Board Members
Shauna Badheka
Aquarium of the Pacific
Shauna Badheka is the Corporate and Foundations Relations Supervisor at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where she started in July of 2022. Before joining the Aquarium, Shauna spent eight years with MacGillivray Freeman Films, an independent producer of educational IMAX documentaries, in marketing and film distribution. Shauna is an Orange County native, and growing up in Laguna Beach she spent her free time both in the ocean and in the greenbelt of Laguna Canyon. This time in nature encouraged her to earn a BA in Oceanography and Environmental Science from UC Berkeley, where she also rowed on the crew team, played club water polo and was an executive member of her sorority. Her passion for environmental conservation, spreading awareness and connecting communities remains a theme through her professional career and personal endeavors, and has led her to volunteer with several local environmental organizations including Laguna Ocean Foundation, Transition Laguna and Laguna Beach’s Kelpfest. She still takes any chance she can to be swimming in the ocean, hiking and camping across the southwest, or taking on a new adventure: learning to sail.
Dr. Lily House-Peters
Geography Professor, CSU Long Beach
Dr. Lily House-Peters is Associate Professor of Geography and affiliated faculty in Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Arizona. She is a broadly trained human-environment geographer with expertise in water resources, climate change, sustainability science, biodiversity conservation, and collaborative team science. Her current research explores alternative and experimental environmental governance arrangements that bridge and respect diverse knowledge systems and divergent stakeholder interests to improve local-scale biodiversity conservation implementation in the Americas region. Her research has been published in a wide range of academic journals, including Global Sustainability, Environmental Science and Policy, The Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Water Resources Research, Landscape & Urban Planning, and Progress in Human Geography.
Steve Kraemer
Long Beach Business Owner
Mr. Kraemer is a long time Long Beach resident and is active in the betterment of the local community. He has participated in all aspects of the renovation of local baseball fields and parks. By day he is a principal of the West Coast companies based in Huntington Beach and is primarily responsible for loan and property acquisition and development. He presently works with trading desks, loan servicing departments and asset management departments to procure loans and property to develop for the companies. He received a B.A. degree in History and Sociology, graduating with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also attained his law degree from the University of Southern California. Mr. Kraemer also practiced real estate and bankruptcy law for many years in Southern California. He is married to his lovely wife Laurinda, has four children attending various schools in Long Beach, and runs with his Vizsla named Cruz; all of whom keep him very busy.
John McKeown
Long Beach Resident, Business Owner
John McKeown is a long-time Long Beach resident passionate about protecting and restoring the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Prior to forming and leading Synergy Oil & Gas as CEO, John was President and Owner of Coldwell Banker Commercial real estate in Long Beach. Under John’s leadership in partnership with developer Frank Suryan, Synergy took ownership of the former Bixby Land Company property, a property central to the recovery of the area wetlands. John was moved to purchase Bixby Land after years of driving by the property, located in the middle of a major metropolitan area, and seeing the potential to restore the property for its solitude, wildlife and beauty.
Linda Pemberton
Long Beach Resident, LCWLT Board Member
Linda Pemberton has been an Executive Board member of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust for the past several years and is committed to their mission of reconnecting and restoring the wetlands for the benefit of wildlife and the community at large. She is also active in efforts to improve the quality of life in her community and served as a Board Member of the Belmont Heights Community Association. She retired from the automobile industry where she developed and managed national and international training systems to improve dealer performance. Past Board involvements include Power4Youth, and Int’l Society for Performance Improvement. Linda has a love of the outdoors, especially hiking the coast and mountains of Southern California.
Paolo Perrone
Former Long Beach Resident, The Nature Conservancy
Paolo Perrone is a Project Director working statewide for The Nature Conservancy. He primarily conducts land acquisition for large landscape-scale conservation, and also supports efforts to expand access to public lands, generate funding for parks and open space, and assist partner organizations in their conservation efforts. Paolo previously worked as the Southern California Conservation Fellow for the Trust for Public Land and as a consultant for a variety of mitigation and conservation projects. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master’s Degree in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics. He lives in Ventura and regularly surfs from Huntington to Ventura and hikes the region with his dogs Monkey and Chula.
Advisory Board
Ken Alex
Ken spent eight years as a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown, the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and the Chair of the Strategic Growth Council, focusing on climate, environment, and land use issues. Before joining the Governor’s Office, Ken was the Senior Assistant Attorney General heading the environment section of the California Attorney General’s Office, and the co-head of the Office’s global warming unit. From 2000 to 2006, he led the California Attorney General’s energy task force, investigating price and supply issues related to California’s energy crisis. Ken is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a B.A. in political theory from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Tony Bomkamp
Senior Biologist, Wetland Specialist
Tony Bomkamp is a field biologist, wetlands ecologist, and regulatory specialist with an extensive background in wetlands. As a wetland ecologist, Tony has diverse field experience extending back nearly 30 years in all of the major wetland communities in Southern California. He is past President of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and currently serves as part-time faculty at California State University, Fullerton teaching courses on wetlands, conservation of migratory birds, and endangered habitats. In Fall 2019, he will be teaching a new course on wetland restoration. In addition to his detailed knowledge of the Los Cerritos Wetlands, he is overseeing the implementation of a major new Wildlife Corridor through the Great Park in Orange County connecting the Coast and Cleveland Natural Community Conservation Plan landscapes.
Terry Watt
Land Use Planner
Terrell (Terry) Watt is an expert land use planner focused on projects that deliver climate-resilient solutions in the areas of housing and community development, renewable energy and conservation. She is a skilled facilitator and works closely with clients to bring workable, transformative approaches to pressing challenges. Professional memberships include Lambda Alpha International, the American Planning Association, and the American Institute of Certified Planners. She is a board member of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy and former board member of the Planning and Conservation League (PCL), Tahoe Fund and Santa Lucia Conservancy. Terry retains her role as Policy Advisor to PCL and sits on the advisory board of Green Foothills.