On November 12th, Sustainable Conservation held its third Collaboration in Action fall gathering at the Presidio Officer’s Club in San Francisco. The now-annual event, which began as a celebration of Sustainable Conservation’s 30th anniversary in 2023, was especially memorable this year as longtime CEO Ashley Boren is set to pass the baton to Dr. Josette Lewis at the end of 2025.
This year’s event, themed Our Forward Momentum, honored Ashley’s 28 years of visionary leadership and looked ahead to the next chapter of natural resource stewardship at Sustainable Conservation.
The evening’s programming began with a welcome from Sustainable Conservation Board Chair Dan Dooley. Dan was followed by California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, who led a toast to Ashley, Sustainable Conservation staff and Board, and everyone in the room who supports the organization.
“I have great admiration for Ashley as a friend, as a professional colleague, and as a leader of an organization that has grown robustly in the over 20 years that I’ve known her. And so I want to say to Ashley, thank you for your dedication.”— CDFA Secretary Karen Ross
The final guest speaker was Jeff Mount, Senior Fellow for the Public Policy Institute of California. Jeff offered insights drawn from his partnership with Ashley and Sustainable Conservation on groundwater recharge initiatives, along with their time together on the California Trout Board of Directors.
“It’s the capacity of Sustainable Conservation to build bridges where nobody could imagine that a bridge would occur, the ability to meet them on that, meet somebody on that bridge and shake hands and build a relationship with them and work with them.”— PPIC Senior Fellow Jeff Mount
Left top: Leslie Moulton-Post, Ashley Boren, and Josette Lewis during the Collaboration in Action panel; Right top: Ashley Boren, Krissy Iverson Valk, and Sustainable Conservation Board Chair Dan Dooley; Below: Josette Lewis and Karen Ross
After Jeff spoke, Ashley took to the podium as Sustainable Conservation CEO for the last time, accompanied by a standing ovation. She shared a brief timeline highlighting five key moments for Sustainable Conservation, some of which were successes and some of which were lessons learned, that helped point the organization forward.
“To be completely honest, it does not feel like it’s been 28 years. Time truly does fly when you’re having fun, and it has been an incredibly fulfilling 28 years.”— Sustainable Conservation CEO Ashley Boren
Then, Ashley ceded the podium to Josette, who gave a quick overview of her career, what brought her to Sustainable Conservation, and what she’s most looking forward to in her first months with the organization. Finally, Josette sat down with Ashley for a wide-ranging and optimistic panel moderated by Environmental Science Associates President and CEO Leslie Moulton-Post. They discussed the challenges and opportunities ahead for California’s water, ecosystems, and working lands, with Ashley also sharing her plans for retirement and continued engagement in the conservation space.
“To me, the really exciting opportunities to make a difference in the world are really where you have this intersection of science, people, institutions, politics, decisions that have to change the way we work at multiple levels. To me, that’s really exciting to do. And I can’t think of a better place that aligns with that motivation.”— Incoming Sustainable Conservation CEO Josette Lewis
In celebration of the legacy of Ashley’s 28+ years at Sustainable Conservation, we reflect on the journey that shaped Sustainable Conservation into the organization it is today and look ahead to our growing momentum. This story reflects a shared purpose and a steadfast commitment to collaborative stewardship of California’s land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. Watch the short video, Our Forward Momentum: A Legacy of Impact, A Future of Promise, debuted on November 12th!
Following the video, guests participated in an energizing paddle raise fundraiser before transitioning into a lively reception filled with conversation, connection, and celebration. Thanks to Russ and Beth Siegelman for putting up a challenge grant to kick off the paddle raise!
Thank you to the 100+ Sustainable Conservation community members who joined us at the Officer’s Club or contributed in support of our mission. We’d also like to extend a special thanks to Joy Sterling from Iron Horse Vineyards for donating sparkling wine for the event and Craig McNamara from Sierra Orchards for bottles of olive oil for our guests to take home.
Join our donor community for invites to future events like this and to help us advance the collaborative stewardship of California’s land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people!
Top left: Sustainable Conservation Central Coast Project Associate Modibo Keita and Grants and Contracts Administrator Thaïs Arjo; Top right, from left to right: Russ Siegelman (former Board Chair), Tina Quinn (co-founder), Ashley Boren, Laura Hattendorf (co-founder) and Cynthia Lang (former Board member, current Advisory Board member); Middle row from left to right: Thrive California Fall 2025 edition, exterior of the Officer’s Club, and a table setting for the event, Bottom: attendees enjoying the evening at the Officer’s Club