Botanic Garden Board of Directors
DEREK GLAS, President
An Art Major graduate from University of Wisconsin-Parkside with concentration in graphic design, he pursued further education in photography at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. Currently Derek has his own photography and design business and studio and has a range of clients seeking photography, design and advertising strategy.
Derek has managed the website and social media for the garden working on growing the outreach through his skills in photography and graphic design, presenting the garden to the public and growing its visibility and accessibility.
EVA POWERS, Treasurer
Eva is the owner of Creative Garden Design 805 with 20 years of landscape Design experience in Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara County. Eva is a garden column writer for Santa Ynez Valley News, a wife of 31 years to her husband Warren, and mother of their two children.
Previously garden’s Education Director, she managed and scheduled a growing list of exciting and educational school field trips and classes, hosted either at the SYV Botanic Garden or in the local area. Eva is also involved in coastal preservation, seeking protection of what undeveloped land that is left in Santa Barbara County, protecting our wildlife, native fauna and promoting managed public access.
PUCK ERICKSON LOHNAS
Puck Erickson Lohnas is a principal of Arcadia Studio and has worked in the field of landscape architecture since 1977. She, along with her partners, established Arcadia Studio in 2001 to create a full service firm, which emphasizes the collaborative design process as a fundamental component of site-specific design. She brings that spirit of collaboration in to the community by working on a range of projects including the updating of the University of California Santa Barbara campus landscape plan, working with public and private schools in the Santa Ynez Valley planting native plants, and lecturing on environmentally conscious landscape design strategies.
JULIO CARRILLO, Board Member
Julio is an Environmental Technician at Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash, and involved in Chumash Environmental Office from landscaping, the Chumash BioFuel Program, Water Quality monitoring and the Community Energy Program. Julio is a Board Member of the SYV Botanic Garden, oversees the gardens interpretive Chumash section, and is actively involved with education programs, events and classes. In 2020 he started his own company, 805 Garden Solutions, focusing on environmental consulting, youth programs, permaculture design and natural building.
HEATHER WEHNAU
TASHINA SANDERS
Tashina graduated with a Bachelors in Environmental Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005 with additional coursework in Environmental Quality for Soil and Water. As an undergraduate, she worked at the Cheadle Center for Ecological Restoration at UCSB on restoration sites, seed collecting and in the native plant nursery. In 2011, Tashina earned a MSc in Environment and Resource Management with a specialization in Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity from the Vrije University in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She currently works as a biologist for the Santa Barbara County Agriculture department. Her goal is to promote use and enjoyment of the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic garden by providing the public a space to appreciate local biodiversity, practice art and foster education.