Dave Gould – Director
Dave Gould
A native of southern California, Dave Gould has been “rangering” in California for over 35 years. A graduate of Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo with a degree in Natural Resources Management, he started working as a wildland fire fighter with the U.S. Forest Service and then as a ranger/naturalist at Sequoia National Park. His full-time career spanned 32 years with California State Parks working all over the state at parks such as the beaches in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais and Mt. Diablo SPs, the redwood parks of Humboldt County, San Luis Reservoir SRA, historic Columbia SHP, Calaveras Big Trees SP, Turlock Lake SRA, Sonoma SHP, Candlestick Point SRA, and many others. His final position was as District Superintendent of the Diablo Vista District based out of Petaluma. Dave is an avid hiker and loves nature photography, California poppies, and giant sequoia trees! His personal interests include gardening, camping, coaching youth sports, and family life. Dave has been married for over 32 years and he and his wife Carlin have three “junior rangers.” (His son Galen was named after Galen Clark, the first ever ranger in California, appointed at Yosemite in 1866.) Dave retired from full-time work in December of 2009 but seems to be busier than ever!
Lauren Dixon – Deputy Director
Lauren Dixon
Lauren is originally from Denver, CO, where she learned to appreciate the outdoors at an early age. She holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Masters of Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. She moved to Sonoma County in September of last year with her husband Scott – a Sebastopol native, and quickly grew to love life in his hometown. She has grown her consulting business to include clients like Coastwalk California, the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District and the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. Prior to her move to Sebastopol, Lauren lived and worked in San Francisco where she managed the research and policy practice at Pacific Community Ventures – a company that develops and invests in businesses providing economic gains to low/moderate income communities in California. Prior to her work at Pacific Community Ventures, Lauren worked in the philanthropy sector, creating professional development and educational programming for foundation professionals, leading a collaborative grantmaking program and providing guidance to corporate philanthropy departments. She is thrilled to be working in Sonoma County on such an important project!
