Events

Ali Meders-Knight - Executive Director – California Open Lands

 Ali Meders-Knight is a Mechoopda tribal member, mother of five, and traditional basketweaver based in Chico, CA. She has been recognized by the Mechoopda Tribe as a Master TEK practitioner, and works to form partnerships for federal forest stewardship contracting and tribal restoration programs on public lands. 

She has been a Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practitioner for over 20 years, collaborating on environmental education and land restoration projects with Chico State University, the City of Chico, Tehama County Resource Conservation District, and more. She serves on the Tribal Relations Strategic Planning and Implementation committee for the US Forest Service in Region 5. 

In March 2022 she testified to the U.S. House of Representatives Environmental Oversight Subcommittee on the merits of TEK and Tribally-led workforce development to restore California forest resilience and address the problem of catastrophic wildfires. In 2009 she helped plan and establish Verbena Fields, a unique 17-acre interactive food forest and interpretive park in North Chico, to educate about the rich ecological heritage of the Mechoopda people through weekly community tending workshops.

Mike O’Brien has 34 years in Law Enforcement

Started career with the LA County Sheriff’s Department

Finished career with the Chico Police Department retiring as Chief of Police in June of 2020

Appointed Butte Inter-Agency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF) Commander in April of 2021

Taught policing at two universities and Butte law enforcement academy

Past member of the Board of Directors of the California Police Chiefs Association, and represented (9) Northern California Counties including Butte

Bachelor’s Degree from Chico State

Master’s Degree from Gonzaga University

Just finished an appointment as a Chico City Council Member (December 2022)

The Butte Inter-Agency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF) is a task force comprised of agents from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Butte County District Attorney’s Office, Butte County Probation Department, California Highway Patrol, California National Guard and the Chico Police Department. It is administered by a Board of Directors comprised of Department heads from law enforcement agencies within Butte County. BINTF has two offices, BINTF North and BINTF South, to better address the diverse needs of the county.

Butte County received a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) designation in October of 2022. This competitive process is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) through the Executive Office of the President. Butte County was one of only five counties selected nationally (the only one west of the Mississippi) for this designation, and will bring invaluable resources into Butte County. 

Rear Adm. Piret is a native of Chico, California, and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Oceanography and master’s degrees in oceanography and meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where he graduated with distinction.

At sea, Piret served aboard HMS Herald (H138) as operations officer, NATO transit helicopter controller, aviation officer, gunnery safety officer, and Warfare Department head during a deployment to the eastern Mediterranean. Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), he served as oceanographer, officer of the deck underway and command duty officer underway during a deployment with Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9 in the Western Pacific.

Ashore, he served as forecast duty officer at Naval European Meteorology and Oceanography Center, Rota, Spain; tactical hydrographic and meteorological officer at the Royal Navy School of Maritime Operations, HMS Dryad, Southwick, England; associate chairman of the Oceanography Department at the U.S. Naval Academy; deputy director of Operations for Expeditionary Warfare, Naval Oceanography Operations Command; executive officer, Naval Oceanography Opera­tions Command; deputy assistant chief of staff for Requirements, Programs and Assessments, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanogra­phy Command; arctic affairs officer for the Oceanographer of the Navy onboard the Chief of Naval Operations Staff; fellow to the Naval Command College Class of 2017, Naval War College’s Senior Officer International Program; executive officer, Naval Oceanographic Office; and chief of staff, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

Piret commanded the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. Previously he commanded Provincial Reconstruction Team Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan working alongside multinational and interagency partners in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various unit and campaign awards.

Nicole Drummond is a native of Northern California. She was born in Humboldt County and has lived in Butte County for over 20 years. Nicole has been married for almost 20 years and is the proud mom of 2 boys, ages 6 and 15. 

Nicole is the first paid and current Executive Director at Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT), a grass roots, volunteer founded nonprofit organization that provides affordable rental housing options to homeless individuals. She is currently a member of the League of Women Voters of Butte County Social Policy Committee.

