CEC Board Officers

Dennis Allen, Board President and Chair

Dennis Allen is the CEO and founder of Allen Associates, an award-winning construction company specializing in green building. For over 30 years Mr. Allen has taught courses on sustainable design and constructionbre through the University of California Extension Program and at the Santa Barbara Community College Adult Education Program.

Mr. Allen is also a Board member of the Museum of Natural History and chair of the Dean's Council at the Bren Graduate School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB. He is active in the Green Building Alliance, the Santa Barbara Contractors Association, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and is involved with the Santa Barbara County Innovative Building Review Program. He also is the founder of the Parade of Green Buildings.

Elizabeth Wagner, 1st Vice President

Ms. Wagner is a local Santa Barbaran and graduate of The University of Colorado at Boulder with two BA's; one in Italian and one in History. Elizabeth is a full time, dedicated Realtor with Village Properties in Santa Barbara. She is the first agent in Santa Barbara to become an EcoBroker®, a nationally recognized real estate designation that assists her in specializing in green home real estate transactions.

Ms. Wagner helped found the Santa Barbara Chapter of Green Drinks, an international monthly social networking gathering of people interested in making a better world. Ms. Wagner participates yearly in the Santa Barbara and Carpinteria Triathlons as well as other challenges such as the Wine Country Half Marathon and the Crazy Fit Competition. Ms. Wagner is most proud of her husband, Nate and their baby boy, Wyatt who is already attending CEC board meetings, on occasion! Find her on LinkedIn...

Diane Boss, Ph.D, 2nd Vice President

Dr. Boss earned her Ph.D. in social psychology from Purdue University. She has experience with organization development consulting for multi-national companies based in New York and London with projects focusing on transfer of technology in Nigeria and Oman. She lived in London for many years where she was a founding board member of the Handel House Museum. Her work took her to other parts of Europe plus Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. She also made numerous corporate documentary and training films.

She has served on the board of the Ensemble Theatre in Santa Barbara, and is a long-time supporter of the Camerata Pacifica. Her love of the performing arts going back to her days as a dancer in musical theater. She has also been an instrument-rated pilot.

Kerry Allen, Secretary

Ms. Allen is the founder and heart behind WeekendHippie.com, commentary on value and simplicity in your life, and lets you help the earth, yourself, your family, and your friends. She is the Senior Director of Web Marketing and Marketing Communications for local Santa Barbara software company QAD. She is a graduate of CalPoly San Luis Obispo.

Brian Fahnestock, Treasurer

Mr. Fahnestock has over 20 years of experience in private industry and government financial management. He is the Vice President for Business Development at Simpler Systems. Simpler Systems creates data search, inquiry and reporting technologies for use over the internet or mobile devices. He holds a Graduate Degree in Financial Management/Administration, and was a Certified Public Accountant.

He has served on the MTD Board of Directors since 2003 and chairs the Finance Committee. He also serves in various capacities with Coalition for Sustainable Transportation (COAST), Planned Parenthood, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

Board Members At Large

Jordan benShea

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Jordan benShea is the Owner of boutique marketing firm SkyView Projects, specializing in strategic brand development and social media engagement. Jordan is also the Founder of the blog Sustainable Socially, highlighting how to use social platforms as a new paradigm for creating a sustainable planet. Through consulting and project management she leads the path in innovative strategies to create successful brand stories, encourage stakeholder communications, and produce good purpose cross-platform initiatives.

A published author and serial observer, Jordan is always in search of ways to make the world a better place through her commitment to the environment and engaging our community. When she is not strategizing about how best to interact with a brand, training a client in social media, or writing a blog post about sustainable practices, she can be found in nature appreciating all Santa Barbara has to offer, or enjoying amateur photography adventures. Jordan is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley, you can view her digital footprint through LinkedIn or Twitter.

Dayna Birkley

Dayna is a Vice President and Senior Private Banker with Wells Fargo. She currently works in Montecito with The Private Bank assisting clients with wealth management, finance and banking, estate planning, and investment management. Her early career started in the music industry where she worked at a radio station in San Francisco and after college, she worked for a small radio group in Santa Barbara as music director and on-air personality for KTYD.

Dayna has lived in Santa Barbara for 20 years. Originally from the San Francisco bay area, Dayna lived abroad in Strasbourg, France and moved to Santa Barbara to complete her B.A. degree in Political Science at UCSB. She is the mother of twin toddlers and enjoys as much time as possible outdoors with her family traveling, hiking, biking, and swimming. She serves on the board of directors for the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens and is passionate about cooking, promoting and eating locally produced food.

