Sonoma Land Trust Strengthens Board with Five New Members to Advance Climate-Resilient Conservation 

Santa Rosa, Calif. (July 29, 2025) — Sonoma Land Trust announced five additions to its Board of Directors: Jennifer Litwak, Jennifer Wong Hartman, Jeanette Pantoja, Claire Jahns, and Reno Keoni Franklin. Effective May 19, 2025, the newly elected board members bring a wealth of expertise and diverse perspectives in community development, sustainable investment, public health, traditional ecological knowledge, and conservation strategies. As Sonoma Land Trust looks back on fifty years of conservation success and ahead to the next fifty years, the expanded Board of Directors will be essential in charting a bold and sustainable course for the future.

Sonoma Land Trust’s mission is to partner with local communities to protect the open, natural, and working lands and waters of Sonoma County to secure healthy and thriving futures for all.

The five new board members join the current eighteen members who have dedicated countless hours, expertise, and talents, bringing together their collective experience and passion to guide and strengthen our commitment to fulfilling our mission. Through their leadership, the organization has upheld the highest standards of excellence in the land trust community, ensuring lasting impact and organizational resilience even during the most challenging of times.

“I’m excited by the breadth of experience that these new members bring to our board,” said Scott Hafner, board chair of Sonoma Land Trust. “They share a deep passion for protecting the ecological integrity and natural beauty of Sonoma County.” 

“The next fifty years will not mirror the last. Species populations are in freefall. Climate change is accelerating habitat loss and fueling increasingly intense weather events. Federal and state conservation funding remains uncertain. In this pivotal moment, expanding our board is not just strategic—it’s essential,” shared Eamon O’Byrne, executive director of Sonoma Land Trust.

“As Sonoma Land Trust continues to reimagine and build a climate-resilient future, we are thrilled to welcome five new board members. Their diverse perspectives and unwavering commitment to conservation will help us forge deeper connections with our communities as we prepare to celebrate fifty years of conserving the lands and waters of this extraordinary region.”

Meet the new board members and hear what they have to say about Sonoma Land Trust:

Jennifer Litwak, Esq., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of PEP Housing, a nationally recognized nonprofit developer of affordable, service-enriched housing. She has directed the acquisition, development, and preservation of over 8,800 units of affordable housing nationwide, with transactions totaling more than $1.3 billion. A licensed attorney and accomplished nonprofit executive, Jennifer brings deep expertise in housing finance, land use policy, and community development, and has been nationally recognized for her work advancing equitable access to housing and building sustainable, people-centered communities. She serves as chair of the Urban Land Institute’s National Affordable & Workforce Housing Council, Real Property Trust & Estate section advisor to the Uniform Law Commission through the American Bar Association, and sits on LeadingAge California’s Public Policy Committee and Housing Cabinet. Jennifer brings her experience at the intersection of housing, land preservation, and community resilience and her passion for creating healthy, inclusive communities aligns with the Land Trust’s mission to protect the ecological integrity and natural beauty of Sonoma County. Jennifer shared that she is honored “to serve on the board of Sonoma Land Trust and to contribute her experience at the intersection of housing, land preservation, and community resilience.” Her passion for creating healthy, inclusive communities aligns strongly with the Land Trust’s mission to protect the ecological integrity and natural beauty of Sonoma County.

Jennifer Wong Hartman is an investor at LGT Capital Partners with a focus on sustainable and impact investing. Her previous roles span Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Glenmede Trust Company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. She holds a BS in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Jennifer currently resides in Sebastopol with her family and is passionate about aligning capital with long-term environmental and social impact. Jennifer shared that, “I joined the Sonoma Land Trust board to help play a part in ensuring that my children and future generations may get to experience the beautiful nature of Sonoma County.”

Jeanette Pantoja brings a decade of experience cultivating relationships among institutions and community-based organizations from across sectors to facilitate resource sharing, learning, and collective action. In her most recent role as Director of Sonoma County Community Organizations Active in Disaster, Jeanette led a collaborative of over 70 local organizations whose purpose is to help prepare and coordinate actions among organizations before, during, and after a disaster. Before COAD, Jeanette’s work focused on health sector investments in housing stability, the integration of public health into climate change planning, and rural community environmental justice advocacy and organizing. Jeanette and her family live in Santa Rosa and enjoy live music, swimming, and camping throughout the North Coast. Jeanette had this to say about her new position as a board member of Sonoma Land Trust, “I’m excited to contribute my experience in environmental justice and learn from Sonoma Land Trust, whose mission is critical to the health of my Sonoma County neighbors. SLT’s conservation and restoration efforts preserve our natural landscapes as sources of healing, connection, and protection from the threats of a changing climate.”

Claire Jahns is the founder of Scale, a consultancy providing strategic guidance and research to governments, non-profit organizations, and philanthropic institutions to advance climate and conservation strategies for agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity. Previously, she served as Assistant Secretary for Climate at the California Natural Resources Agency, as a project director with The Nature Conservancy in California, and as an economist at the Chicago Climate Exchange. Claire holds a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, an MBA from the Yale School of Management, and a BA from Oberlin College. She and her family live on a small farm outside of Petaluma, California, which they share with sheep, chickens, and an abundance of wildlife. Claire shared, “I’m inspired by Sonoma Land Trust’s deep commitment to community, to biodiversity conservation, and to our shared, climate-resilient future. I am excited to join in this work to help create a positive future for my kids and everyone who calls Sonoma home.”

Reno Keoni Franklin, chairman emeritus of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, and a lifelong advocate for tribal sovereignty, health equity, and land restoration. He is both American Indian and Native Hawaiian (Makaiwi Ohana). His path to service began in the Cedarville, CA, fire department and continued through elected roles in tribal and regional health organizations. He has held key national positions, including chair of the National Indian Health Board and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, where he advanced policy on Native health and sacred site protection. Appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, he served across three administrations, shaping national preservation policy through a tribal lens and elevating Indigenous voices. He also led the return of 880 acres of ancestral coastal land, now known as the Kashia Coastal Reserve, to his tribe, restoring coastal ownership for the first time in 150 years. Reno remains a respected leader in tribal consultation and Indigenous policy, and is also a dedicated father, son, brother, and member of the Kashia Pomo Tribe.

Reno had this to say about his new position as a board member of Sonoma Land Trust, “Land conservation has always been at the heart of the work I do. I have worked for years with SLT and have a deep respect for the work I have seen them do.”

Discover how Sonoma Land Trust is leading the protection and restoration of natural and open spaces across the county. Explore our work and see the solutions in action at www.sonomalandtrust.org

About Sonoma Land Trust

Since 1976, Sonoma Land Trust has protected over 61,000 acres of scenic, natural, agricultural, and open land to ensure clean air and water, support thriving wildlife habitats, and strengthen climate resilience for future generations. We meet the highest national standards for excellence in land conservation and are accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, the independent organization that oversees the financial, ethical, and operational practices of land trusts across the country.