Our Leaders

Angel Garcia first became acquainted with California native plants as an undergraduate student but truly recognized their importance—especially in urban environments—when creating his first garden. In 2021, he began volunteering with the South Coast Chapter of CNPS and was welcomed into a dedicated team working to further the CNPS mission. Now serving as Vice President of the South Coast Chapter, he remains active in many roles. Committed to expanding CNPS’s impact through collaboration, Angel is passionate about making native plants more accessible and inspiring others to reconnect with local ecosystems.

April Owens was hooked on California native plants since her first field trip with Glenn Keator on Santa Cruz Island, and she’s been studying them ever since. She’s built a career on the belief in urban landscapes as conservation islands—wonderful havens for California’s flora and fauna. April owns a landscape design and installation firm that specializes in California native planting and sustainable design. She has created hundreds of gardens from Southern California all the way up through Oregon. She also co-created the Habitat Corridor project (HCP) and serves as Executive Director. HCP creates California native urban demonstration gardens and to date have replaced over 375,000 square feet of turf with natives. To think of all of that habitat and biodiversity makes her joyful. She also has served on the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society Milo Baker for the past ten years, currently as Horticulture Chair and a member of the Communications Committee.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon...

Gordon, an active member of the North Coast Chapter, lives near the Mad River (Wiyot: Baduwa’t) estuary in Humboldt County. He is a retired Supervising Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Originally from New Jersey, his interest in plants and natural history began as a child and was nourished by his mother. Gordon studied cooking and worked in kitchens for over 10 years before moving to California and studying Botany at Humboldt State University. (He still loves to feed people.) He was curator of the Humboldt State University Herbarium for 10 years before joining the Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he conserved native plants and their habitats through environmental review, permitting, and habitat restoration. Gordon especially enjoys--and is most interested in--wetland habitats, including fens, salt marshes, montane meadows and lakes. He has a fond appreciation for sedges, rushes, and grasses and enjoys writing, discussing and teaching about California’s wetland plants and habitats. An avid bicycle commuter and public transit enthusiast, Gordon seeks to be the kindest person he has ever met.

Larry has been a CNPS member since the 1980’s. He studied botany and subjects related to plant ecology at Humboldt State University. Larry worked on the habitat requirements of two rare plants, then shifted focus to web-related services, and developed an online, easy to update version of the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants. Larry enjoys facilitating communication between people with opposing views so they find common ground. He wants to promote more dialogue among Chapter Council Delegates between Chapter Council meetings and intends to lead public plant walks again. When not involved with CNPS, Larry can often be found at Balkan music and dance events.

Robin Mitchell grew up in New Mexico, where she developed a love for the outdoors and native plants. Moving to California for college (earning a BA in Environmental Studies from UC San Diego and a masters in Architecture from UC Berkeley), she quickly became interested in California ecosystems, taking classes at Tilden Botanic Garden in Berkeley, and reading and experimenting in her own garden. She believes in “plant it and they will come”—if you provide habitat by planting native species, insects, birds and other critters find it and thrive. Robin works at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, developing software for architects and engineers to design more energy-efficient buildings. She is a UC Master Gardener, member of the El Cerrito Urban Forest Committee, the El Cerrito Community Garden Network, and the El Cerrito Garden Club, and promotes the use of California native plants in all those venues. She is also on the CNPS Calscape 2.0 Committee, the Carbon Neutral Committee, and the Statewide Communities Committee.

Steve is a retired California State Scientist who led invasive weed programs at the CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture for 16 years and then served as Branch Chief of the Biogeographic Data Branch at the CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees the CA Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), GIS services and the Vegetation and Mapping Program (VegCAMP).  Steve studied Entomology as an undergrad at UC Berkeley and both Entomology and Biostatistics at UC Davis completing two Masters. Botanical activities for Steve have entailed photographing all California monkeyflowers and describing 2 as new species.  He is also very in love with the northern Mojave Desert flora and partners in plant collecting forays and regional floras.  In addition to serving on the CNPS state board, Steve will continue his 15 year stint on the CA Invasive Plant Council board of directors. He lives in Davis with his wife Carol and is happily watching his two kids study herpetology and plant science in the UC system.

Vince has been an active member of CNPS since 1980. He has assisted with listing petitions, litigation, rare plant studies, and the annual San Diego Chapter fall plant sale for many years. Vince graduated from SDSU and UCLA where he received an MA in Biology. He lives in San Diego, where he owns a small private environmental consulting firm specializing in biological studies and endangered species surveys. He enjoys propagating native plants, specializing in rare Dudleyas, and maintains a diverse native plant garden filled with dozens of uncommon species. He is passionate about endangered plants and unusual plant communities, and loves the outdoors.

Vivian Neou is a retired software executive. She became interested in native plants after she retired and started hiking. That led her to volunteer at the CNPS SCV Nursery, where she became the nursery manager. She's a past president of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and is active in many other roles in the chapter. Vivian enjoys leading hikes for Midpeninsula Open Space District, Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve.

Bio coming soon.

Judy joined CNPS in 1995, shortly after moving to California. She has been an active volunteer for the CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter since 2001, when first introduced to the wonders of the local serpentine flora on Coyote Ridge in south San Jose. Judy has served on the Santa Clara Valley chapter board for many years and in many roles. Judy retired in 2018 from a career in environmental consulting, and now enjoys camping, hiking, and travel. 

Bio coming soon . . .

Jun Bando is the executive director of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting California’s globally significant native plant biodiversity. In this role, she represents more than 13,000 CNPS members and leads a statewide team of staff and volunteers across 35 chapters in California and Baja California Norte, Mexico. She also serves on California’s 30x30 Partnership Coordinating Committee and on the California Biodiversity Network Steering Committee.

Jun applies multicultural and multinational perspectives gained from two decades of service in the nonprofit, academic, and public sectors to lead the development of inclusive teams and strategies. Her prior experience includes serving as a senior advisor to the California Council on Science and Technology and as a senior staffer in the U.S. Departments of State and Defense. She holds a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis and a B.S. in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University.

Jun’s work at CNPS is rooted in commitments to protecting biodiversity, empowering an extensive network of volunteers and staff, and building a more inclusive conservation community.