Board Members
Aga ChenFu - President / Communications
Aga is a passionate wellness advocate and communications expert with more than 20 years of combined experience in communications, public relations and the fitness industry. An active wife and mother of two girls, Aga is extremely passionate about movement and its ability to empower one to accomplish more than just fitness goals.
She left a decade-long career in public relations (on the east coast) to become a student and ambassador of better movement and nutrition practices (on the west coast). Aga is dedicated to advocating for wellness - volunteering with BCHD’s LiveWell Nutrition program, the school Wellness Council, and promoting a running documentary. She also supports wellness-driven businesses with marketing and communications.
In her free time, she enjoys her family, travel, beach volleyball, climbing, and being active outdoors. Aga stumbled upon SBPC after her girls attended a camp at Wilderness Park not too long after they moved to Redondo Beach in 2014. Enjoying hours of therapeutic weeding and planting and spending time in nature always felt right. It wasn’t long before she joined the board in hopes of helping with projects, spreading awareness about the organization, and encouraging more people to spend time in and reap the benefits of nature. Since 2019 Aga has lead the communications and marketing for SBPC.
Mary Simun - Vice President / Biologist & Education Lead
Mary Simun, a Los Angeles native, relocated to the South Bay in 1997. She “retired” from the classroom in 2015 and has redirected all her resources into community service. Her continued mission on planet Earth is to inspire humans to experience a lifelong love of learning, discovery, curiosity, and child-like wonder.
As a Biologist, she has worked for the USNPS, USFS, and USFWS. Her love of Botany and environmental stewardship spans generations and she firmly believes that our relationship to photosynthesizers will define our future. She converted her front yard into an SBPC-certified native habitat, complete with a scavenger hunt, and gives away seeds and plants to anyone who passes by.
She began her formal education career at age twelve at the Cabrillo Marine Museum under the tutelage of John Olguin and from that point forward, education and science always went hand in glove. She is passionate about immersing young people in nature to combat Nature Deficit Disorder. Currently, she is a dedicated volunteer for the Friends of the RB Public Library, ESB, and South Bay LGBTQ Center.
She is passionate about life on this planet and her current personal goal is to become 100% fossil fuel independent. If you see her zooming about town on her solar-powered E-bike, complete with a pink leopard helmet, wave hello!
Mara Lang - Vice President / Operations
Growing up in Tree City USA, just 30 minutes south, I came to appreciate the magic of an expansive urban tree canopy. With two towering magnolias in front of every house and miles of shaded horse trails, the backdrop of my childhood was illustrated with trees. As a resident of Redondo Beach for more than 10 years, I have become familiar, not only with individual trees in my neighborhood, their health, or, their untimely removal but with the absence of trees in the city. I came to SBPC seeking support for a comprehensive tree ordinance, what I found was this wonderful community. Being a part of SBPC has made my world smaller, and richer.
Although I did not come from the environmental world, instead, making my way into television production, by way of the UCLA English department, it has been rewarding to see skills I honed in that cutthroat, fast-paced environment, useful in furthering a cause that I have always been passionate about. As a parent, I also see the hours I volunteer at SBPC as a wish for my kid’s future. Children, and people of all ages, are drawn to nature. The benefits of outdoor time amongst bugs, dirt, trees, and animals should be something everyone has access to.
By working with SBPC, investing in parkland, and planting trees and native flora, I hope one day there can be a bit of that awe in our everyday.
Jim Light - Board Member
Jim Light is a founding board member and former President of SBPC. He served as an Air Force officer working on the Space Shuttle, and a variety of launch and satellite systems. Jim continues to work in the aerospace industry as an aerospace engineer, with a Masters in Business Administration.
A former member of the South Bay Surfrider Foundation Chapter, Jim led a paddle-out to preserve Ballona Wetlands, performed water quality testing, conducted research dives, and served as the project manager for the Pratt’s Reef project.
