With over a decade of fundraising for arts and conservation organizations, Christine has been involved in every aspect of fund and community development. From 2015 until starting with CalTrout in 2021, she worked for Land Trusts on major gift initiatives, working with staff and volunteer leaders in conservation and fundraising.
While working for regional conservation efforts in the Bay Area of California and the Treasure Coast of Florida, her interest was sparked by landscape-scale habitat restoration and the vital importance it serves to protect the natural environment. This led her to CalTrout where she is proud to help resource the organization’s statewide efforts to ensure healthy water for abundant wild fish and all the other species who rely on it, not least our own.
Christine fondly remarks, “CalTrout preserves many places where my grandfather cast his line, where my parents taught me to love nature, and where my son has since come to love. In particular, the Eastern Sierra has a special place in my heart so I’m particularly excited to see the work CalTrout does to protect those vital source waters and stunning meadows.”
Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.