Committee for Green Foothills is governed by a dedicated Board of Directors, each of whom offer their volunteer services in order to further the Committee's protection of local open space.

Matt Burrows (Vice President), San Carlos
Matt developed his passion for our foothills as a lifelong Peninsula resident and hiking enthusiast. He is Vice President/Partner of The Stock Answer, a gaming industry consulting firm, and administrates the Frank Burrows Memorial Scholarship Fund, benefiting mathematics for the East Side Union High School District in San Jose.

Helen Chapman, (Secretary) San Jose
A 25 year resident of San Jose and currently employed by San Jose Unified School District, Helen served six years as a Parks Commissioner for the City of San Jose and board member of Our City Forest and is the Secretary for the newly formed San Jose Parks Foundation. She continues to be a vocal advocate for open space and accessible parks in her area. Growing up in the East Bay, Helen has an appreciation for open space and outdoor activity and dedicates her time so that the next generation will have the same opportunities. Helen received the Outstanding Women of Silicon Valley award in 1996 for her work on establishing a park in her neighborhood and is currently Vice President of her association.

Mary Davey, Los Altos Hills
Davey is a co-founder of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and has served on its board since 1994, representing Los Altos Hills, Cupertino, part of Sunnyvale and Stanford. She served on the Los Altos Hills Town Council in the late sixties and early seventies when she arranged for the Town to purchase the Byrne Preserve. She has been a member of Green Foothills since 1962 and is a past president. She is presently on the Silicon Valley United Way Board chairing Santa Clara County's project to create a 2-1-1 phone system to answer non-emergency information and referral calls.

Paul Davis, Los Altos
Former Executive Vice President at SEMI, a global not-for-profit industry association that serves manufacturing supply chains in high-tech industries. Former Trustee of the Chewonki Foundation, an innovative leader in education, community, environmental studies and not-for-profit organization.

Jim Foran, San Jose
Former Director of Engineering at Silicon Graphics, Jim is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA), a Member of the Board of The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and The San Francisco Bay Trail. He is also a Member of the Independent Monitoring Committee of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. He has a long history as a grassroots activist in the City of Milpitas, where he led the campaign for Measure Z, the Urban Growth Boundary. He served as a Santa Clara County Park Commissioner for nine years before his election to the OSA Board.

Gail Kaiser, Palo Alto
Gail Kaiser has lived with her family in Santa Clara County for over 20 years. During this time, she has treasured our ecologically diverse open space, which she has hiked extensively. Gail graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. in Economics, earned her MBA there 5 years later, and taught a marketing strategy class to SCU undergraduates while working at IBM. She has worked in telecommunications and Internet applications as a product manager and marketing consultant, focusing on creating productive teams to successfully develop and market new products and services. Gail has volunteered extensively in public schools and youth sports to develop children’s physical, mental, and social skills and in non-partisan public advocacy to build a better world for future generations.

Alex Kennett, Morgan Hill
Alex is a Real Estate EcoBroker with Intero Real Estate as well as a Certified Green Building Professional. He is a member and former chair of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network. He is an elected member of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority and sees himself as “a bridge between business and the environment.” He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel.

Margaret MacNiven (President),La Honda
Margaret has owned and managed Buck’s Restaurant in Woodside together with her husband since 1991. President Woodside Friends of the Library. She lives on 80 beautiful acres in San Mateo County, and raised her three sons in their alternative energy house — solar electricity and no TV!

April Vargas, Montara
Long-time coastal protection activist and MidCoast Community Council member, April was named the 19th Assembly District's Woman of the Year in 2002 in recognition of her environmental leadership, was one of seven women named to the 2002 Coastside Hall of Fame, was and was named Favorite Coastside Activist by the Half Moon Bay Review in 2003. April served as an elected member of the MidCoast Community Council for four years, one of which she served as chair, was active in the "Yes! on F" and "Yes! on Measure T" Campaign Committees, and served as a Legislative Advocate for CGF from 2003-2005.

Jeff Segall, PhD, MountainView
Physical Chemist; Chairman of the Stanford Open Alliance.

Bill Whitmer (Treasurer), Palo Alto
A retired Manufacturing VP at Komag, Inc., Bill serves as Treasurer of the Hidden Villa Board. Bill helps seniors as the local coordinator of the Los Altos Tax Aide program and as a computer teacher at Avenidas. Since retirement, he has consulted with a variety of non- profits on organizational, financial and strategic planning issues. Hiking the foothills reminds Bill of our responsibility to thoughtfully conserve our precious open space.

Director Emeritus
Tom Jordan, Palo Alto
A Palo Alto resident since 1965, Tom is a retired attorney who specialized in land use and environmental law. He is a former Adjunct Professor in environmental law at San Jose State University, and has served as President of Committee for Green Foothills, Vice President and General Counsel for Save San Francisco Bay Association, and Director and General Counsel for the Peninsula Conservation Foundation. Tom is also a past President of both the San Jose Symphony and the San Jose Symphony Foundation.