In 2008, Redondo Mayor Gin appointed him as a member of the Citizen’s Growth Management and Traffic Committee. In his work with SBPC, Jim has been active in many projects including the Desal Powow, leading community discussions on a variety of topics, and participating in the rewilding of Wilderness Park.
Jim is currently working with Redondo Beach staff to contribute to grant proposals for parkland acquisition and wetlands and habitat restoration at the power plant site and nearby power line right of way property.
Jim also serves on the Redondo Beach Harbor Commission, the Redondo Beach General Plan Advisory Committee, and the Beach Cities Health District Healthy Campus Citizens Group. He is one of the primary authors of two initiatives that were approved by the voters of Redondo Beach.
Jacob A. Varvarigos - Board Member, Director of Conservation
Jacob Vigos developed a passion for the outdoors while backpacking, climbing, and mountain biking through his home state of Utah. He learned about the principles of conservation early on while participating in habitat restoration projects throughout high school and college. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, he developed a connection to the urban-wild while practicing parkour, urban climbing, street art, guerilla gardening and other forms of urban arts and recreation. From 2011-2016, he led urban exploration tours throughout greater LA, and became an advocate for activating open spaces throughout LA.
These experiences inspired him to get involved with the South Bay Parkland Conservancy in 2017, where he currently serves as the Director of Conservation.
In addition to his work with SBPC, Jacob serves as the Chairman of the Redondo Beach Recreation & Parks Commission, VP of Redondo Beach for the South Bay Bicycle Coalition, and is a founding member of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Coalition. With a professional background in business development, project management and multi-use trail build and design, Jacob works as a Certified California Native Landscape Designer and Contractor. Come out and meet Jacob and other SBPC board members at the next volunteer event!
Jim Montgomery - Vice President of Rewilding Projects
From an early age; the forest, creeks, beach, and lake near Jim’s home were his playground and instilled in him a love for the rich biodiversity of life with which we all share this planet. The wonder of the dark night sky overhead, brilliant with stars, planets, and the Milky Way Galaxy, filled him with awe and a desire to explore the Universe and understand our place in it.
After receiving a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan in 1986, Jim moved to Southern California for a job as a software engineer with Hughes Aircraft Company. It was the Ballona Wetlands in the 1990s that first spurred Jim to help protect our limited open spaces in the LA area when he learned about a proposal by Dreamworks SKG and Playa Capital to build massive developments in Ballona Wetlands. Jim volunteered with Citizens United to Save All of Ballona (CUSAB), a coalition of groups dedicated to "protect, restore and maintain the entire Ballona wetlands ecosystem and surrounding undeveloped open space in a natural and self-sustaining state." In 2003, after years of activism, CUSAB and other partners were able to get 640 acres protected from development. This experience taught him that when the community comes together in common purpose with persistence, we can achieve great things.
In 1999, Jim obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Autonomous Robotics from the University of Southern California and received his dream job, finally getting to explore the Universe when he joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2000. All of the missions JPL performs, here on Earth and throughout the solar system, drive home to him how fragile and precious with a rich biodiversity of life - our pale blue dot is (as Dr. Carl Sagan once referred to our home planet). It is that rich biodiversity that Jim feels obligated and honored to be able to nurture, protect and hopefully help to expand and flourish for the benefit of all life.
He believes we must always remain vigilant to protect our few remaining local open spaces. And more globally, the climate crisis and loss of biodiversity are threats to all life on Earth. But Jim is optimistic and excited at the possibilities before us. He imagines a community of neighbors coming together to help restore and rewild the South Bay and beyond. Leaving a legacy of open spaces filled with a rich biodiversity of native life; plants, insects and other pollinators, and animals, giving those here experiences of the natural world like he had as a kid growing up in Michigan. As a South Bay Parkland Conservancy board member, he looks forward to working with anyone in the community who shares this vision. For ourselves, for our kids, for the future of all life on our pale blue dot.
Tamara Manning - Board Member, Website
Tamara was born and raised on the island of Kauai, a rural farming island in Hawaii. Growing up in a tropical rainforest shaped her love for nature from an early age. She spent her childhood splashing in creeks and catching tadpoles, swimming with turtles, and playing in cow pastures. As she began to learn more about the history of Hawaii, she realized just how dramatically introduced species have altered the natural landscapes of the islands.
