Nancy Faulstich founded Regeneración in 2016 together with a small group of Pajaro Valley residents concerned about the warming climate and its negative effects on the Monterey Bay Region, such as more frequent and intense wildfires, floods, droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion into farmland, and the disproportionate hardship of the changing climate on youth and low income Pajaro Valley residents. Nancy has overseen Regeneración’s growth from an all-volunteer operation offering a few small events a year to a nationally recognized organization that connects residents and community leaders in local cities, counties, and public agencies and partners with many organizations that provide direct services to the community. Nancy lives near Pinto Lake and in her free time enjoys walking and gardening.

Eloy is coordinating our TCC planning process for downtown Watsonville and Pajaro Valley and managed several small contracts since joining Regeneración November 2022. Eloy was a social science researcher in the Santa Cruz area for the past 15 years and prior to joining Regeneración, his professional experience focused on managing, developing, and evaluating educational programs for under-represented students.

Richard Castillo’s interest in natural spaces and wildlife led him to explore how people and the environment can thrive together. He brings expertise in inclusive stakeholder engagement to the protection of natural habitats, supported by experience in research, policy and stakeholder analysis, project management, and cross-sector collaboration. His work is grounded in the belief that effective environmental solutions depend on evidence-based approaches and diverse perspectives working together. He is passionate about connecting communities, researchers, and policymakers to address complex challenges in marine and coastal governance. Fluent in Spanish and English, he values collaboration, integrity, and thoughtful engagement, and seeks opportunities to contribute to both present and future environmental outcomes. Richard holds a master's degree in environmental policy from Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA. Richard lives in Santa Cruz, where he enjoys walking his dogs along the beach and local trails.

Yesica Guzman is from the Mixteco community of Oaxaca in Mexico and immigrated from Sinaloa, Mexico to the United States at the age of 10. She has lived in Watsonville since 2011. While in high school, she was part of Watsonville Wetlands Watch and volunteered for four years at the Environmental Science Workshop. These experiences helped her appreciate the unique beauty of Watsonville's ecosystem and the importance of protecting our environment. Yesica attended the University of California, Los Angeles to pursue a Bachelors of Science in Human Biology and Society. Her work and volunteer experience has largely revolved around the farmworker and indigenous migrant community, co-founding student groups like Compas and Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño at UCLA, and being a Comite member of the Originarios Youth Encuentro since 2023. Previously, Yesica was the Lead Organizer at Centro Binacional Para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, helping establish the pilot of the state Rural Strategic Engagement Program in Monterey County to efficiently bring together agencies to provide important services to indigenous farmworkers through labor rights clinics and addressing farmworker's labor rights concerns with the Labor Justice team.