Staff

Eamon O’Byrne

Executive Director

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Eamon holds an honors B.A. in English and History from University College, Dublin. Prior to joining the Sonoma Land Trust, Eamon was the director of The Nature Conservancy’s California Islands Program. He led a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, conservation practitioners and partners focused on the ecological restoration and recovery of the Conservancy’s Santa Cruz Island Preserve. Eamon’s nonprofit career began in 2000 with the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association, first as the education program manager and then as executive director. Eamon is an avid sailor and is married to Stephanie Linder, Executive Director of the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.

Merrill Hallett

Chief of Staff

Merrill comes to her position as Executive Administrator and Board Liaison with extensive experience holding leadership roles in operations, fundraising, and partnership development. She began her leadership training in the “outdoor office” as an adventurer, horse packer, and sled-dog handler, and then transitioned to the non-profit sector to advance climate and conservation solutions. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards and excels in building teams and systems. Merrill holds a Certificate in Executive Leadership from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a Masters in Environmental Management from Western Colorado University, and a Bachelor of Art in Anthropology from University of Colorado, Boulder. In addition to Sonoma County, Merrill has roots in the Sierra Foothills, Northern Rockies, and North Channel of Lake Huron. She lives in Santa Rosa with her husband, son, and two very good dogs.

John McCaull

Land Acquisition Director

John has lived in Sonoma since 2005 and joined the Land Trust staff in 2013. His primary focus is on protecting and enhancing the invaluable lands and waters of the Sonoma Valley. John has been practicing law in California since 1990, providing legal, real estate and land use planning services, complemented by over 30 years of lobbying and advocacy in Sacramento for clients and environmental organizations. Joining Sonoma Land Trust has given John a chance to apply lessons learned from numerous conservation success stories and bring them home to benefit the community in Sonoma County.

Kate Freeman

Land Acquisition Program Manager

Kate is a biologist with over nine years of experience implementing conservation plans and overseeing biological monitoring, conservation easement monitoring, and public engagement strategies. She brings a wealth of knowledge and a personal commitment to care for the natural environment to her role – growing up on a small farm in Vermont, Kate felt deeply connected to the land. Kate is a self-described “bird nerd,” and co-founded the Sonoma County Feminist Bird Club in 2022 to create a safe and welcoming space for everyone to learn about birds and their environments.

Gina Fabiano

Director of Marketing & Media Relations

Entrepreneurial, creative, and strategic, Gina has extensive experience crafting successful marketing, communications, branding, and public/media relations campaigns in a wide array of industries ranging from non-profits to entertainment to Wall Street. Gina is a skilled communicator and strategist who deploys tactics that naturally connect with targeted stakeholders, and she excels at translating complex ideas into relatable stories that reach large and diverse audiences. She believes that relationship building is the key to fostering authentic connections, inspiring positive action, and creating lasting change. A Jersey girl who now calls Petaluma home, Gina is an ardent environmentalist, cyclist, and jazz lover who finds solace and joy in nature’s beauty.

Emily Summerlin

Digital Marketing Manager

Coming to Sonoma Land Trust with almost a decade of nonprofit communications experience, Emily believes that creative, authentic storytelling is key to expanding audiences and driving transformational change. She brings knowledge of strategic campaign design, a commitment to authentic relationship-building, and a deep love of writing and editing to the team. As a lifelong environmentalist, Emily is thrilled to work within her community to champion ecosystem health, conservation, and climate resilience. Emily is an avid reader and a passionate cook and baker and loves to spend as much time as possible exploring the beauty of Sonoma County with her dog.

Neal Ramus

Director of Community Engagement and Education

Neal leads organizational efforts to broaden audiences, serve community needs, and include a multitude of voices and interests in the work of Sonoma Land Trust. As a born-and-raised Petaluman, Neal has a deep connection with the lands, people and diversity of Sonoma County, which informs his approach and work engaging the community. Neal previously led community program development at the California Academy of Sciences, Petaluma Wildlife Museum and Sonoma State University’s Center for Environmental Inquiry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, with a minor in paleontology, and a master’s degree in business administration from Sonoma State University.

