Who We Are

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steve Goetz, Board Secretary 
Steve has lived in Benicia for over 26 years, and is married with two adult children.  He received a B.S. in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Certificate in Landscape Architecture from U.C. Berkeley Extension Program.  He has worked as a planner since 1979, and is currently managing conservation and transportation planning programs for the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development.  He has served for several years on the City of Benicia’s Tree Committee which updated the City’s tree ordinance in 2008, and is currently Vice President of the Willis Linn Jepson Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and a member of the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group.

Jessica Walsh-Krenicki, Board President
Jessica is passionate about BTF’s mission locally within Benicia and the worldwide movement of sustainability. She believes it is important to focus on tree planting and education for the wide variety of benefits. Trees do everything from beautification of a community to improving the public health. She became involved in the Benicia Tree Foundation due to family ties in the community. Her past experience with non-profits and a Masters in Business Administration allowed her to assist the organization in the startup of the Benicia Tree Foundation. When pursuing her bachelors at University of California, Davis, she became aware of the impact trees have on connecting a community. Her dream is to bring together community by planting and education to improve the quality of life. 

Barbara Wood, Board Treasurer
Barbara Wood is a long-time resident of Benicia and has been active in her community, participating in the Benicia Bike Club and the Solano County Transportation Authority Bicycle Committee. The long awaited Benicia-Martinez bicycle/pedestrian bridge was dedicated to Barbara’s late husband and cycling advocate Austin Howard Gibbon. Barbara is now retired after a productive career working as a Certified Public Accountant.

Bonnie Weidel
After completing a BA in General Studies at University of Washington, Bonnie Weidel completed 126 graduate units in Studio Art and Arts Education and, in 1969, obtained a secondary teaching credential in Art and English at UC Berkeley. In 1978 she moved to Benicia and felt like a pioneer/settler of the West. Since 1986, she has focused on community education and access to the arts, coordinating exhibits, festivals, craft fairs and scholarship programs through Benicia Community Arts.  She is Owner and Director of Art For Kids in Benicia, teaching children ages 2 through 12 since 1990, and currently serves as a Trustee on the Benicia Unified School Board. 

Alison Fleck, Vice President
Alison W Fleck is the owner of Simply Perfect Gardens, a Bay Area based landscape design company.  She has been an active member of the landscape community for 30 years and a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers for 5 years.  She was the chair person for the City of Benicia Tree Sub-Committee from 2006 to 2009 and has been the Community Member Representative for the Benicia Tree Committee, since its inception in 2009.  She is also Recording Secretary and Past President of the Willis L Jepson Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.  

Rae Lynn Fiscalini

Rae Lynn is an Architect and resident of Benicia for over twenty years. Rae Lynn holds Professional Accreditation in LEED Building Design and Constuction and is also a Master Gardener. Her community involvement has includes serving as an Art Docent at Joe Henderson Elementary School, inaugural member of the Benicia Green Business Committe of the Chamber of Commerce, and a four-year member of the Benicia Sustainability Commission. Among her many affiliations are American Institute of Architects (East Bay Chapter), Arts Benicia, California Native Plant Society, Friends of the Benicia Library and more.

BOARD EMERITUS

Elaine Estrada, Board President Emeritus

Elaine Estrada has lived in Benicia for 12 years. She has had two children go through Robert Semple elementary, one now in college and the youngest in Middle school. Before joining Benicia Tree Foundation she was a board member for Robert Semple PTG and an active member for Benicia First. Her passion for trees started when she was very young. Being brought up in Mill Valley surrounded by redwoods gave her a lifelong appreciation for nature and particularly for trees. Elaine joined Benicia Tree Foundation as their board president October 2009. She would like to share her passion by planting trees in Benicia and is grateful for being able to play a role in developing a strong community based tree program. Elaine sees this as an opportunity to add to the beauty of Benicia as well as contribute to the well being of the environment.

Elaine Estrada (center with bowl made by Brad Adams) graduates from her year of service as the Benicia Tree Foundation founding Board President. She is pictured here with (left to right) Steve Goetz, Jessica Walsh-Krenicki, Alison Fleck, Elaine Estrada, Larry Lamoreux, Wolfram Alderson, Marilyn Bardet, and Bonnie Weidel.

COMMUNITY ADVISORS

Marilyn Bardet

Marilyn has been a community activist on environmental cleanups, planning and development issues in Benicia since 1991. She is a founding member since 2000 of the Good Neighbor Steering Committee which is an environmental watchdog group that focused on oversight of the refinery, and which won the 2008 and 2010 settlement agreement with Valero that resulted in $14 million for environmental benefits associated to water conservation and funding and implementing the Climate Action Plan. She has worked to protect the Arsenal historic district; and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of Benicia Community Gardens, Inc, a non-profit devoted to providing urban farming opportunities for local residents to grow food locally and learn sustainable gardening practices.  Marilyn is also an artist; a painter with an MFA from Boston University, 1982. She has written poetry for many years.

Ed Brennan
Ed Brennan is a Consulting Certified Arborist with more than 20 years experience in the field. Ed is also a bicycle designer and has a studio in the Benicia Art Colony called Farnsworth Bicycles. Click here to visit Ed's website.

Larry Lamoreux
Both of Larry’s parents grew up on family farms in northern Iowa.  During high school, he took vocational agriculture classes and raised Berkshire hogs for three years in the Future Farmers of America.  At Cal Berkeley, he recognized an interest in engineering, and ended up with three degrees in Mechanical Engineering.  His first volunteer activity in Benicia was with Benicia Community Gardens, Inc. ("BCG") where he has been on the Board of Directors since 2005.  BCG has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit since about that time.  He is now leading efforts to establish another community garden downtown at the corner of 1st and D Streets.

STAFF

Wolfram Alderson, Executive Director
Wolfram Alderson’s career has involved serving diverse communities and people with high levels of need for over 30 years. Wolfram entered into social service in 1979 while 19 years old when he was hired by the Interfaith Hunger Coalition to organize the first farmers’ markets in the lowest income communities of Los Angeles. Serving in communities high levels of need, Wolfram has demonstrated leadership through nonprofit organization development, administering innovative human service, education, and environmental programs that have fostered social change. Wolfram has been an innovator in diverse areas such as food systems, horticulture therapy, innovative treatment for foster youth and chronically homeless, garden based learning, and international development in Guatemala. Recently, Wolfram’s work focused on health and nutrition needs in East Palo Alto, one of the lowest income communities in the Bay Area. Wolfram holds a B.S. in Leadership and a M.S in Organization Development.