Mike Hughes
President
Mike Hughes has served on the board of the Hacienda Heights Improvement Association for eight years, including the past four as its President. Mike also serves as the Los Angeles County Public Director of the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority. He is currently a Director on the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority as well as the ombudsman for the Puente Hills Landfill. Mike’s community involvement has also included serving on and past President of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Mike, a long-time member of the Sierra Club, serves as a Vice Chair of its Puente-Chino Hills Task Force. Michael is a graduate of Cal State Los Angeles and has lived with his wife Christina in Hacienda Heights since 1982.
Bev Perry
Secretary-Treasurer
Bev Perry served three terms on the Brea City Council from 1992 to 2004 and was Mayor three times. While on the Council, she was Vice Chair of the San Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and a Board Member and Chair of the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority. She was also involved in housing and transportation planning issues at the city, county, regional, and state levels. Besides being a long-time member of The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club, she also serves on the St. Jude Memorial Foundation Brea Task Force. Bev is Executive Director of the Southwest Megaregion Alliance and consults on civic engagement projects. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of the Pacific and has a MSEd in Counseling from the University of Southern California. Bev and her husband, Gill Realon, have lived in Brea since 1985.
Jeff Garvin
Board member
Jeff Garvin is the author of the critically claimed novel Symptoms of Being Human. A long-time resident of the Brea/Chino Hills area, Jeff developed a deep appreciation for nature during long school bus rides through Carbon Canyon. He earned a BFA in Film from Chapman University, enjoyed a fifteen-year career as a television actor, and then toured the U.S. with his alternative rock band before becoming a novelist. He is honored and excited to be a part of the Hills For Everyone board.
Bob Henderson
Board member
Bob Henderson served on Whittier’s City Council for 36 years. For over four decades, Councilman Henderson’s led the effort to the preserve the Puente Hills and Wildlife Corridor. In 1994, Councilman Henderson was instrumental in founding and chairing three government organizations that have been important in preserving the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor. Bob negotiated the tipping fee from the Puente Hills Landfill with the Sanitation District. These tipping fees set aside a one dollar a ton surcharge for acquisition and management of protected land. He is also responsible for negotiating over 40 land acquisitions, preserving over 3,500 acres totaling over $48 million.
Dr. Carol McKenzie
Board member
Dr. Carol McKenzie is Professor Emeritus from Cal State Los Angeles and a long-time Board Member of Hills For Everyone. She received her master’s degree in Recreation Administration from Indiana University and her doctorate in Physical Education and Higher Education from USC. She has worked as an Art Director for Festival Artists in Azusa (Tournament of Roses Parade). She is an avid hiker, traveler, gardener, sculptor, and writer living in Altadena.
Josh Schroeder
Board member
Josh Schroeder is a Southern California native with a decades-long career in computer programming. He has an MSc in Informatics from the University of Edinburgh, and a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. He has worked as a visual effects artist in Hollywood, published academic research on natural language processing, and is currently a Senior Software Engineer at a Fortune 100 tech company. An Eagle Scout, Josh spent his childhood hiking and camping throughout the Golden State. He now enjoys taking his children on the same trails he explored in his youth. Josh and his family reside in Yorba Linda, where he has worked with other residents to ensure the preservation of open spaces adjacent to Chino Hills State Park.
Claire Schlotterbeck
Executive Director
Claire Schlotterbeck has been involved in preservation of the Puente-Chino Hills for over three decades, playing a key role in the formation of the 14,100-acre Chino Hills State Park. Claire earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UCLA and a Master of Science from Purdue University. Active in her own community, she helped create the Brea Senior Center and the Brea Community Center. Former Republican Assemblyman Dick Ackerman selected Claire as “Woman of the Year in the 72nd Assembly District” in 1998. Former Democratic Senator, Josh Newman, selected her “Woman of the Year for the Environment” in the 29th Senate District in 2018. In August 2001, she was honored as one of six nationwide recipients of the Chevron Corporation Conservation Award. In March 2002, she was honored by the California State Park Ranger Association as the Honorary State Park Ranger of the Year. Claire also serves as a Board Member of UCLA UniCamp, UCLA’s official student charity.
Melanie Schlotterbeck, CMP
Conservation Consultant
Melanie Schlotterbeck maintains and regularly updates the HFE Geographic Information System database, works with decision makers and landowners to protect additional lands, and coordinates the events, direct mail, and monthly giving program. In 2018, she updated 100+ Year Fire History for Chino Hills State Park mapping fire ignitions, fire perimeters, and hotspots. Since 2010, Melanie has been recognized by numerous organizations including the Orange County League of Conservation Voters, Sea and Sage Audubon, and Women For: Orange County, as well as the Association of Environmental Professionals and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for her conservation work. Conservation non-profits up and down the state, and many in Southern California, have hired her for her expertise in land use, planning, transportation, facilitation, and mitigation experience. In 2017 and again in 2021, with a 5-0 vote, she was appointed to the Brea Planning Commission for another four year term.