Board of Directors

David Claycomb, President

Mr. Claycomb is the President of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Habitat Conservancy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. He is a member of the American Planning Association, Association of Environmental Professionals, International Association of Impact Assessment and is recognized as an expert planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Mr. Claycomb received a B.S. Degree in Botany from the University of New Hampshire in 1975 and an M.S. Degree in Natural Resources Management from Humboldt State University in 1983. In 2007 he established an Environmental Sciences Scholarship Fund at the University of New Hampshire.

Mr. Claycomb founded the San Diego County based environmental consulting firm, HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. in 1991. In 2008 he retired as CEO of the firm and he remains the Chairman of the firm’s Board of Directors and is a practicing environmental planner. He is a member of EC Boulevard Partners, LLC, KI Investment Holdings, LLC, and a partner in the Tour De Asia Bicycling Touring Company. He travels frequently, including long distance bicycle tours, and he has two sons.

Kenneth Little, Treasurer/CFO

Ken Little is a limited partner with the global investment advisory firm of Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. where he is responsible for leading the firm’s global industrial research team and serving as a member of one of the firm’s investment committees. Prior to joining Brandes, Ken worked as a senior accountant with the public accounting firm of KPMG. He earned his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and his BS in accounting from the University of La Verne. Ken is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the CFA Society of San Diego. He also serves on the board of directors of Barrio Logan College Institute.

Aaron Cull, Secretary

Aaron Cull is an Assistant Vice President and Senior Project Manager at LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent brokerage firm, headquartered in San Diego. He has been with LPL since 2000 and leads the platform development of the RIA Services division. Prior to LPL, Aaron worked at Bank of America in San Francisco. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, with a minor in Mathematics from San Diego State University in 1990 and also holds the Series 7,8,24,63, and 65 brokerage licenses. He is also an alumnus of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. Originally from Venice, he resides with his wife and three girls in Carlsbad and enjoys coaching his girls’ soccer teams and playing softball.

Robert Canace

Bob Canace joined Morris Land Conservancy in May 2007 as a Land Preservation Consultant. He is responsible for identifying ecologically or culturally significant lands to be acquired for preservation by local and county government units, and by the State of New Jersey and non-profit land trusts. Bob has been a trustee of Ridge and Valley Conservancy in Blairstown since 1990 and it president since 1994. He served on the Warren County Agricultural Development Board for 7 years. He spent 28 years as a hydrogeologist with the New Jersey Geological Survey. In his capacity with Morris Land Conservancy Bob acts as the open-space advisor responsible for advancing the open-space and farmland preservation programs for six communities in Warren and Sussex Counties. With his background in limestone geology and general hydrogeology Bob brings a unique perspective to resource-based land protection. He and his wife have a horse farm in Warren County. He joined Morris Land Conservancy in a full-time capacity on July 1, 2008.

Terri Deskins

Terri Deskins joined the Board of the San Diego Habitat conservancy in early 2011.  Terri has over 20 years in residential and commercial real estate experience including site selection and acquisition, sales/leasing, due diligence, asset management, economic and redevelopment programs, and is known as an exceptional negotiator.  Most recently, Terri was the CEO of an architectural firm specializing in commercial projects.  Prior to WPH, Terri was the Director, Business Development for Cascade General Inc. and was also General Manager, Real Estate for the Port of Portland for 11 years.  Terri holds the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation and has been involved in real estate throughout her career.

Joe Duffel

Joe Duffel  is an influential business leader in the San Diego community with over 20 years of experience in the communication field.  His leadership has earned him numerous awards for revenue creation and retention.  The expertise Mr. Duffel brings to the San Diego Habitat conservancy is in the realm of fund raising.
Mr. Duffel has served on numerous boards in various capacities and is currently the Fund Raising Chairman for the San Diego State Delta Upsilon alumni association.  In this role he has chaired many successful fund raising events and plans on recreating that success in the same role with the SDHC.
An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Duffel understands the importance of habitat preservation and restoration and is excited to help facilitate these projects by acquiring new revenue sources for the SDHC.

Mark Lambson

Mark Lambson joined the San Diego Habitat Conservancy in 2010 where he currently serves as a Board Member. Mark has over 15 years of environmental and commercial real estate experience, and has lived in San Diego County since 1984. Mark is a Principal for Partner Engineering and Science, a nationwide environmental and engineering consulting  firm that works with commercial real estate lenders, property owners, developers, REITS, private investment groups, and attorneys. His professional affiliations include the U.S Green Building Council, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, and ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers). Mark graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Public Administration and Economics. He is married and has two daughters, Maia and Krista.

Dan Root, Student Board Representative

Dan Root joined San Diego habitat Conservancy in 2010 as a summer volunteer intern.  Dan joined the board in January of 2011 where he serves as Student Board Member presiding over the student committee.  Dan has over 20 years of experience in the Environmental and Occupational Safety field.  Dan retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 as a Staff Sergeant.  Dan currently works for San Diego State University in the Environmental Health and Safety office as an Environmental Compliance Specialist. His professional affiliations include Student member of the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals, San Diego State University Student Veteran Organization, Life-Member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9327 in Santee, CA, Member of American Legion Post 303 in El Cajon, and the Disabled Veterans. Dan Graduated from Cuyamaca College with an A.S. in Environmental Management. Dan is currently pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science at San Diego State University. Dan has plans to further his education by getting a M.S. in Environmental Health from the school of Public Health at San Diego State and a M.S. in Environmental Management form Columbia Southern University.  Dan coaches Varsity Football and Track/Field at St. Therese Academy. He is married and has two sons and a daughter, Michael, Nicole, and James.

 

 

Executive Director

Don Scoles Don Scoles serves as the Executive Director for the San Diego Habitat Conservancy. His responsibilities include open space property acquisition; habitat management; and operations including administration, membership, fundraising, grants, outreach, and education. Don came to the conservancy in 2009 with over 20 years of experience in the environmental planning and compliance field where he evaluated projects pursuant to environmental laws and regulations such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and resource agency permits. He is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and has extensive experience in restoration and field implementation of environmental commitments during construction. He received his B.A. in Geography with an Emphasis in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Biology from San Diego State University. Don completed a Professional Certificate in Hazardous Material Management and is in the process of earning a certificate in Project Management from the University of California San Diego.