Directors
We celebrate their service.
Our Board of Directors are committed volunteers, giving of their time and sharing their professional expertise to ensure the sustainability of the Northern California Regional Land Trust and the success of our projects. If you are an active or retired professional with a passion for land conservation and open space preservation, and significant experience in non-profit management and finance, agriculture, rural real estate, land law, natural resources, or other fields related to our work, please consider reaching out to us to learn more about opportunities to join our Board.
Noelle Ferdon Brimlow, J.D., President
Noelle Ferdon Brimlow, J.D. currently holds the rank of assistant professor in the Political Science and Criminal Justice Department at California State University, Chico and teaches a variety of courses including Environmental Politics and Policy and the graduate-level Environmental Policy and the Law course, and also co-supervises the Community Legal Information Clinic (CLIC). Her research interests and experience include supporting local and diversified food systems, and advocating for strategies to increase food access. In 2009, Ms. Ferdon Brimlow founded the Buy Fresh Buy Local, North Valley network of farmers, restaurants, farmers markets, local food advocates and community members working collaboratively to increase healthy, local food access. She also founded the North Valley Food Hub in 2014 designed to connect small/mid-sized farm producers with intermediated local food markets. She has co-authored numerous grants supporting agricultural and food-systems research from diverse funders including the United States Department of Agriculture, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and as well as private foundations. Research projects past and current include establishing a regional baseline for local food consumption and production, estimating capacity for the region to meet its consumption needs based on production, a feasibility study for starting a food hub (produce aggregation, cold-storage, marketing and brokering) and a market barriers survey for small and medium-sized growers. Ms. Ferdon-Brimlow came to Chico for college and stayed for 24 years because of the outdoor recreation and scenic quality of life the north state offers. In her free time you can find her on the trails, in the park, cooking, gardening or traveling with her husband and two sons.
Ann Schwab, Vice President
Ann Schwab strongly believes in community service and has practiced this ethic in her professional and personal life as the former Mayor of the City of Chico and retired director of Chico State’s volunteer center, CAVE. Ms. Schwab received her undergraduate degree from California State University, Chico. Along with her husband, Budd, she owned Campus Bicycles in Downtown Chico.
Ms. Schwab’s community involvement and political advocacy stemmed from her love of bicycles and Bidwell Park, reflecting her values of smart growth principles and land preservation. In her 16-year tenure on Chico’s City Council Ms. Schwab was influential in distinguishing Chico as an environmental leader, overseeing the adoption of the Climate Action Plan and 2030 General Plan which had the state’s first sustainability element. Passionate about water issues, Ms. Schwab chaired the six-county Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Board, the Vina Sub Basin Sustainable Groundwater Management Association. Ms. Schwab represented the City on the Butte County Air Quality Management Board and developed the Butte County Regional Habitat Plan. Dedicated to increasing community engagement, she authored the City’s Diversity Action Plan to make the Chico a more inclusive workplace and created pathways for all members of the community to access City services and decision-making processes.
As the former Director of Chico State’s Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE), Ms. Schwab mentored university students to volunteer in the community while gaining valuable hands-on experience. She served on the Town Gown Committee and is past chair of Chico State’s Staff Council, representing Staff ‘s interests on shared governance committees.
Now retired, she currently serves as a board member of the United Way of Northern California and is a member of Chico Housing Action Team’s (CHAT) Advisory Council. Ann was a long-time board member of Chico Velo Cycling Club where she coordinated a local Safe Routes to School Program.
Gerald Armour, Treasurer
Gerald “Jerry” Armour is the former co-owner and CFO of Western Nut Company, a California almond marketing firm based in Chico, California. After 28 years of independent operation, the business was merged with a local walnut handler. He is a member of the Nutrition Research Committee of the Almond Board of California and has been involved with the almond industry for 42 years. Jerry studied horticulture at UC Davis and received his master’s degree in 1975. He has an active interest in native plant communities and is a member of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon. Jerry lives with his wife, Jane on five acres in Paradise, California. He has been personally involved with restoration of native species on this property for more than 30 years and continues to steward the land through Camp Fire recovery. His background in horticulture and passion for native ecosystems fit well into his involvement with NCRLT and its mission to protect land and natural resources. Jerry currently sits on the Executive, Finance and Board Development Committees for The Northern California Regional Land Trust.
Dr. Cindy Wolff, Secretary
Cindy Wolff is a social entrepreneur whose organizational creativity, scholarship, and applied research are widely recognized. She has authored more than 45 published original research articles on nutrition education, public health, and food security. While concomitantly serving as a CSU, Chico faculty member and as the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, Center for Health Communities, the Center garnered more than $50 million in grants and contracts and now develops and manages community health and food security programs throughout California. Dr. Wolff has been honored with both the university’s Career Achievement and Distinguished Emeritus Faculty Awards. Cindy is a fifth-generation Butte County resident. Her family has participated in the tri-county farming community for four generations. Her great-grandfather, William Robbie, accepted the deed to Chico’s Bidwell Park from Annie Bidwell and built the park’s roads as well as City Hall during his 12-year tenure as mayor in Chico’s early days. In addition, for decades her father operated Butte Feed and Warehouse in Chico. Cindy began her university education at CSU, Chico as a biology major and completed her BS in Dietetics at UC Davis. She returned to CSUC to complete an advanced degree in Public Administration. Following international work in developing countries, she completed her PhD in Nutritional Science at Colorado State University and joined the faculty at Chico State in 1987. She continues to make regional contributions during retirement in resource development and land conservation.
Roy Ekland, Member at Large
Roy Ekland owned Ekland Marketing Company of California (EMCO CAL). He served as CEO of the company for 38 years. The company specialized in the management of intellectual property rights (IP) of small fruit varieties, representing plant breeders in over 40 countries. Upon the sale of the company in 2018, Roy and his wife, Charlotte, acquired ranch land in Tehama Country where they produce grass fed/grass finished beef. They introduced a South African breed, the Bonsmara, to the California industry. The Bonsmara was selected for its adaptation to the semi-arid, harsh conditions of the South African veld. It is well adapted to the hot summers and marginal feed stocks of Northern California.
Roy and Charlotte have implemented Holistic Management practices in their ranch operations. They firmly believe that regenerative ranching offers the best means of regenerating the soil biome and improving the water cycle on the land. Through their management, they have seen significant improvements in forage output and in the regeneration of wildlife habitat. Roy and Charlotte also partner with Point Blue Conservation Science for bird monitoring, and are pursuing certification with Audubon’s Conservation Grazing Program.