Jeff Carmody

Mr. Carmody has an extensive background in venture debt financing as a Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Agility Capital. Agility provides short term financing to emerging growth companies throughout the western US. Mr. Carmody has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum and has chaired the Steering Committee for the Business & Technology Awards Dinner benefitting the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara County. He is a guest lecturer on venture finance and also has an extensive background in environmental analysis and technology demonstration from his work as an air quality engineer. Mr. Carmody is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and is most proud of his accomplishments as a loving husband and father of two young sons.

Russ McGlothlin

Mr. McGlothlin is an attorney/shareholder at Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck. He is also a member of the Water & Public Lands and Renewable Energy Practice Groups. His experience includes a broad range of water use issues in California and the western United States. He is the liaison for Brownstein’s Corporate Partnership with the UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB, and is an active member of the Santa Barbara community, regularly hosting fundraising events for several local non-profit organizations.

John Melack

Dr. Melack is a Professor in the UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has earned an international reputation for his work in biogeochemistry, aquatic ecology and remote sensing of lakes, rivers, wetlands, and catchments in Brazil, Africa, Australia, Japan, central Asia, and the United States.

Lori Robinson

In 2009 Ms. Robinson retired from her career as President of a family money management firm to pursue full time her life long love affair with Africa. Through AfricaInside.org she designs safari programs for individuals, families, and non-profits including the Jane Goodall Institute. Her Africa’s Angels grassroots programs support environmental projects in Africa, and she is writing a book about her thirty-years of working and traveling there. Locally she was on the Board of the Sustainability Project and was co-chair of the Parade of Green Buildings for two years. Ms. Robinson holds a degree in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute.

Board Members Emeritus

Paul Relis

Paul Relis became the founding Executive Director of the Community Environmental Council in 1970, a year after the infamous Santa Barbara Oil Spill of January 28, 1969. Mr. Relis, his wife Kathy, and his colleagues established the Santa Barbara Ecology Center that included a bookstore that featured an outpouring of new environmental literature, a public meeting center and environmental displays. The Ecology Center was the headquarters for the CEC magazine, "The Survival Times" that offered readers in-depth stories on local, regional and national environmental literature.

In quick succession, Mr. Relis led the CEC to establish the Chapala Garden, an organic garden in the heart of the downtown, Santa Barbara Earth Day, the El Mirasol Polyculture Farm, an environmental education center. In the mid 1970s Mr. Relis worked with CEC's then co-director and later Santa Barbara Mayor, Hal Conklin to develop recycling in Santa Barbara and later an environmental think tank, the Gildea Center. It was CEC's pioneering work in developing recycling programs and policies that led Governor Pete Wilson to appoint Mr. Relis to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, an executive position in the California Environmental Protection Agency where he oversaw the implementation of California's far reaching recycling and composting programs from 1991-1998.

Since 1998 Mr. Relis has served as Senior Vice President of an environmental services company in Southern California where he has led the development of technology to convert the organic portion of municipal waste to renewable natural gas and soil products-a zero waste technology. He has written many articles on a wide range of environmental topics and remains very involved in California's recycling and renewable energy programs.

He has been a Lecturer at UCSB, his alma mater, since he was appointed to that position in 1996.

Mr. Relis served as a Board Member of the CEC from 1998 until 2010, and served as Board President from 2005-2006. He resigned from the Board in 2010 after forty years of involvement in all aspects of CEC's endeavors. He continues to provide financial support and his expertise to the CEC.

Selma Rubin

Selma moved to Santa Barbara in 1964. From the very start, she has been a catalyst for change in local politics and environmental issues. Selma played an integral role in establishing The January 28 Committee formed in response to the 1969 oil spill, which went on to become the Community Environmental Council. On March 16, 1970 CEC became a legal non-profit, and Selma served as the Treasurer, as well as serving on numerous other CEC committees during her many years of service.

In 1970, Selma played a primary role in halting the proposed development slated to build 1,500+ homes on the Gaviota Coast. In 1995 she received the SB Independent Hero Award recognizing her many contributions. Selma has been honored with numerous prestigious environmental awards over the years. Selma remained active on the CEC Board continuously from 1970 until March of 2006.

Selma is a Santa Barbara legend and treasure, and has been a founder and/or Board member of at least 42 organizations, including the Environmental Defense Center, Fairview Gardens, the American Civil Liberties Union, SBCAN, PUEBLO, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee and many other community organizations supporting Santa Barbara’s social and environmental wellbeing. Selma is still going strong at 96, and remains a devoted activist for the Santa Barbara community.