Advisory Board

Meet the Regeneration Advisory Board!

Anne Hayes

Director of Development, Western Region, Climate Central

Anne was most recently a Director of Development at UC Santa Cruz, where her portfolio was focused on donors to the Environmental Studies Department and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She recently led a campaign to endow the Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History at UCSC, raising more than $3M. Earlier, she served the Institute of Marine Sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Science Communication program, and the UCSC Natural Reserves.

Prior to her ten years at UCSC, Anne led programs and development efforts for environmental education organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout her career, Anne has also been a freelance writer and editor, primarily in the areas of ecology and natural history.

Anne is married and lives in rural Santa Cruz County.

Kirsten Liske

Vice President of Community Programs, Ecology Action

Kirsten is grateful to serve as the Vice President of Community Programs at Ecology Action, a kind, innovative nonprofit making the world a better place by helping people take action to reverse climate change and address water shortages. She lives and works in Santa Cruz, California, a seaside redwood haven that she could not leave after graduating with honors from UCSC, a college renowned for having the nation’s coolest mascot, the banana slug.

During Kirsten’s tenure at Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, the organization has experienced significant growth in size and breadth of program expertise, growing from a staff of 9 and a budget of $591,000 to a current staff of almost 100 and a budget $16 million. Kirsten’s contributions to Ecology Action are her ability to grow and establish new programs, build successful collaboratives, and manage high-performance teams. Kirsten enjoys taking long walks up big hills with heavy packs, diving in alpine lakes and playing with her nieces and nephews anywhere they want to play.

Rebecca Garcia

2020 Mayor, Watsonville City Council Member

Rebecca was born and raised in Watsonville. She is the daughter of immigrants from

México who worked in the agricultural fields. She received her B.A. at UCSC and her

Masters in Education Administration at San Jose State University. She was a teacher

and administrator in PVUSD which included Assistant Principal at Watsonville High

School and Principal of Rolling Hills Middle School.

Rebecca’s involvement with Climate Change began in 2014 where she served eight

years on the Watsonville City Council and as Mayor in 2020. Previously she served for

20 years on the Cabrillo College Governing Board. She is now retired, but continues to

want to serve her community.

Mayra Bernabe

Associate Organizer, Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA)

Mayra is a native of Watsonville, born into an agriculture working family. She attended San Jose State University where she studied Sociology with an emphasis in Community Change. While at SJSU, she served as President of the Student Homeless Alliance (SHA), an SJSU student-led organization that advocates for unhoused and housing insecure students. Her work there led to a deal that helped produce $3M in student housing aid, a centralized student resource center, a pilot program of 12 emergency beds, and a rental assistance program for students. Mayra is a recipient of 2020 Women of the Year Senate District 15.

In her current role, as an Associate Organizer at Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA), a broad-based organization of 27 institutions in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, she trains leaders to develop their capacity to work on issues affecting their families. COPA is part of the Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation’s largest and oldest broad-based organizing network. Through her work in COPA, she is able to continue making meaningful lasting positive changes in the Central Coast and beyond.

Mayra’s passions include being of service and protecting mother earth, amongst other things. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, visiting the local beaches and nature spots, and learning or picking up a new skill.