is also a photographer and has also collaborated with and volunteered her photography with various organizations, non-profits, chambers of commerce, tourism, and event photography, and donated her time for graduation photo shoots. She enjoys hiking, exploring, road trips, camping, backpacking, and photographing Arizona’s nature and landscapes.

As a 21-year resident of Santa Cruz County, Wendy is passionate about this bio-diverse region including the Santa Cruz River. She participates in river and trail clean-ups. Wendy’s passion is evident through her photography. Her work was recently included in the Decagon Gallery Environmental Challenges & Paradises Exhibition, July – September 2024; the 2023 Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area photo contest exhibit, and the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s 2023 photo contest. Wendy’s work was also in the Tubac Center of the Arts “Celebrate Santa Cruz Valley” Exhibit, September – November 2023, the Tumacacori National Historical Park’s 2018 and 2019 “Art In the Park” Exhibitions; Tohono Chul’s “Pollen Path” Exhibition in February 2019, Tohono Chul’s “Queen of the Night” Exhibition in June 2019 and June 2023, Tohono Chul’s Dia De Los Muertos Exhibition 2021, Tohono Chul’s Coloring Book Art, and art fundraisers for Tohono Chul in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Wendy also has photographs published in the Discover Southern Arizona Magazine from 2019-2024. Her photography has been included in Arizona Highway’s “Photo of the Day.”