Board of Directors
Jacob Lipa (President) is the President of Psomas. As President, he brings the firm’s skills and expertise
together in a range of fields from civil engineering, information technology, natural resources and
groundwater hydrogeology to governmental affairs and advocacy, construction management and land
surveying. His leadership enables the firm to bring value to clients through a deep understanding of
technology and local, regional and state governmental and political systems. Mr. Lipa has more than 28
years of experience in civil engineering, hydrological studies and construction management, both in the
United States and abroad. As President Mr. Lipa is responsible for the development of corporate goals and
objectives, corporate business planning, strategic program development and results measurement. He is
also directly involved in local and national politics and supports many community activities and causes, such
as Heal the Bay. He is an active member of a number of prominent professional associations, including
ACEC and ULI. The Friends’ Board elected Mr. Lipa as Board Chair in January 2008 and he assumed the
position in March 2008.
Catherine Tyrrell (Vice President) is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) AP
(accredited professional). Tyrrell has extensive knowledge of California's water quality regulations,
stormwater management activities and watershed management approaches. Prior to joining Psomas, she
was director of coastal and environmental affairs for Playa Vista, where she created a conservancy to
oversee operations, monitoring and maintenance of the master-planned community's freshwater marsh
system. She also oversaw development and implementation of the freshwater marsh operations and
maintenance manual. In addition, Tyrrell was responsible for coastal permitting for transportation and
restoration projects within the coastal zone. Previously, Tyrrell was the assistant executive officer for surface
water programs with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Among other activities, she led
the effort with the State Water Resources Control Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
coordinate health and water quality monitoring statewide. She was the executive director of the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project -- one of the first watershed projects in Southern California with a surface
water quality focus. Tyrrell holds a master's degree in urban planning from the University of California, Los
Angeles. She is a past board member of the Ballona Wetlands Foundation and the past president of the
Ballona Wetlands Conservancy. Tyrrell and her husband, who have three grown children, moved to Playa
Vista in March of 2006.
Ruth Lansford (Founder) was raised in Long Island, New York where she lived next to wetlands. She
moved to Playa del Rey in the early 1960’s where she found she was once more neighbor to a wetland. After
heirs of Howard Hughes’ estate announced development plans in the wetlands, Lansford formed the Friends
of Ballona Wetlands in 1978. The Friends fought the proposed development but the California Coastal
Commission approved it. Then, in 1984 the Friends, led by a determined Lansford, filed suit. After more than
6 years in litigation and negotiation, a settlement was reached with the subsequent landowner, (Maguire
Thomas) which preserved 340 acres of wetland and surrounding habitat. The Friends continued to push for
more acreage to be saved, and in 2003 the State purchased the remaining Ballona acres west of Lincoln
from Playa Vista. For Ruth Lansford’s outstanding efforts over 3 decades to preserve and protect the
Ballona Wetlands, in 2006 she won the prestigious National Citizen Planner of the Year award from the
American Planning Association (APA), having won the state award in 2005.
Dr. Pippa Drennan grew up in South Africa and earned her PhD from University of KwaZulu-Natal with a
specialty in mangrove/estuarine biology. She is on the faculty at Loyola Marymount University and teaches
plant biology and ecology, frequently involving her LMU students in special projects at Ballona Wetlands.
She has served as a botany consultant for the Friends for the past six years and Board Member since 2001.
Dr. Drennan also enjoys nature photography and she and her family travel worldwide.
Lisa Fimiani became an avid bird-watcher while growing up in Buffalo, New York. In 1986 she moved to Los
Angeles, where she joined the Domestic Television Sales division of Paramount Pictures. In her last position
at Paramount she served as vice president of Sales Administration and Program Lineups, and after 18 years
with the Company recently left to form her own consulting firm. She has been a member of the National
Audubon Society since living in Buffalo. In June of 2006 Miss Fimiani stepped down after serving 6 years on
the Audubon California Board, and joined the Board of the Los Angeles Audubon Society chapter as
treasurer. A Docent at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh since it was formed in 2003, Fimiani joined the Friends’
Board in 2005. Ms. Fimiani created a native plant design company in 2007.
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Susan Gottlieb joined the Friends’ Board in August 07 as an expression of her passionate support for the
organization’s work at Ballona restoring the dunes where native plants are an essential component to
support migrant and resident birds. Susan partners with her husband, Dan Gottlieb, in an array of projects
that support wildlife. Their own native plant garden has been showcased on Huell Howser’s show,
California’s Green and is featured on the Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour since its inception in
2003. Susan and Dan Gottlieb opened their G2 Gallery on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA, March 2008.
The mission of G2 Gallery is accomplished by showcasing photographic images of our natural environment
by today’s most gifted artists and partnering with conservation and educational organizations.
