 |
| Jen helping with a bird count on the Ranch. What doesn't she do? |
Where are you from? What’s your background?
I am a California native and third generation Irish, born at the
original Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. I lived the first 6 years of my
life in La Crescenta, CA, but with Doctor’s orders, the family moved me, the
only child, to the much better air quality of Ventura County. I grew up in a
pretty small town, Newbury Park, CA and stayed there until my early twenties.
Growing up, I was a total “tomboy”… never scared of dirt or potential injury. I
owned and trained horses for many years in Newbury Park and Hidden Valley, CA
and successfully competed in many classifications including Hunter/Jumpers,
English & Western Pleasure and Equitation.
After I graduated high school, my mother sent me off to Europe
for three months with a passport, some money, and a Eurail pass. I was
reluctant to return home. Once I returned, I attended Moorpark College where I
earned my Associates Degree in Humanities. I ventured on to San Francisco State
University to study International Relations because I had fallen madly in love
with travel. The thought of being some sort of international attaché intrigued
me…like a female 007!
Well, life doesn’t always turn out the way you dream, so I wound
up working full time. I landed a job as a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch in
San Francisco, and alas this took over, and I didn’t finish school. I wound up
missing home, and the San Francisco fog wasn’t helping. I moved back and opened
up the Abercrombie & Fitch in Century City… not single-handedly, of course.
As I was looking for something with a shorter commute, I
stumbled into a little shop called Marlow Artistic Furnishings in Westlake
Village. It was their first day open, I think. I asked if they were hiring, and
I started that same day! For about a decade, I had worked as a manager,
designer, furniture and lighting restorer for a very large celebrity clientele,
managing Westlake Village and Studio City locations off and on. After leaving
Marlow, I was a design and construction assistant for a 17,000sq/ft estate in
Bel Air, CA.
In 2006 I was on my way up to Pine Mountain Club with my new
wonderful dog, Miss Caddie (Cadillac) to help my mother with my ailing
grandfather. I was lucky enough to find a job in the area and at none other
than Tejon Ranch Company! I worked there for over two years, and as a project
manager, helped with the coordination of the 2008 Tejon Ranch Conservation and
Land Use Agreement. This led to the formation of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy
for whom I now work as the Operations Manager.
I currently live in Simi Valley, CA with my fiancé, Davin, and
dog (same one, Miss Caddie) and happily commute to Tejon. I love the drive,
actually…I get the beauty of Tejon Ranch by day and the pleasure of living back
in my home county.
You are the only Conservancy staff member who has worked for
both Tejon Ranch Company and the Conservancy. What is your perspective on the
collaboration between the two organizations?
It’s AMAZING! Who would have thought that Tejon Ranch Company
would ever even consider 90% of their land for conservation? It’s an historic
agreement between a landowner of a “working landscape” (meaning, the entire
270,000 acres are still grazed. They have mining, agriculture, filming,
hunting, oil and mineral extraction, industrial development, etc…) and
environmental groups. The two worlds, normally polar opposites of each other,
attended meetings (some happier than others) for two years to come to this… and
even remained friends. I am most impressed and honored to have been a minute
part of this process, and I hope that others can learn from it.
Since the Agreement in 2008, the Tejon Ranch Company and the
Tejon Ranch Conservancy have worked extremely well together to maintain this
relationship and coordinate all access to the Ranch and its beauty. It’s like a
marriage now, in a way. Or a dance, if you will. If we want to have a
research group out on a Saturday, and there is a hunting event going on, we
have to coordinate to ensure the safety of all parties. If we want to put fence
around a riparian area (stream) to keep cattle out, we work closely with the
Ranch and the cattle lessees to make sure everyone’s needs are met. We work
together. It’s really cool to be part of growing this into the largest
contiguous Land Trust in California, let alone this side of the Mississippi.
I hear you put together the lengthy application for Tejon Ranch
Conservancy to become a member of the national Land Trust Alliance. How
in-depth is it, actually? Did any questions take you by surprise?
I did, with the help of our Executive Director, put together the
two 4” binders of paperwork that began the application process. It was very
in-depth and time consuming, but will be very well worth it. As a new land
trust we got lucky! There are a lot of land trusts out there with age old
conservation easements that had to go hunt down paperwork, which we were
fortunate not to have to do. The most difficult part was to explain the very
complicated agreement and our financial structure. I guess my surprise was that
the Land Trust Alliance Commission didn’t think we were as complicated as we
thought! Whew!
It is a very helpful exercise and will allow us to keep to a
structure of excellence… and I like that part very much. We hope to be
accredited by the end of this year!
Is there anything in particular on Tejon Ranch you are excited
to see?
A mountain lion!
Please describe one amazing nature moment you had in 2013.
Besides all of them? I think it was maybe during one of the bird
counts that I saw a golden eagle take out and lunch on a grey fox. Or maybe
sitting atop a null looking down on a beautiful field of wildflowers, watching
violet-green swallows dive together. Oh, on a driving tour of the Ranch, I saw
a young black bear playing in a stream. They are all amazing. I just wish I got
out of the office more often to have them, but even then, at least I get to
watch deer graze outside my office window.
We at the Conservancy are pretty big audiophiles. Can you list 5
of your favorite albums?
No...
This may be the hardest question! I have always had music in my
life. I believe it is food for the soul, and just as diverse as my taste in
food, my musical taste runs the gamut. I grew up around my grandmother
listening to Gene Krupa and Nina Simone… to my mother listening to the Everly
Brothers, Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt; my father playing Waylon and
Willie and Bob Seger…
If I HAD to pick 5 “favorites” (I will keep to more recent music
to narrow it down a bit) they would be Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker, Mumford &
Sons – Sigh No More, Paul
Simon – Graceland, Sting – Mercury Falling and pretty much anything with Dave
Grohl. But then there’s Beck, Morcheeba, Sade, Queen, Tool, Laura Marling… and
on and on and on.
We like to talk about how Tejon Ranch is at the intersection of
4 of CA’s major eco-regions (southwestern Ca, SJV, Sierra Nevada, Mojave
Desert). Do you have a favorite one?
Again, I don’t really do “favorites.” It really depends on the
season for me. One of the fantastic things about this place is that every year,
every season, it looks different. I love the desert in the fall… after the rain
when the fall colors of buckwheat make you feel warm. I love the “milky way” of
wildflowers that blanket the San Joaquin Valley floor, especially when the fog
is holding in the liquid color. Atop the ridges you can see for miles and
miles... I love the colors of black oaks when the leaves seem pink and the
bark, steel grey… Tejon Canyon, where this lush grove comes out of
nowhere and you feel like there MUST be real life hobbits and elves. Tolkien
would be proud.
I just appreciate being able to enjoy these places on the Ranch…
uninhibited by the hustle and bustle that flanks it.
Besides Tejon Ranch, can you list 5 California locations you
love?
Sure… I’m a HUGE fan of the coast, good wine and food: Big Sur,
San Francisco, Cambria, Napa and Santa Barbara.  |
| Love the dress, Jen! |
