Board of Directors, Staff & Volunteers

Learn more about people behind Oswit Land Trust.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Katie Barrows

Board Secretary

  • Joined OLT Board in 2024.
  • Desert lover and Coachella Valley resident for 38 years.
  • Career in Habitat Conservation and Environmental Sustainability. Former Director of Environmental Resources for Coachella Valley Association of Governments/Coachella Valley Conservation Commission (2007 to 2021). Associate Director of Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy (1997 to 2006).
  • Past board member, Friends of the Desert Mountains. Current Board member, California Native Plant Society/Riverside- San Bernardino Chapter
  • Passions: Hiking, my family (and pets), native plants, environmental activism
  • Dedicated to providing sanctuary for wild plants and animals.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Mecca aster (Xylorhiza cognata)

    • Steve Braff

    Board Member

  • Joined OLT Board in 2024.
  • Graduated from Colorado State University with a Masters in Business Administration.
  • Former health care services Mergers & Acquisitions advisor.
  • Published poet and nature photographer.
  • Avid hiker and cyclist.
  • Dedicated to providing sanctuary for wild plants and animals.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Chuckwalla Lizard (Sauromalus ater).

    • Jane Garrison

    Founder & Executive Director

  • Extensive background in animal protection with work featured in several documentaries on Animal Planet, National Geographic and CNN.
  • Awarded Humanitarian of the Year by the United Nations in 2020.
  • Together with her husband, owns the patent and company that distributes a solution for kidney failure in 36 countries.
  • When not saving land, Jane likes to use that "never give up attitude" on the pickleball court.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: the misunderstood California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi).

    • Tamara Hedges

    Board Member

  • Joined OLT July 2022.
  • 30-year career with the University of California, Executive Director at UC Riverside, Palm Desert (2013-present)
  • Certified UC California Naturalist and UC California Climate Steward.
  • Board Chair, Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.
  • Favorite pastime: Hiking, followed by a delicious home cooked dinner.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata).

    • David Lahti

    Board Member

  • Joined "Save Oswit Canyon" in 2016.
  • 38-year career in the oil and gas industry with a BS in Chemical Engineering, retired in 2020.
  • Certified as UC Master Gardener in 2022.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) - the only native palm to California. Most every part of the plant had functional uses for the Cahuilla.

    • Aaron Leider

    Treasurer

  • Joined OLT team in 2017
  • Real Estate Broker with The Agency in Beverly Hills and the Coachella Valley.
  • Treasurer for Stray Cat Alliance, an advocacy group focused in the inner city of LA.
  • Speaks both Developers and Conservationists language.
  • Car Collector.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni).

    • Robert McCann

    Board Member

  • Joined “Save Oswit Canyon” in 2018.
  • Retired NASA Scientist.
  • Served on the Palm Springs Sustainability Commission 2016-2022; Chaired the Waste Management Subcommittee.
  • Coachella Valley Activist for Progressive Politicians and Environmental Preservation Policies.
  • Tennis fanatic.
  • Favorite Desert Animal: Bobcat (Lynx rufus).

    • STAFF

    Scott Collins

    Head Conservation
    Ranger

  • Joined OLT staff in summer 2022 after serving as a volunteer trail ambassador since the acquisition of Oswit Canyon.
  • Talented nature photographer, supplying many of OLT’s wildlife photos.
  • Peace Corps volunteer.
  • Mountain climber.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni).

    • Jarek Dallos

    Executive
    Assistant

  • Joined OLT as a volunteer web developer & designer in 2022 and as full time staff in 2024.
  • Masters in Aviation & Aeronautical Engineering from faculty of Mechanical Engineering at VSB Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
  • Creative engineer, designer and web developer for 15 years. Developed and managed websites for artists like The Go-Go's and The Black Eyed Peas to name a few.
  • Czech Republic native. Lives in both Los Angeles and Palm Springs.
  • Lifelong wildlife advocate.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Coyote (Canis latrans clepticus).

    • Jeff Faxon

    Director,
    ACE Division

  • Joined OLT as a volunteer in 2023 and joined the staff in 2024.
  • Grew up near the orange groves of the San Fernando Valley and then near the farms of upstate New York.
  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and Masters from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
  • Former Air Force officer, then technology startup exec, now focused on getting millions in funding to help farm owners maintain their land, while preserving wildlife habitat in the process.
  • Favorite desert species: Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae)

    • Cindy Lang

    Director of Community Engagement, ACE Division

  • Joined OLT staff in 2024.
  • Degrees in English Literature from University of Southern California and Documentary Photography from Brooks Institute.
  • 30-year career in Communications for nonprofits.
  • Fifth generation Californian, raised in Palm Springs near Oswit Canyon.
  • Best friend in fourth grade was a roadrunner from Tahquitz Canyon.
  • Foster and adopter of rescue beagles.
  • Favorite desert species: The Smoke Tree (Psorothamnus spinosus)

    • David Paisley

    Deputy Director
    & Community Engagement Director

  • Joined OLT staff in 2022, after volunteering for the organization.
  • Develops Oswit Land Trust's fundraising initiatives and supervises many of OLT's volunteer programs.
  • Over 30 years of development, donor relations, and volunteer management experience with nonprofits in California.
  • Supervised research teams conducting hundreds of qualitative and quantitive health and market research studies.
  • Lives in both Cathedral City and Joshua Tree and is a wildlife advocate for all our regional desert communities.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens).

    • Tom Paolicelli

    Assistant Director,
    ACE Division

  • Joined OLT as a volunteer trail ambassador in 2023 before helping to start up the Conservation Easement Division in 2024.
  • I started my career working as a civil engineer before moving into a career in government finance & treasury mostly with the City of New York focusing on drinking and clean water infrastructure.
  • B.S. is Civil Engineering from the University at Buffalo and Masters in Public Administration from the University at Albany.
  • A lifelong New Yorker until moving to Southern California in 2017 and Palm Springs in 2019
  • Favorite Coachella Valley species: Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)

    • Bettina Rosmarino

    Land Acquisition
    Director

  • Joined OLT team in 2019.
  • Started a land trust in Southern Colorado 30 years ago, which is still going strong.
  • Involved in species and habitat protection for over 30 years.
  • Helped to produce a significant vegan music festival.
  • Certified UC California Naturalist.
  • Loves all desert species because they create a balance together.

    • VOLUNTEER PROJECT LEADERS

    Kurt Kosek

    Bird Walk Coordinator

  • Joined OLT as a volunteer leading bird walks at the newly acquired Prescott Preserve in 2022.
  • Certified UC California Naturalist in 2022.
  • Long time member of the Audubon Society and Sierra Club.
  • Avid birder.
  • Famous for homemade pizza and preserves.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps).

    • Nancy French

    Graphic Designer

  • Joined OLT helping with PowerPoint presentations in 2021.
  • Moved from San Francisco and bought her first house in the Cathedral City Cove in 2019.
  • Performed in and produced multiple drag fundraisers for OLT.
  • Involved in pet rabbit rescue and adoption since 2008.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii).

    • Paul Wilkinson

    Volunteer Coordinator

  • Joined OLT as volunteer coordinator in 2021.
  • Co-coordinates, organizes and corresponds with volunteers for OLT needs.
  • Currently retired and serving as HOA board president, had been a principal in an architectural firm working in design for 36+ years. Project-managed many large scale projects.
  • Have lived in Southern California for 2 decades and moved to Palm Springs in 2018. Have always enjoyed hiking and wildlife.
  • Favorite Coachella Valley native species: Coyote (Canis latrans clepticus).