Mirella Ramos

Bilingual Youth Programs Manager

At the Land Trust, Mirella’s role is developing and coordinating in- and out-of-school time programs for youth audiences through culturally relevant and accessible programming. They also play a major role in reaching Latine and Spanish-speaking communities through partnerships and collaboration. Mirella is reconnecting to their family’s indigenous roots in El Salvador and is a first generation college graduate with a BA in Mass Communication from Sam Houston State University. Before joining the Land Trust, they worked for trail crews for the California Conservation Corps, National Park Service and Forest Service, most recently at Saguaro National Park where they coordinated field work, environmental education and youth development for Saguaro’s Youth Conservation Corps.

Ingrid Stearns

Public Programs Manager

Ingrid designs and manages Sonoma Land Trust’s public programs, which connects people to our diversity of protected lands across a variety of ecosystems. You’ll often see her out on hikes exploring the wildflowers and identifying the native plants on the landscape. A dedicated mother of a young child, Ingrid brings her love of the natural world to her everyday interactions with others. She holds a BA in environmental studies and planning from Sonoma State University and an AS in business from Shasta College.

Joe Rizzo

Director of Finance & Administration

Joe possesses over 25 years’ experience in financial leadership and human resources, including working in nonprofits for the last 10 years. After several years in for-profit businesses, he joined Judevine Center for Autism as chief operating officer in 2004. The organization grew by over 50 percent during his first four years to become the largest provider of Autism services in the Midwest, eventually merging with another organization to form Easter Seals Midwest. He comes to Sonoma Land Trust from Buckelew Programs, a behavioral health services nonprofit. Joe is a resident of Petaluma.

Sonya Sirrs

Accounting Manager

Sonya brings extensive financial and accounting experience to her role on the Finance and Administration team, including over 15 years in the nonprofit world. Her career has seen her working across a variety of sectors, from social services and behavioral health nonprofits to a biomedical research institute. Sonya moved to Penngrove in 2017 from Southern California and enjoys the close-knit, small-town feeling of the community. Sonya is grateful to live near so much beautiful open space and wildlife!

Melissa Frediani

Operations Director

As the operations director for Sonoma Land Trust, Melissa is the liaison to the board of directors managing various board activities, as well as supporting the work of the management team.  Melissa has called Santa Rosa home for over 20 years and her husband comes from multiple generations rooted in Sonoma County. Raising their two teenage children with a solid appreciation for the great outdoors has always been a priority. Prior to working at Sonoma Land Trust, Melissa had a 20-year career in the medical industry in sales, marketing and product development. She is excited to have made a career shift to follow her passion and be involved with an organization that makes a significant positive community impact.

Annya Maskey

Associate Director of Operations

Annya has called Sonoma County home for over 20 years. For more than 10 years she worked on small farms in northern Santa Rosa and Dry Creek Valley, as well as many years’ experience applying that knowledge in local farm to table restaurants. Prior to SLT, she was the executive assistant to the Executive Director of a fair housing organization. She is passionate about mitigating climate change with a social justice lens and conserving the beauty of our local ecosystems. She spends her time raising her daughter, gardening and painting.

Shannon Nichols

Director of Philanthropy

As director of philanthropy, Shannon helps people further their values by contributing to the work of Sonoma Land Trust. She has more than 20 years of fundraising experience and has led annual and major gift campaigns benefiting land preservation and conservation, social change grant-making and higher education. Shannon moved to California in 2008 from her home state of Maine, where she first fell in love with wild and quiet places. She now lives in Windsor and enjoys spending time with her family and keeping up with the hummingbirds who visit her feeders.

