Since the earliest days of the East Bay Regional Park District, women have been a contributing force to its creation and success. Learn more about these former Park District Board Directors (listed below by date of service) who have worked to expand access to open space, protect cultural and natural resources, and connect people with nature.
Ellen Corbett
Board Member
Term: 2016 - Present
Ellen Corbett was elected to the Board of Directors in November 2016. She is the Board member representing Ward 4. Previously, she was the majority leader of the California State Senate, representing the 10th District. She was first elected to the state Senate in 2006 and reelected in 2010. Director Corbett was a member of the California State Assembly (1998 – 2004), a San Leandro City Council Member and Mayor of San Leandro. She has worked as an attorney, community college professor, and civic activist.
Director Corbett was born in Oakland and her hometown is San Leandro. She attended Chabot Community College and California State University, East Bay. She has a bachelor of science degree in political science from UC Davis and a law degree from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific.
Elizabeth Echols
Board Member
Term: 2020 - Present
Elizabeth Echols was elected to the Board of Directors in November 2020. Previously, she was appointed as the Director of Ward 1 to serve the remaining term left by retired Director Whitney Dotson.
Director Echols has had an extensive career in public service, with over 20 years in public policy roles. She was appointed by former Governor Jerry Brown to serve as the Director of the independent Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission. Her recent policy work has focused on environmental protection, climate change, and wildfire prevention and mitigation. Director Echols has a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Yale and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Olivia Sanwong
Board Member
Term: 2022 - Present
Olivia Sanwong was elected to the Board of Directors in November 2022. Previously, she served on the District’s Park Advisory Committee (2015-2022) and was elected to the Board of Directors for the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Zone 7 (2018-2022).
Director Sanwong is a UCLA-educated mathematician and MBA with over 20 years of professional experience in the science and technology sectors.
Beverly Lane
Board Member
Term: 1994 - 2022
Beverly Lane was elected to the EBRPD Board of Directors in 1994 with an extensive record of public service.
Director Lane has been active politically in support of the environment since she first walked door to door in Sacramento urging voters to support the proposed California Coastal Commission. She served on the Danville Town Council from 1982 to 1993, was mayor three times, chaired the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority in 1988 and was president of California Elected Women in 1992-93.
She has led efforts to establish the Iron Horse Regional Trail, the Calaveras Ridge Trail, and Sycamore Valley Open Space Park. She is particularly interested in preserving cultural resources in the regional parks. In 2008-9 she served on the Community Advisory Committee reviewing reuse plans for the Concord Naval Weapons Station where a 2,500 acre regional park was planned. On June 1, 2021, the Board of Directors approved the name of the new park: Thurgood Marshall Regional Park – Home of the Port Chicago 50.
Ayn Wieskamp
Board Member
Term: 1999 - 2022
Ayn Wieskamp was elected to the EBRPD Board of Directors in June 1999. Before joining the Board, she served on the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District Board, the Livermore City Council, the Alameda County Recycling Board, and the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency.
In 2022, Director Wieskamp received two awards: the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals and the Award of Distinction for Outstanding Board Member from the California Association of Recreation and Park Districts. She received the 1998 California Association of Recreation and Park Districts' Special Award for her development of special family events and her efforts to expand open space and trails.
Diane Burgis
Board Member
Term: 2014 - 2016
Diane Burgis was elected to the EBRPD Board of Directors in November 2014 and served for two years. She was elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor in November 2016. Previously, Ms. Burgis served as councilwoman for the city of Oakley from 2012 to 2014. Since 2007, Ms. Burgis has been the Executive Director of the Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed, a grassroots East Contra Costa County nonprofit organization that focuses on water quality, habitat restoration, community service, environmental education, and advocacy.
Before joining the Park District’s Board, Ms. Burgis served on the EBRPD Park Advisory Committee and the Regional Parks Foundation Board. In 2011, Ms. Burgis received the Watershed Champion Award from the Contra Costa County Watershed Forum for her leadership in protecting, restoring, and enhancing watersheds, and for her collaboration in projects that address conservation issues in Contra Costa County.
In 2012, she was named Assembly District 15 Woman of the Year, recognized by State Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan for her extensive work with Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed and her contributions to the community.
Carol Severin
Board Member
Term: 1994 - 2014
Ms. Severin was elected to the EBRPD Board of Directors in November 1994, and served continuously for 20 years. Previously, she served as a Board Member of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (HARD) for 14 years, from 1980 to 1994.
Ms. Severin received her Bachelor's degree in recreation from Washington State College and her Masters degree in parks and recreation from San Francisco State University. She joined SFSU's recreation faculty in 1961 and taught there for 40 years. She was honored as SFSU Professor Emeritus for her distinguished and meritorious service to the University and community. Ms. Severin also served on the Board of Directors of California Association of Recreation and Park Districts (CARPD), California Special Districts Association (CSDA), California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS).
Ms. Severin was the recipient of the prestigious Pugsley Award and the Fellowship Award in the Professional Service award series for lifetime significant contributions to the California parks and recreation profession. Ms. Severin passed away on July 9, 2019, at age 90.
