Ruskin Hartley is the Executive Director and Secretary of Save-the-Redwoods League, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting ancient redwood forests for people—as a living link to the past and as a place to find inspiration now and always. Hartley was appointed as Save-the-Redwood League’s Executive Director and Secretary of the Board of Directors in December 2006. He is the sixth leader in the organization’s 90-year history.

Since 1918, Save-the-Redwoods League has assisted in the purchase of more than 180,000 acres of redwood-related land in California. The support of individual members, public service organizations, private foundations, and the State of California has enabled the League to help build and protect 53 redwood parks and reserves.

Hartley’s tenure with Save-the-Redwoods League began in 1997. In his previous role as director of conservation and education, he developed the plan for the League’s current and future conservation efforts—the Master Plan for the Redwoods. This plan provides Save-the-Redwoods League with a science-based conservation agenda for all coast redwood ecosystems and guides the League in prioritizing protection of the remaining 5% of the world’s greatest forest for people to enjoy.

He also played a key role in the largest single land acquisition in Save-the-Redwoods League history—the 25,000-acre Mill Creek Redwoods. This landmark project created complete watershed protection for the spectacular ancient redwood groves of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Hartley leads the League’s restoration work at Mill Creek, a model for forest restoration, using practices on the cutting edge of forest science to help damaged areas of the forest to recover and develop old-growth characteristics. He was also an integral part of the acquisition that doubled Montgomery Woods State Reserve as well as the purchase and transfer of Dillonwood Grove to Sequoia National Park.

Additionally, Hartley established the educational framework Save-the-Redwoods League uses to encourage people of diverse ages and backgrounds to personally experience the redwoods and support their protection. He has sought to broaden support for redwood conservation and has created successful partnerships with diverse constituencies including government agencies, conservation organizations and the scientific community.

In September 2006, he was part of a team of six scientists, three Save-the-Redwoods League staffers and three National Geographic photographers on the expedition to measure and document the discovery of Hyperion, the world’s tallest living thing.

Before joining Save-the-Redwoods League, Hartley worked as an environmental planner in the United Kingdom, Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman. He studied geography at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and earned his master’s degree in rural development planning from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. Hartley currently serves as the Chair of the Mill Creek Advisory Committee. He sits on the advisory councils of the Mendocino Land Trust and the Smith River Alliance, the steering committee for the Bay Area Open Space Council and is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Society for Ecological Restoration.

Hartley is dedicated to being an international steward for the redwoods and protecting this giant global icon for all generations. Born in Liverpool, England, he grew up in Ireland and southeast Britain and was first introduced to “Sequoia wellingtonia” (the California giant redwood) in an arboretum in England. He lives with his wife, Ashley, in Albany, Calif. They share a love of exploring the outdoors and can often be found hiking new trails in redwood forests.

Christine joined the League in 2005 as the Land Steward. She moved to northern California from the east coast in 1984 to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resource planning and a Master of Science degree in environmental systems at Humboldt State University. Christine later worked as a planner for the Humboldt County Planning Department on coastal and natural resource planning. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Jacoby Creek Land Trust. She developed technical skills in natural resource planning, mapping, environmental review, land use, and permitting that are directly applicable to the challenges facing the League’s stewardship efforts. Most recently, Christine worked on promoting sound management practices for ecologically significant areas on public lands in California with several different conservation groups. In 1999 Christine married Anthony under a large old tree in Patrick’s Point State Park, and they have been sharing redwood adventures ever since. Whenever possible they are out looking for and enjoying the redwoods, both on the ground and in the canopy.

Rolando joined the League in 2004 as the Chief Financial Officer. He was born in the Congo, lived in Brazil, South Africa and in New York, before finally making his home in San Francisco in 1990. He was a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and became a Chartered Accountant in South Africa, as well as a CPA in the U.S.A. He has always been passionate about the preservation of the environment, and he finally decided to make the move to marry that passion with his professional vocation in joining the League. He says, “I am so gratified to be able to make my contribution towards the attainment of the League’s mission to save the redwoods. I am humbled when I reflect on these glorious trees and contrast the length of their existence with human history.”

In his capacity as Land Acquisition Program Director, Peter Colby is responsible for negotiating and implementing all land transactions for the League, as well as procuring government funding. Mr. Colby has over 20 years of experience practicing law in San Francisco and in Washington, DC, including a stint with the United States Department of Justice and private practice in the areas of real estate, environmental law, and litigation. Mr. Colby is also a member of the Board of Directors and an active volunteer with the Muir Heritage Land Trust, which is dedicated to preserving open space in Contra Costa County, California. Mr. Colby received a BA in economics from the University of Virginia, and his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley.

Catherine Elliott joined the League in the spring of 2007. She brings five years of land conservation experience at The Trust for Public Land, where she protected land on the Santa Cruz Coast. Before working at TPL, Catherine worked for 12 years in Washington state government, including representing the governor on the federal northern spotted owl recovery team, directing the state’s forest regulatory program, and implementing innovative forest riparian protection legislation. In her first career, Catherine directed a statewide non-profit agency that advocated on behalf of battered women and their families. She graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a B.A. in English.

Prior to joining Save-the-Redwoods League in 2007, Megan worked with a variety of non-profit organizations, including Meals on Wheels and Oxfam America. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from San Francisco State University, with an emphasis in Global/Environmental Problems and a particular interest in the influence of non-governmental organizations. While growing up in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Megan spent a lot of time hiking, biking and camping in the redwood parks north of Santa Cruz and in the Big Sur area. While not at work, she enjoys traveling and experiencing other cultures, any outdoor activity, especially golfing, snowboarding, tennis and camping, promoting fair trade, laughing and spending time with friends and family.

