Board of Directors
Chairman of the Board
Gary Mcdonald was the managing editor at Klutz, a well-known children’s book publisher in Palo Alto, California before his retirement. Prior to that he edited college textbooks for 15 years, and the change to children’s publishing was a big relief. Gary holds a B.A. in Poetics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. As an editor, Gary has assisted CFI with editing it’s publications for many years.
Chief Financial Officer
Charles Dixon has degrees in both Mathematics and Computer Science as well as lifetime secondary teaching credentials in math and computer from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He taught mathematics, computer science, and network cabling at the high school and adult level since 1976. Charles is a friend to the earth and the people who live close to her soil. He has been a member of the Sierra Club since 1964. He is particularly interested in volunteer organizations that monitor water quality. He is a member of the Surfrider Foundation. Charles believes he can foster communication, cooperation and support between CFI and local grassroots conservation groups throughout California.
Secretary
Shira Musicant, M.A. is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a registered dance/movement therapist. She has a private practice in Santa Barbara and has led groups for a variety of mental health agencies including Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Psychiatric Services, Santa Barbara Pain Center, and Santa Barbara Women’s Center. She has published professional papers for the American Journal of Dance Therapy, and has a chapter coming out in a book on Authentic Movement and its use in psychotherapy.
For over 25 years, Shira has been involved with Authentic Movement, a movement, mindfulness and witnessing practice. She is the daughter of a political activist, the mother of a Buddhist and environmental activist and the wife of an avid nature lover. All have influenced Shira’s thinking. She currently participates weekly with the Santa Barbara in Black silent vigil, protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cycle of violence and revenge. She supports and volunteers with the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, and participates in their Community Supported Agriculture Program. More recently, Shira’s interest in a mindful relationship to community and the earth has led to her participation in the ongoing working conference based on the Earth Charter Summit, Sustainable Santa Barbara. Shira is deeply nourished by hiking in the local mountains, bird watching, and being in community gatherings and rituals.
Director
Mark Musicant, M.D., has been a physician in Santa Barbara since 1975. He is board certified in Occupational and Environmental Medicine and works at the Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Clinic. He has a strong interest in helping local workers and business provide a safe workplace. Mark is currently treasurer of Echelon Cycling Club, a non-profit club devoted to fostering bicycle riding in Santa Barbara. He has been involved as a board member for Echelon in a variety of capacities, including fund raising, publicity, liaison with public officials and events planning. In the past, he has also served on the board of CALM.
He has had a long personal interest in environmental protection. He has been a member and supporter of numerous organizations including Sanctuary Forest, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Urban Creeks Council, (he has planted and donated numerous California live oak trees to the Urban Creeks council for restoration in Santa Barbara).
Mark is an avid back-packer and hiker and believes that the preservation of forests is essential to the well-being of the planet and of all its plant and animal communities.
Director
Kathleen Rose has a B.A. in Russian Studies from UC Santa Cruz. From 1974 to 1976 she worked as a Soviet Analyst at GE TEMPO, a think tank in Washington DC. At TEMPO she participated in a number of US/USSR net assessment studies including a study on command economy and capitalist economy strategies for managing environmental crises, as well as several population studies. From 1976 to 1977 she worked as a Russian speaking guide on a USIA exhibit that traveled around the USSR. From 1978 to 1984 she worked in Washington DC as a guide for Russian visitors. From 1979 to 2007 she taught yoga classes and Feldenkrais classes at public and private venues in Washington DC including the World Bank, IMF and EOB. In 2007 she and her husband returned to California to take over his family’s farm. They have gone through the complicated process of turning a conventional farm into an organic farm, working to reestablish native grasses and encourage habitat for wildlife. They sell CCOF certified produce to local markets and restaurants. She is interested in conservation at the grass roots level. She believes the most successful conservation happens with local participation and supports the work of CFI in its mission to establish private and government partnerships with local communities.