Our Board

President, Greg Ellis Greg Ellis grew up in the mountain beaver ponds of Wyoming, fishing, swimming, and building his own dams as a kid.  He attended Cal Poly in 2003 and has never managed to leave.  With background and experience in grant writing and nonprofit development for over a dozen local organizations, he is excited to contribute to the growth of the Beaver Brigade.

Secretary, Brittany App Brittany App is a longtime SLO County local, a professional photographer, and director/producer of “Where There Once Was Water”, a feature-length documentary film about California’s water story. She’s also a sheep-shearer, a shepherdess, and a self-proclaimed word-nerd and story-teller. She lives off the grid in the remote Carrizo Plain – with her rag-tag crew of sheep, ducks, and livestock guardian dogs. Water is one of her passions, and the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors for the SLOBB helps her to walk her talk in a meaningful way, right here in our local watershed.

Treasurer, Dolores Howard Dolores fell in love with the Salinas River and beavers after being introduced to both on a Beaver Brigade watery walk. Since then, she’s helped out with various BB tasks and projects, and is very happy to be on the board now. She taught English as a Second Language and Spanish at a community college, raised a family, and worked in organic farming. She now volunteers in peace, social justice, and environmental work. She enjoys cooking and growing and preserving food, reading, experimenting with various fiber arts, and exploring creeks and rivers.

Eric Finlayson, Board Member Eric has been on a lifelong journey to understand all that is, and has seriously found his limits as a human while developing many practical skills. Rather than pursue various unattainable truths, you can find him practicing humility when working around his lovely family’s yard feeding animals, spreading mulch, preparing for the harvest, and constantly repairing or creating this, that, and the other things.  His primary belief is that Beavers are awesome and are models for us humans in good behavior and creating abundance for all.  His current longing is to weave baskets of balance and harmony using the willow that beavers cultivate around the Salinas River.

Audrey Taub, Board Member Audrey is the founder of the SLO Beaver Brigade.  She grew up along the Hudson River in New York, steeped in the culture of river stewardship spearheaded by Pete Seeger and his Clearwater Sloop.  She moved to SLO County in 2005, lives with her husband, 3 children, handful of Navajo Churro Sheep, one dog, one cat and can often be found tracking in and around the Salinas River.

The Salinas River Our home watershed informs our every decision.  As much as possible, we try to make our big decisions in the presence of the Salinas River.  We’ve even been known to bring some of the river into our City Council meetings to help hold our leaders accountable to all of the life that lives within our city limits.