Corrina developed a deep connection with nature as a young child. She grew up in Oregon and spent much of her childhood in the wilderness there. This inspired a very deep desire to be a part of the preservation of our natural environment. Being given the opportunity to come to the League and contribute her professional skills to the League’s mission of protecting and preserving the ancient redwood forests was the fulfillment of a dream for her. She joined the League in August of 2007 and brings a wide variety of experience, including seven years in banking and five years spent managing the office of a private investigative firm. Corrina and her husband Morgan like to get out into wild places as much as possible on their time off. She also enjoys a variety of creative pursuits, has a passion for books and cats, and loves to spend time with her daughter, Lillie.

Velma joined Save-the-Redwoods in spring of 2006. After four years on the Peninsula with the Committee for Green Foothills, a grassroots open space advocacy group, she took some time off to travel and to be with her family in Missouri. Back in San Francisco, she’s happy to settle down with Save-the-Redwoods League, whose mission has always been close to her heart. When not working, she enjoys quilting, photography, dancing, cooking and playing with her kitten, Orson.

Susan first experienced the redwoods on a Girl Scout camping trip to Sequoia National Park when she was 13 years old, inspiring in her a love of nature and a strong desire to protect it. This and other similar experiences evolved into a career in environmental education. After earning a B.A. in Geology from Whittier College and an M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia, she taught science and computer technology for 10 years in public and private schools in Virginia, Nevada, and California. She dedicated many teaching hours to helping her students understand and care for our natural environment.

Her focus at Save-the-Redwoods League is to foster in people of all ages a desire to learn about and protect the redwood forest. She still loves to do almost anything in the outdoors, especially hiking, kayaking, and rafting.

Shortly after moving to California as a teenager, Laura visited the redwoods for the first time at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. She says, "I couldn't believe how beautiful they were!" Laura attended UC Davis, studying biogeography, GIS, and plant ecology as a graduate student as well as economics and foreign languages as an undergraduate. Her Ph.D. dissertation investigates the soils, plant species, and environmental factors associated with island oak in Channel Islands National Park, and is intended to help park restoration staff understand the oak's habitat, historic distribution, and geographic potential. When not working on her research, she enjoys hiking, running, photography, and visiting art museums.

Dan Porter has served as an environmental educator, researcher and project manager in the redwoods for more than ten years. After finishing his Bachelor’s degree in Biology at UC Davis, he completed an intensive teacher training / non-profit administrative program at the Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Inspired to share his passion for the forest, Dan returned to California to work for the Yosemite Institute and subsequently returned to school. At Humboldt State University Dan’s graduate work described the role nurse logs play in the long-term, natural regeneration of northern old-growth coast redwood forests.

After completing his graduate work, Dan helped design and implement a model sensitive plant protection and monitoring program for over 200,000 acres of intensively managed timberland in Humboldt County, California. Acting as the senior botanist and plant ecologist for Scotia Pacific LLC, he built a highly transparent and cooperative program around rapidly evolving efforts to protect viable populations of California’s native plants in the context of short-rotation forestry.

In 2003, Dan was thrilled when given the opportunity to serve as the League’s first forest ecologist - combining principles of forest science and management to guide a developing and unprecedented program of forest restoration centered on the 25,000 acre Mill Creek Acquisition. Dan has been deeply involved in planning, fundraising and implementation functions of the project, which aims to remove the most imminent threats (i.e. erosion, wildfire related) from the forest. In addition, Dan leads the science and planning elements of the League’s land acquisition and protection efforts by serving as the principle liaison between the academic community and a variety of forest protection and management interests.

Dan has lived, breathed, played and worked in the redwoods for over thirty years and remains deeply committed to their protection and restoration for all to enjoy. Dan is an active member of the Ecological Society of America, the Society for Ecological Restoration and the Society of American Foresters. He presents regularly at National conferences, meetings and universities to convey and inspire his passion for redwood forests.

Suzanne spent her professional career as an attorney specializing in estate planning and related federal tax matters before joining the League’s development department as the new Planned Giving Officer in July 2005. As the daughter of a Navy Captain, Suzanne was raised throughout the United States and spent two years in France. She settled in the Bay Area, starting with her college years at Stanford University, followed by a law degree from the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, in Berkeley, and legal work with the Internal Revenue Service and private law firms. Suzanne’s interest in redwoods and sequoias started with a high school visit to Sequoia National Park and has never waned. Her favorite pastimes usually involve redwoods in some way, often jogging or hiking in them with her family. Suzanne’s other interests include volunteer work as a board member with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, gardening and skiing.

Prior to joining Save-the-Redwoods League, Sharon received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communications and International Affairs with an emphasis in Latin America, and a Certificate in the Study and Practice of Leadership from the University of Colorado at Boulder. While in Colorado, she took full advantage of the mountains by hiking, camping and snowboarding every chance she could. Sharon has worked with numerous domestic and international non-profit organizations that aim at producing justice and sustainability around the world. Her passion for environmental preservation was refreshed after spending a summer as an Associate Naturalist Interpretive Ranger with the NPS at Grand Canyon National Park where she educated visitors about critical resource issues facing the North Rim and other National Parks. Other than her outdoor passions, she likes to spend her time cooking, traveling, listening to live music, and playing frisbee with her dog, Adina.

Hattie joined the League as a permanent staff member in the Membership Department in July 2001 after working with the League as a temporary employee for over a year. She was later promoted to Office Manager, and continues to excel in her position. Before coming to the League, Hattie worked as a Certified Medical Assistant in the East Bay for over eight years. Hattie says, "All my life, I never thought I'd be learning about trees, now here I am and I love it!" Hattie served as an intern at Alta Bates Hospital after graduating from Western Career College. When not at work, she can be found playing golf, traveling and spending time with her husband, Clarence, and her grandson.