Wali Naibi, Treasurer
Wali received his BA and MA from University of Hawaii in Political Science with a focus in International Development. He also received a degree from EWC in communications, his CRSP degree from UNC in 2003, and worked on his MBA at Indiana. Wali has over 30 years of experience in management, sales and marketing, equity, trust, financial products and services, and international finance. He has worked for some of the largest banks including Bank of America and Wells Fargo in the U.S. and overseas. Wali, who has lived in Europe and Asia, moved to Arizona from Minnesota in 2001 with Wells Fargo and retired in 2004. He plays soccer in the East Valley senior league and is also a management counselor for SCORE (a volunteer organization of senior executives helping small businesses and start-ups).
Les Conklin - Secretary
Les Conklin and his wife Judy have lived in what is now north Scottsdale since 1983. Les enjoyed an exciting 45 year career in computer software development, consulting, sales, and marketing. Les founded Friends of the Scenic Drive and has served on the Scottsdale Pride Commission and the Preserve Commission. Les, now retired, has been the editor of A Peek at the Peak magazine since 1983 and is currently president of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association and a member of the board of the Rotary Club of Pinnacle Peak. Les and his wife have two children and four grandchildren. Les enjoys travel, reading, writing, walking and hiking.
Erik Filsinger, Ph.D.
Erik Filsinger serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Site Consultants Inc., a Civil Engineering, Consulting and Surveying firm. Prior to working with Site Consultants Inc. Erik worked at Kimley-Horn Associates and the Lyle Anderson companies on projects such as Desert Mountain, Desert Highlands, Festival Ranch, Superstition Mountain and Las Campanas de Santa Fe. Prior to the 20 year career in land development, Erik was a professor at Arizona State University and the University of Alabama, where he was also Associate Dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, and is Chair of its Planning Committee. He also has served as an Officer and Board member of Homeowner Associations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Erik holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University and a Masters in Theological Studies from Drew University. His B.S. degree in City Planning was obtained at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He is an avid mountain climber having summited over 200 peaks in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and hikes and rock climbs extensively in the western United States.
Melinda Gulick
Melinda Gulick serves as the Town Manager of the DC Ranch community in Scottsdale, Arizona. Prior to joining DC Ranch, Melinda served as an Executive Director of the Desert Foothills Land Trust serving the areas of Cave Creek, Carefree, North Scottsdale, Desert Hills, North Phoenix and New River. She also served as Executive Director of Scottsdale Leadership, Inc. and as the Community Relations Manager for Southwest Human Development – a non-profit agency that provides services to young children challenged with child abuse, neglect, poverty, and other disabilities. Melinda was awarded the prestigious Sandra Day O’Connor Community Service Award in 2005. She currently serves as the Chairman of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, and is a member of the City of Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission and the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is a member of the Desert Discovery Center’s Core Planning Committee, the Junior League of Phoenix, Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority, the PANDA Board of Directors, the Advisory Board of Scottsdale Leadership, Inc. and a Council member of the Arizona Institute for Early Childhood Development. Melinda holds a BA in Journalism from Southern Methodist University.
Christine Kovach
Kovach received her B.S. from Arizona State University in Broadcast Journalism and is an ASU Lifetime Alumni member. She worked in broadcasting for KTVK-TV, and as vice president/sales manager for Founders Bank of Arizona (now Compass Bank). She served three terms on Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission and has served on several city committees and task forces. Kovach serves as publicity chairman for her children’s school PTO, and is a Toastmaster CTM.
Sue Livingston
Livingston managed an English Hunter/Jumper riding school horse facility in Illinois for twelve years. Moving to Arizona in 1983 she co-managed the breeding facility at Karho Arabians for six years. The last sixteen years have been spent as estate manager and administrative assistant to Florence Nelson of Pinnacle Peak. Four of those years included management and operations of The Desert Center at Pinnacle Peak, a field trip destination for elementary school students. She served on Scottsdale’s Historic Preservation Commission’s Register committee for 2 years.
Len Marcisz
Born a Hoosier, educated a Badger, tempered in the Marine Corps and, by the Grace of God, an Arizonan intermittently but enthusiastically since 1975. He formerly served on the board of directors for the Guadalupe Schools in Salt Lake City, and as the Treasurer of the Fountain Hills Library. Dedicated to the preservation ethic, he has subsidized his passion for the outdoors through modestly successful executive engagements with Fortune 100 companies.
Howard Myers
Howard is an electrical engineer currently working for Sensor Technologies & Systems, located on Chaparral Road in Scottsdale. He has a BSES (Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science) from Hofstra University, which is a program that provides a broad engineering education. He has been very active in desert preservation since moving here 11 years ago. He is president of the Desert Property Owners’ Association, member of the Friends of the Scenic Drive, member of the Coalition of Pinnacle Peak, contributing writer for the Peak magazine (published by the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association), spent 6 years on the McDowell Sonoran Commission, is a member of the planning and promotion sub committees of the McDowell Sonoran Commission, a member of numerous city citizen committees including the current transportation advisory committee, is an active member of the city’s Board of Adjustment, and has helped change the city’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Ordinance to better protect the natural desert environment. He is also active in connecting all of the neighborhoods in North Scottsdale to achieve their common goal of preserving the desert and their quality of life
Jane Rau, Lifetime Board Member
A resident of the Pinnacle Peak area of Scottsdale since 1967 and co-founder of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, Rau became a conservation activist out of “respect for and understanding of the desert”. She served on the City of Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, McDowell Sonoran Task Force, and the Sonoran Desert Task Force. In 2004, Rau was inducted into the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce History Hall of Fame. She also has volunteered at food banks and has made regular visits to homebound or hospitalized members of her church.
Oliver Smith
Oliver, who has a graduate Gemologist degree from the GIA, is president of Oliver Smith Jeweler. He grew up in Pennsylvania and received a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Lock Haven University. Oliver is the past President of the Board of the Scottsdale/Paradise Valley YMCA, a life member of the Scottsdale Charros, a member of the Scottsdale Rotary Club, and a graduate of Scottsdale Leadership. He and his wife of eighteen years, Aimee, have three children.
Bob Cafarella (Ex-Officio)
Cafarella is the City of Scottsdale’s Preservation Director. In this capacity he manages the city’s effort to create the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He received his B.S. from Northeastern University, and his M.U.P from NYU. He is an adjunct professor at ASU teaching in the planning program. He also serves on the Herberger Center for Design Excellence Advisory Board.
Claire Miller (Ex-Officio)
Miller, a Scottsdale High School graduate, received her B.A. in Outdoor Recreation from the University of New Mexico in 1983, then attended graduate school at Arizona State University in Natural Resource Management. Prior to becoming Scottsdale's first Preserve Manager in late 1999, she worked in the City of Phoenix Mountain Park and Preserve system for 13 years as a uniformed Park Ranger supervisor and Mounted Patrol Ranger (nationally certified mounted officer). She has served on the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association Board representing the Natural Resource Professionals.
STAFF
Ruthie Carll – Executive Director
Debbie Frey – Office Manager
Sandra Kurlander – Data Manager
Annette MacLean – Program Coordinator
Linda Raish – Community Development Director
VOLUNTEERS
MSC volunteer, called Stewards, give over 18,000 hours of service a year to the Preserve. They do this advocating for the preservation of open space, stewarding the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and engaging the community in the appreciation of our natural world. They also help shape MSC as it grows, continuously inspiring those who work here.
Click here to learn more about volunteering with MSC.
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