San Diego CA –San Diego Coastkeeper announces the addition of Sarah Boot, Jack Brown, Taya Lazootin, Elizabeth Taylor and Catherine Stiefel to its board of directors. The five bring substantial experience in corporate and environmental law, watershed science, finance and marine conservation.
Boot, an attorney at Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP, specializes in prosecution of nationwide consumer class action cases. Boot previously served as an assistant United States attorney on a trial team in the Southern District of California, where she prosecuted a broad array of federal crimes, ranging from bank robbery and child exploitation to narcotics and human trafficking.
Brown was a government law attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office for 34 years before he joined Chatten-Brown & Carstens part time as special counsel. For 17 years, Jack specialized in land use and the California Environmental Quality Act, both in the main office and as an attorney with the Department of Water & Power.
Lazootin is currently earning her master’s degree in watershed science, researching nutrient pollution in the Escondido Creek watershed. She has ten years of experience as a teacher and administrator and five years of experience as a volunteer with San Diego Coastkeeper as well as WiLDCOAST, American Cetacean Society, San Diego Humane Society and Surfrider Foundation.
Taylor is the staff attorney for UC Irvine School of Law’s Center for Land, Environment and Natural Resources. Prior to joining the Center, she worked in private practice as an environmental attorney representing California public entities as well as nonprofit organizations on a variety of environmental issues.
Stiefel is a CPA, retired, with 20 years of business experience, primarily in accounting and finance. Her career included time at Deloitte & Touche, Science Applications International Corporation and Petco, and she has served on the board of directors of Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. and Freedom Meditech, Inc. She graduated summa cum laude from San Diego State University in 1992 with a B.S. in business administration, emphasis in accounting.
Additionally, this week, the board of directors approved its 2015 executive committee:

• President – Elizabeth Taylor
• Vice Presidents – Everett DeLano and Glen Schmidt
• Secretary – Catherine Stiefel
• Treasurer – Stewart Halpern

The organization thanks its outgoing board members Jo Brooks, most recently serving as president; Sandor Kaupp, after nearly two decades of service, most recently as vice president; and Micah Mitrosky, most recently serving on the development and nominating and committee.
For more information on San Diego Coastkeeper and its staff, board members and work in San Diego County, please visit www.sdcoastkeeper.org.