meet the team

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Samo Fund

Kim is an outdoor enthusiast and loves to spend time hiking, camping, and exploring in our public lands. She loves working with SAMO Fund to support the wide-range of programs that introduce people to the SMMNRA.
Prior to retiring, Kim served as the Executive Director of Federal Relations at UCLA. In this capacity, she oversaw the university's interactions in Washington, D.C., with Congress, executive branch agencies, the White House, and higher education associations.

A Los Angeles native, Tom has been living near and recreating in the Santa Monica Mountains his entire life. He’d like to see future generations have the same opportunity.

Darrin Hurwitz has spent his career providing legal counsel to national non-profit organizations, helping them advance their advocacy efforts and navigate federal and state regulations.
Originally from Calabasas, Darrin grew up exploring the Santa Monica Mountains. After two decades in Washington, D.C., Darrin returned to Los Angeles with his family and cherishes time spent hiking and running the trails of this unique area.

Dennis Washburn has been an elected office holder in California for almost 40 years. He is heavily involved in the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains. He also helped launch the Malibu Creek Watershed Natural Resources Restoration Plan. In 2012, Dennis won the Calabasas Citizen of the Year award.

Annemarie has been passionate about environmental conservation since childhood. She studied zoology and conservation and worked as an environmental consultant across Europe, Africa and Asia. Her work has involved management planning for a diverse range of landscapes and animals, from rivers to rainforests and from water shrews to wolves.

Tes Macaraya is one of the Founders and the Managing Partner at M & G Partners. With over 30 years of professional experience providing tax consulting and compliance services to corporations, partnerships and high net worth individuals, Tes partners with her clients and enables them to achieve their goals. She is well versed in complex tax matters, giving her the inspiration to engage and solve difficult challenges. Her expertise spans a wide variety of complex tax issues such as asset acquisition and disposition, partnership allocations and buy-outs, and set-up analysis. Tes serves clients across a wide range of industries including real estate, technology, manufacturing and professional services.

Asia M. Evans works as a Production Associate at Dreamworks Animation, assisting in the creation of marketing content for the studio's TV and film projects. She has also participated in mentorship programs and served as a volunteer for various organizations, including the American Diabetes Association and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and drinking tea. Previously, she worked in television, book publishing, and technical production management on Broadway.

Elaine is a Nature enthusiast passionate about preserving wildlife and native plants. Her first hike in Los Angeles was in Westridge Canyon 10 years ago. Since then, she has hiked every week with her dog in some area of the Santa Monica mountains. The mental and physical benefits of having this outdoor space preserved and accessible for all to enjoy in addition to raising preservation awareness are her paramount goals.
Elaine is proud to be a part of the SAMO Fund board as the Santa Monica mountains holds a special place in her heart.
In addition to her volunteer work with the SAMO Fund, Elaine works as a senior manager and engineer for Amgen. She enjoys being able to give back to the Ventura county community through both organizations.

Deanna Armbruster joined Santa Monica Mountains Fund in September 2019. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director, Development Director and Board Member for various non-profit organizations.
Her background is in organizational management, governance, grant management, public relations, conflict resolution and fund development.

Nicole Kaplan joined the Santa Monica Mountains Fund in August 2020. She brings with her more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience working with public companies, startups, nonprofits and small businesses. When she’s not spending time with her family, she enjoys walking, cooking and gardening.

Heather is the Fund's graphics and social media manager. She's been tangentially involved with SAMO Fund since 2019 and has taken a larger role as time goes on. She is responsible for some of the beautiful mailings, flyers, and digital content you might have seen about. Her passion for making a difference has led her to lending whatever talents she has to non-profit organizations that support conservation of nature, animal rescue, and change for the good of this world.
Outside of the office, Heather loves dancing, acting, music, and spending time outside.

Angie Heald became the Fund’s Executive Assistant in May, 2019. Previously she worked as a Production Coordinator in the motion picture industry. She is a volunteer with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and the Museum of Ventura County. She loves hiking, being in nature and protecting the wild open spaces.

Sandra Stanisa joined SAMO Fund in 2024. Prior to this, she served as Associate Director of University and External Events at Mount Saint Mary’s University and as a graduate student assistant at USC Annenberg’s Center for Public Relations where she earned her Master’s in Strategic Public Relations.
Her background is in public relations, strategic communications, fundraising, content creation, graphic design and crisis management.

Emma created this website, which she now maintains. Originally a Biochemist, Emma's post-research career has focussed on Science Communications. More recently she has been working for non-profit organisations with conservational focus, where her passion lies. Emma is also a volunteer docent for the Sea Life Center in Santa Barbara and a member of the District Advisory Board for CVUSD.
Emma loves being outdoors, especially scuba diving, skiing, kayacking, tennis and taking photos whenever she can!