Erin Whittle

Associate Director of Philanthropy

Melissa Bennett

Development Program Manager

As development program manager, Melissa is responsible for growing and sustaining Sonoma Land Trust’s membership program. She brings almost a decade of experience working in development at environmental nonprofits in the Bay Area, including the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Melissa is a Sonoma County native, having grown up in Bodega Bay, and is thrilled to be back working to support this area and the community that she loves. In her spare time, you’ll find her exploring the outdoors — hiking and camping, gardening and visiting with friends and family.

Grace Martino

Philanthropy Events Coordinator

Grace brings a diverse background in music, arts management, event planning, and sustainable agriculture to her role, and is committed to making a positive impact through her work. Her experience ranges from, most recently, completing an organic farm apprenticeship, to overseeing productions and education programs for the San Francisco Girls Chorus, to leadership of the Long Beach Camerata Singers. Grace organizes the Sonoma Queer Folks Food Club, and in her free time enjoys cooking, hiking, kayaking, and film photography.

Ariana Rickard

Public Policy and Funding Program Manager

Ariana works with state and federal agencies and legislators to ensure that the Land Trust’s programs and projects receive adequate funding and support. Ariana has worked for several federal government agencies, including the Peace Corps in Ecuador, and numerous environmental nonprofits, such as Audubon California and the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture. She earned her BA from Harvard College in Environmental Science and Public Policy and her MS from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a focus on Ecology. In 2020, she co-founded the Bay Area chapter of Environmental Professionals of Color to increase equity, diversity and inclusion within the Bay Area’s environmental community.

Kyle Pinjuv

Stewardship Director | Conservation Easement Program Manager

As conservation easement program manager, Kyle works closely with colleagues, landowners and partners to manage Sonoma Land Trust’s conservation easement properties. He was raised in Reno, Nevada and then moved to Washington State where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental studies at The Evergreen State College. His graduate studies led him to work in a variety of locations, including Washington, Alaska, New Mexico and Maine, before returning to the West Coast to work for the Land Trust in 2015. Kyle enjoys exploring and photographing the landscapes and wildlife of each area he’s called home.

Chris Carlson

Sonoma Valley Stewardship Program Manager

Chris manages Sonoma Valley preserves and leads SLTs effort to live with wildfire, keeping forests and communities safe. Chris joined the land trust in 2022, after working as a restoration project manager in the Sacramento delta region. He has worked across the western US monitoring and studying natural resources, including wildfire response to thinning in the Sierra Nevada. When he isn’t gardening or mushroom hunting, Chris stays busy chasing young twin boys and exploring the biodiversity of Sonoma County with his partner. Chris has a BA in geography from the University of Oregon, and an MS in Forestry from the University of Montana.

Julian Meisler

Associate Director of Stewardship

Julian focuses on conservation of the Baylands region of southern Sonoma County. He is particularly interested in understanding and connecting tidal and upland landscapes to accommodate future sea level rise — work that enables him to work with many partners in conservation, transportation, agriculture and more. Julian lives in Santa Rosa with his family and, when not at work, he loves to ride, hike, ski and surf as much as possible. Julian holds a BS degree from Colorado State University and an MS degree from the University of Vermont.

Tom Tolliver

Stewardship Program Manager

Tom’s early interest in all things outdoors led him to start his college education in the natural sciences and then meander over to the social sciences to earn a sociology degree at Cal State Long Beach. His nonprofit administration work was in youth development, but, later, he found greater satisfaction in construction and project management. That, coupled with a deep interest in wildlife and their habitats, led him to work for many years as an independent contractor completing numerous projects for Sonoma Land Trust. Today, he’s helping to rebuild the infrastructure on Sonoma Land Trust’s burned preserves.

Bianca Vargas

Stewardship Technician

Bianca brings a passion for environmental justice and fire ecology to their role at Sonoma Land Trust. They recently graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS in forest and natural resource management, and as a student pursued research at the university’s silviculture lab, collecting and interpreting field data. Bianca has held leadership positions at several conservation and forestry-focused nonprofits, including Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa and The Great Basin Institute, and in their free time, they enjoy traveling and identifying trees.