Santa Barbara, CA – The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), one of the nation’s longest-running nonprofit environmental law firms working to protect the Central Coast and the Earth’s climate, today announced three new high profile board members in the areas of science, public health, environmental law.
Joining EDC’s Board of Directors in recent months are Dr. Jai Ranganathan, an ecologist and data scientist; Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, the former head of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department; and Antonette (Toni) Cordero, a leading civil rights and environmental justice attorney in California.
“On behalf of everyone at EDC, we are honored to welcome three new directors who bring extensive experience, expertise, and passion to the fight for our environment on the Central Coast,” Executive Director Alex Katz said. “EDC is working to stop new fossil fuel projects, protect clean drinking water for local communities, and preserve wild places from the Los Padres National Forest to the Santa Barbara Channel, among other critical projects. We’re grateful for the insight and incredible talent that these directors bring to the table.”
EDC is continuing efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization. Half of the members of EDC’s 12-member Board of Directors are now people of color, allowing greater representation of the communities it serves in the tri-county area.
Dr. Jai Ranganathan is a conservation biologist and data scientist who is strongly dedicated to the promotion of science communication and outreach. As a data scientist, Dr. Ranganathan focuses on the visualization of marine environmental data within the context of nonprofit and governmental organizations. He is the co-founder of SciFund Challenge, a nonprofit that focuses on training researchers how to engage non-technical audiences with their science. He also has mentored kids at the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for about 15 years and won Mentor of the Year in 2019. He holds a Ph.D in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and an MS in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota. “I’m thrilled to work with an organization that has done so much to protect the Santa Barbara Channel – one of the most biodiverse and ecologically important marine environments on the planet,” Dr. Ranganathan said.
Dr. Van Do-Reynoso is a public health leader who is passionate about health equity and environmental justice. She holds a Ph.D in Public Health from the UC Merced, an MPH from UC Berkeley, and a BA in Biology from UC Santa Cruz. As Public Health Director, she led Santa Barbara County through the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas Fire, and the Montecito debris flow while also providing oversight of health care centers, homeless shelter clinics, and a variety of health programs. She received numerous awards for her work during this time. Dr. Do-Reynoso also served as Public Health Director and Interim Behavioral Health Services Director at the Madera County Department of Public Health, worked in public health for Tulare County and Asian Health Services in Oakland, and was a postgraduate fellow and management consultant for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. Now, she focuses on expanding access to health care in our community. “EDC’s focus on environmental justice is critical in an area where frontline communities continue to suffer disproportionate health impacts from living near fossil fuel operations and other forms of pollution,” Dr. Do-Reynoso said.
Toni Cordero was born and raised in Santa Barbara and is a member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation. She descends from the local village of Syuktun. Before retiring in 2020, she practiced environmental, civil rights, and cultural resources protection law in California for more than 30 years. She served for almost 25 years in the California Attorney General’s Office, including as the chief of the entire legal division. Most recently, she was a supervising attorney for Berkeley Law School’s environmental law clinic. She has been an advisor to the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyer’s Association for more than 20 years. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples and the Board of Directors for the Surfider Foundation. She spent almost 20 years on the Board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. She also regularly paddles a tomol (canoe) on the Chumash community’s annual crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel to Limuw, aka Santa Cruz Island. Ms. Cordero received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Lawyers Association Environmental Law Section. She attended Santa Barbara public schools before receiving her B.A. from the University of Southern California, her master’s degree from Northwestern University, and her law degree from Stanford University. “I am excited to work with EDC to help address the urgent threats to our environment posed by the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and increasing economic and social inequity,” Ms. Cordero said.
EDC continues its summer happy hour series, TGIF!, on Friday, October 11th from 5:30-7:30PM. These events are open to the public and a great opportunity to meet EDC’s Board and staff while enjoying drinks, food, and live music. Tickets are available online.
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The Environmental Defense Center defends nature and advances environmental justice on California’s Central Coast through advocacy and legal action. Since 1977, we have represented more than 140 nonprofit, community-based organizations to protect the Central Coast and the Earth’s climate. EDC is funded through private donations, receiving no government assistance. Learn more at www.EnvironmentalDefenseCenter.org.
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