Dr. David Kay joined the Friends’ Board in March 08. He pursued a Doctorate in Environmental Science and
Engineering at UCLA, which he received in 1988. Since 1984, at the Environmental Affairs Division of
Southern California Edison, Dr. Kay has managed or contributed to a variety of projects under the umbrella
of regulatory compliance with state and federal clean water and hazardous waste laws. Beginning in 1999
Dr. Kay managed the environmental mitigation projects required by the California Coastal Commission for
Edison’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. These projects include restoration of 150 acres of
degraded wetlands at San Dieguito Lagoon near Del Mar, CA., construction of a 150-acre artificial kelp reef
offshore from San Clemente, and funding for the Hubbs-Sea World fish hatchery in Carlsbad, CA. In 2006,
Dr. Kay’s organization was expanded to manage environmental siting and licensing for all SCE generation
and transmission projects, as well as environmental oversight of all operation and maintenance work in the
Company. Dr. Kay and his wife Marla live in Playa Vista, CA.
Dr. Edith Read is the President of E. Read and Associates, a company that she formed in 2007 to
streamline management of the Ballona Freshwater Marsh and support her consulting work surveying rare
plants throughout Southern California and Western Arizona. Dr. Read earned a PhD in Biology from UC
Irvine, specializing in Plant Ecology. She began her work at Ballona in 1991 with water studies relating to
water availability and plant need while employed at Psomas. Subsequently, she studied plant populations
throughout Ballona. Center for Natural Lands Management hired Dr. Read as the first Marsh Preserve
Manager in 2003 prior to the opening of the Marsh and the Marsh flourishes under her care. Dr. Read
oversees water monitoring, community relations, planting, wildlife monitoring and an array of other tasks.
She has fondly become known to the community as the Marsh Mistress. She has been involved with the
Friends as an advisor regarding dunes restoration and in August 2007 became a member of the Board. With
projects in Eastern Sierra Nevada and Southern California, another long-term area of expertise is monitoring
impacts of stream diversion on habitat. Social Justice and providing “living wages” are values Dr. Read
expresses through her company.
Bob Shanman was elected to the Friends’ Board in 1997. His involvement with the Ballona Wetlands goes
back to 1977 when he first took up bird watching. In 1980, he began leading walks at Ballona Creek for Los
Angeles Audubon. Shanman was directly responsible for involving the National Audubon Society at the
Ballona Wetlands. Beyond his Friends Board service as current treasurer, he continues to lead monthly
Audubon bird walks, is involved with several school programs, and helps fundraise for South Bay Wildlife
Rehab. In 1995, Shanman opened Wild Birds Unlimited in Torrance, CA, which is part of a national
franchise. He is a registered Civil and Geotechnical Engineer in California.
Michael Swimmer joined the Friends Board in July of 2006. A registered Landscape Architect (ASLA) in Los
Angeles since 1976; Mike graduated Cal Poly Pomona in 1970, with a B.S. in Landscape Architecture;
receiving his Masters Degree in 1988 from UCLA in Architecture and Urban Planning, specializing in Energy
Conserving Design. He started his own "design-build" office in 1973, after 2 years apprentice work in
Landscape Architecture. Mike is the winner of 7 major Design Awards, including First Place Award in
California for the Disneyland Hotel in 1977. The scope of Mike’s projects includes: Master Plan for 17 acre
camp in Idyllwild; Master Plan for Solstice Canyon, California, Mountains & Recreation Conservancy;
protection of 50 acre wetland, Mammoth Lakes; many hotel and shopping center projects, including Century
City Shopping Center in 1989; and many large and small residential projects through out the Los Angeles
area and in Idaho, Michigan, and Arizona. Mike consulted for the Friends with Mary Thomson, former
volunteer director of restoration, in the 1980’s, and has been a life long admirer of the Ballona Wetlands,
kayaking Marina del Rey harbor and the Ballona channel.
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Emeritus Board of Directors
Tim Rudnick has been a member of the Friends since its inception in 1978, and served as a Board Member
for over 15 years. A Venice activist and marine naturalist, Rudnick’s interest and expertise lie in the
connection between the wetland ecosystem and the ocean. He has played an integral role in educating local
residents about the importance of preserving Ballona. Rudnick also takes students on boat trips and teaches
them about marine ecology through the Venice Oceanarium, which he founded.
Ed Tarvyd has been a member of the Friends’ Board of Directors since the organization’s inception in 1978.
A seasoned marine biologist, Tarvyd has been a professor at Santa Monica College for over 40 years. As a
member of a UN organization, CITES, (Convention in International Trade of Endangered Species), he helps
determine what is endangered on a worldwide level. Tarvyd has traveled extensively throughout the world
including Tahiti, Africa, Oman, and most recently, the Galapagos Islands, leading research trips and teaching
about these unique ecosystems. He is also one of the premiere experts on coral reef ecosystems in French
Polynesia.
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