Nicole has a master’s in Leadership and Human Development from Pacific Oaks College and a bachelor’s in Child Development Administration from CSU, Chico. She has been in Human Services and nonprofit work for over 25 years, she has always been an active member of the community through volunteering for a variety of organizations. Nicole has developed and directed intervention programs for families who have a child with a developmental disability and worked in a variety of nonprofits settings that support families in need and advocate for youth in foster care. Nicole has dedicated her life to serving vulnerable populations.

Mark Francis, a lifelong Chicoan, is the President, Chief Executive Officer, Director and one of the Founders and largest shareholders of Golden Valley Bank in Chico, CA.  The Bank is a Findley Super Premier Performer, consistently receives the highest 5-Star rating from Bauer Financial and was named one of the 200 healthiest banks in America in 2016 and 2021.  

Mark made his move to community banking in 1999 with Red Bluff based Tehama Bank as Commercial Banking Manager in the Chico office.  He eventually became President, Senior Lender and a Director of the $250 million bank.  Tehama was acquired by Humboldt Bank in 2002. 

Mark is a 1982 California State University - Chico graduate and graduated with honors from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in 2003. He graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in Chico in 1975 where he was Student Body President his senior year.  He also played football, basketball, baseball and ran a little track.

Mark has a long history of community service in Chico, Due to space constraints, we cannot name all of the many organizations Mark has served on.  It is quite a stealthy list. Mark truly is a model for  the “Service above Self” Rotary motto.

Mark is probably most proud of the 18 years he spent on the committee and as Chairman of the “Good Guys Golf Tournament” raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Chico youth sports.

Mark has twin 28 year-old daughters, both graduates of CSU, Chico.  Son Casey is a firefighter for Cal Fire.  His Wife, Jolene, is the Director of Advancement, Marketing and Communications at Enloe Hospital.

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Julie Rentner is President of the Chico-based, statewide restoration nonprofit River Partners, whose mission is to create wildlife habitat for the benefit of people and the environment.  She has led the design and construction of hundreds of millions of dollars of river restoration projects across the largest rivers in California. Julie has developed and led stakeholder processes supporting the integration of flood control and ecosystem enhancement at the regional level, resulting in the development of several on-the-ground multi-benefit projects, as well as the creation of the Mid San Joaquin River Regional Flood Management Plan. She joined River Partners in 2008 as a Restoration Ecologist based in the San Joaquin Valley. She completed the California Agricultural Leadership Program in 2015 and serves as President of Reclamation District 2092. She received her BS in Forestry at the University of California, Berkeley and MS from the University of Hawaii, Manoa in Natural Resources and Environmental Management. 

Born in Riverside, California the second of three children and graduated from Jurupa Valley High School.  After high school, I attended California State University San Bernardino earning my B.A in Sociology, continued with my education and earned a Master’s degree in Counseling and Guidance with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential from CSU San Bernardino as well.  

Upon completion of graduate school in June 2008, I was fortunate to secure a temporary AB 1806 counseling position in Chico Unified School District and moved to Chico that December.  The position included working with students and staff from both Alternative Education and Pleasant Valley High School.

A couple years later, a permanent counseling position in Alternative Education was available and I never left.  The students and staff stole my heart and my passion for Alternative Education grew exponentially. In the fall of 2015, I became the Principal of all programs on the Fair View campus.  

Alternative Education is truly an amazing place to work.  With four programs in total, serving extremely courageous and resilient youth throughout our community, the dedicated staff come together each year to provide the best service possible.  This dedication inspires the Administrative team to no end.  We work as a family unit with consistent communication amongst each program.  We collaborate with all secondary schools within CUSD to reach common goals and support one another.

My life changed forever when I met my wife, Katy, in February of 2010, and married on July 13, 2017 in Lake Tahoe, California.  Katy is a teacher at Shasta Elementary in CUSD and an amazing local photographer in Chico. Finding the time to golf and fish as much as possible helps me self-regulate and I am a huge fan of the San Francisco Forty Niners. I am also extremely fortunate to receive support from my parents, Jim and Pattie Moll, my siblings, my wonderful wife and her parents, and our dogs Bennie and Bowman.