After moving to Southern California in 2012 she was immediately drawn to seek out untouched nature, often driving to Trabuco Canyon to immerse herself in the native landscape. She is passionate about endemic and native species preservation and raising awareness about the impact invasive species can have on our ecosystems.
Tamara worked for 10 years as a sales consultant, the majority of which was spent in the solar industry. After leaving the solar industry she realized that her passion for sales was driven by her desire to help the environment, and so she pursued other options. Currently, she works as a web designer and virtual assistant, managing social media and websites for various companies. She spends her free time playing with her toddler, doing yoga, and traveling.
Julian Chasin - Board Member, Treasurer
Julian Chasin grew up in Columbus Ohio, attended Northwestern University and earned a BA in Economics. After spending time working in Chicago, he moved to LA, meeting his future wife and starting a job with McDonnell Douglas, later Boeing, as a programmer analyst. Soon after moving to Torrance, he found some extra time to volunteer at the Madrona Marsh putting out the newsletter for Friends of Madrona Marsh and participating in weekend restoration work. Julian was also part of a ‘Green Team’ at Boeing, later joining Ann Dalkey in planting, watering, and weeding the PVPLC Adopt-a-Plot at Vicente Bluffs.
Never allowing himself to get bored, he trained in Accounting and QuickBooks to help small companies and nonprofits. Julian currently manages the recordkeeping for Los Serenos de Point Vicente, and the PV/SB Audubon Society chapter. He also raises vegetables at a Community Garden plot in Torrance with his wife Chiyoko.
He’s happy to join the board and also participate as a volunteer with SBPC, which he sees as a rising force to bring ecological awareness to the South Bay, and a force for pushing for significant needed environmental changes.
Kendra Ferraro - Board Member
Kendra became involved with SBPC when her curiosity was piqued after passing the Esplanade Bluffs project on her frequent beach walks. A citizen of the world, Kendra lived in numerous cities across four continents before settling down in Redondo Beach in 2019. She was immediately enthralled with the uniqueness of the area: the beauty of the coastline, access to hiking trails, mild winters, and the biodiversity.
Kendra has over 20 years experience in strategy and operations consulting for financial services organizations. She currently works in the Enterprise Change Office at Capital Group, where she leads large-scale, cross-enterprise change initiatives. In prior roles, she was the owner and principal consultant of Faro Consulting and a senior leader in Ernst & Young’s Consumer Banking practice, where she worked with financial services clients to lead a variety of business transformation programs.
Kendra is passionate about conservation, sustainability and empowering local communities. As a TechnoServe fellow, Kendra advised small businesses in Zimbabwe implementing high-impact and sustainable products and services in agriculture and agribusiness. She also serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors for EcoLogic, whose mission is to empower rural and Indigenous Peoples to restore and protect tropical ecosystems in Central America and Mexico. She earned a BS in mathematics from Lehigh University and is a certified California Naturalist and Climate Steward.
2024-2025 Student Ambassadors:
coming soon…
Advisory Board:
Ann Dalkey - Biologist (ESB Butterfly Specialist)
Erica Avery - Branding
Caitlin Stetson - Fundraising
Deirdre Brand - Project Manager
Brianna Egan - Redondo Beach Community Gardens, UC Master Gardener
Barbara Epstein - Retired Educator
Dave Wiggins - Legal
Bryan Ellis - Financial
Miriam Rainville - Landscape architect
Bill Brand - Redondo Beach Mayor, in remembrance
Bill Petitt - Native Plant Specialist, in remembrance
Bill passed away in October 2021. His work and memory will live on at Wilderness Park. His passion for native plants and his love for Wilderness Park was a gift to us all, this community and those that will never know him but will enjoy the fruits of his work. We cannot believe he is gone and we are truly heartbroken. He was an amazing advocate and educator.