Nancy Skinner
Board Member
Term: 2006 - 2009
California State Senator Nancy Skinner served on the Park District board from 2006 to 2009, stepping into the Ward 1 vacancy due to the untimely death of Board Director Jean Siri, but her advocacy to protect the environment and support the East Bay Regional Parks spans a few decades. During the early 1990s as a Berkeley city council member, she helped establish Eastshore State Park (later renamed McLaughlin Eastshore State Park after Sylvia McLaughlin). During her 10 years on the city council, she also pushed for Berkeley to become the first city in the country to have a 50 percent recycling goal and authored the first-of-its-kind legislation to ban styrofoam at fast food businesses. Senator Skinner’s legacy as a committed environmentalist and global warming policy supporter included: founding the Local Governments of Sustainability network and the Cities for Climate Protection program; serving as U.S. director of the Climate Group; and co-authoring the bestselling book series Fifty Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Prior to being elected state senator, Nancy was a member of the California State Assembly from 2008-2014. In 2021, Senator Skinner was awarded the Park District’s Radke Championing Advocacy Award, recognizing her successful backing of $10 million in the 2021-22 state budget to address tree mortality on Park District lands. Subsequently, Senator Skinner championed $36 million in the 2022-23 state budget for the acquisition and clean-up of Point Molate Beach Park in Richmond, a site which is part of the Park District’s 2013 Master Plan.
Jean Siri
Board Member
Term: 1992 - 2006
An environmentalist and civic leader, Jean Siri achieved a long and varied career in public advocacy. She was instrumental in her support for the founding of Save the San Francisco Bay. On the EBRPD Board, she was known for her sense of humor and forceful, yet effective, approach to issues. A strong advocate of the underserved communities, she championed access for all to the parks. Jean Siri was a driving force behind the development of two regional shoreline parks at Point Pinole and Point Isabel.
Jocelyn Combs
Board Member
Term: 1987 - 1998
As a Pleasanton civic leader with a background in development, Jocelyn Combs was appointed to replace the vacant Ward 5 seat in 1987 and was voted into office a year later, serving on the Park District board of directors for 10 years. During that tenure, Jocelyn became a staunch advocate for preserving what many perceived as the last remaining prime open spaces threatened by the 1990s development boom, especially in the hills of Pleasanton and Hayward. Her advocacy helped Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park become a reality for local conservationists that stood alongside her and the Park District. In a 1990 interview, Jocelyn conveyed that development pressures are the main issues affecting East Bay Regional Parks: “The habitat issue, the greenhouse effect, all the environmental issues out there are very, very critical. But, in order to make a difference in those areas, which are high priorities for us, we need to preserve the land…”. Prior to her service on the board, Jocelyn was co-president of the Livermore-Amador Valley League of Women Voters, and she served on both the industrial and residential general plan review committees for the City of Pleasanton.
Susan Smartt
Board Member
Term: 1992 - 1996
Susan Smartt served four years on the Park District board beginning in 1992. She came to the Park District as an expert in the field of park and open space acquisition and as a well-known conservationist and financial manager. She was vice president for the Trust for Public Land and later became the executive director of the California State Parks Foundation.
Mary Lee Jefferds
Board Member
Term: 1972 - 1991
Mary Lee Jefferds, who served on the Park District Board of Directors for 18 years (1972-1991), was the first woman to run her own election to the board and the first woman to serve as board president, doing so for four terms. Quoted as saying “land is like time; when it’s gone, it’s gone,” Mary Lee strongly led the Park District in prioritizing the conservation of natural resources through parklands and making them accessible to all people. In her lifelong career as an environmental education and preservation champion, she was involved in many organizations, including work with the national and local Audubon Society chapters. She was frequently recognized for her achievements in environmental preservation, affirmative action, master planning, and land acquisition
Katherine “Kay” Petersen
Board Member
Term: 1986 - 1990
Kay Petersen served on the city of Lafayette’s parks, trails and recreation board for 14 years prior to being elected to the Park District board in 1986. She also served on the Park District’s park advisory board for six years. Kay was well-known for advocacy to expand parklands and regional trails, especially linking Contra Costa county’s urban residents with recreational facilities and public transportation. With a leadership style that was both energetic and influential, Kay helped the Park District develop both the 1980 and 1989 Master Plans and participated in the success of Regional Parks Bond Measure AA, which brought $225 million for park preservation and community recreation development projects. Kay was a longtime member of the East Bay Area Trails Council, on the executive board of the California Native Plant Society and a founding member of the Sierra Club’s Mt. Diablo group.
Aurelia Reinhardt
Board Member
Term: 1934 - 1945
Among the many prominent leaders, both men and women, few compared to the stature of Dr. Aurelia Henry Reinhardt, President of Oakland’s Mills College from 1916 to 1943. Her clear vision and indomitable advocacy led to the founding of a Regional Park District in the East Bay. Serving on the first EBRPD Board, Dr. Reinhardt was recognized by her fellow Board members as “a valuable aid…that extended in the acquisition and development of the East Bay Regional Park District.” In addition to her inspirational lectures on social welfare, women’s rights, and international peace relations, she also avidly encouraged young women to pursue higher education She was equally passionate in protecting natural spaces for “the betterment of the human soul”. In 2019, the Redwood Regional Park was renamed in honor of Dr. Reinhardt. » Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
Photo credit: Special Collections, F.W. Olin Library, Mills College
