top of page

MDIA Board Members

  • Steve Smith . . . . . . .  President

  • Mike Brandy. . . .Vice President

  • Dan Sandri . . . . . . . . .Secretary

  • Dan Fitzgerald . . . . .  Treasurer

  • Mark Brauer

  • Julie Braun Martin

  • Leslie Contreras

  • Tere Dixon

  • Staci Hobbet

  • Linda Kwong

  • Carol Lane

  • Dick Nicoll

  • Harry York

Steve Smith

President

Steve grew up in Danville and has been an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast his whole life. He is a docent, hike leader, back-country rover, leader of the Maintenance Volunteer Group, and member of the Trash Removal Project. He began volunteering on the mountain after completing a quest to hike all 162 miles of trails within the park.

Mike Brandy

Vice President

Mike is always drawn to the outdoors for inspiration and renewal.  As a Mount Diablo State Park volunteer for the last four years, he is currently engaged in co-managing the Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center, always trying to enhance the docent training and the visitor experience to the park.  He also volunteers on the Trash Removal Project (TRP) team.  He usually cycles or hikes every week on the mountain.

Dan Fitzgerald

Treasurer

Dan grew up in Concord with a view of the mountain and spent some time exploring it with Michael Marchiano. When he retired, Dan completed the State Parks volunteer training and became an active member of the Trash Removal Project and a visitor center and roving docent. Dan also enjoys nature photography.

Dan Sandri

Secretary

Dan has lived in the East Bay for nearly all of his life, and Mt. Diablo has always been his favorite hiking place. Dan has a B. S. degree in Entomology and enjoys observing and photographing insects, birds, reptiles, as well as other plant and animal life. Upon retirement, Dan became a volunteer at Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center, a member of the Native Plant Garden team, and a back-country rover. Dan enjoys interacting with visitors, learning and writing.

Mark Brauer

Mark has lived in the East Bay for the last 35 years and has enjoyed hiking at Mount Diablo since he moved here. For the past six years he has volunteered his time as a docent and as a rover at Mount Diablo.  He particularly enjoys interacting with the park's visitors and helping them discover the best places to visit in the park. Mark set himself the goal in 2013 to hike every trail in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and after 8 years completed that task.  Of all the parks and open spaces in the East Bay he finds the most enjoyment from visiting Mount Diablo.

Julie Braun Martin

Julie, an educator for many years with a passion for conservation and serving youth, enjoys walking on the mountain and serving at Mitchell Canyon and assisting with publications.

Terese Dixon

Tere has lived at the base of Mount Diablo for nearly 40 years and has hiked and biked the trails of Mount Diablo State Park throughout that time. Currently serving as the Webmaster for the  MDIA website , Tere is also a State Park volunteer, and is a California Naturalist. Other than cycling with her husband, Tere enjoys working in her dry garden and birding. 

Staci Hobbet

Staci is a Natural History Docent in Mount Diablo State Park, the lead of the Peregrine Team in Pine Canyon, and a graduate of the California Naturalist Program. Her focus is on natural history interpretation and outreach.

Linda Kwong

Linda has lived in Alamo since 1997. Her connection to the mountain started after a neighbor took her on a bike ride to the Summit over 7 years ago. Now she is a regular visitor on the mountain, often riding 3-4 days per week. Photographing all four seasons and engaging with both the park visitors and staff are her favorite activities. Her goal is for all park visitors to have a safe, memorable and fun experience during their visit on Mount Diablo. 

Leslie Contreras

Living in the shadow of Mount Diablo all her life, Leslie has always had a passion for the mountain. She contributes to MDIA as the event coordinator for the hiking program and as co-manager of the Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center.

Carol Lane

Carol is a retired Registered Nurse who loves to be active and find interesting things out in nature. She is an active trail maintenance volunteer and sees trail work as a way to give back for the enjoyment that she experienced as a trail runner.

Dick Nicoll

A long time local resident, Dick loves everything outdoors.  He coordinates publications, serves at Mitchell Canyon, works on the Trash Removal Project, and organizes road repairs.  He has completed the California Naturalist Program. 

Harry York

Harry has been hiking in the Bay Area and Northern California since grade school. In the last few years with more time, he has hiked in most of the east bay parks and now as a docent for MDIA, has hiked almost every trail on Mt Diablo. He enjoys meeting people from all over the world at the visitor center and on the trail, discussing the best trails or sharing hiking stories.

2022 MDIA Committee Members and Leads

Archives

Nancy Topp

Maintains archives and Box.com

Contracts

Dick Nicoll

Develops required contracts

Corporate Governance

Staci Hobbet

Updates and maintains the documents contained within the MDIA Board of Directors’ Handbook

Finance

Dan Fitzgerald

Review financial records, bank statements

Fundraising/Grant Writing

Carol Lane

Develops fundraising strategies; obtains grants and donations

Hikes

Leslie Contreras

Recruits hike leaders; advertises and leads hikes in the park

Insurance

Linda Kwong

Negotiates appropriate insurance coverage and manages insurance-related matters

Interpretive Displays

Steve Smith

Designs and fabricates interpretive panels and visitor center displays

Interpretive Program Committee

Mike Brandy

Supports the development and enhancement of interpretive programs at Mount Diablo State Park

MCVC

Leslie Contreras, Mike Brandy

Recruits and trains docents; collects money and docent logs; cleans and maintains MCVC

Marketing, Outreach and Publicity

Mark Brauer

Develops portable displays and staffs events; furnishes material to advertise MDIA and recruit new members

Membership

Julie Braun Martin (interim)

Maintains membership list; prepares membership communications; prepares and sends bulk mailings

Merchandising

Dan Fitzgerald, Steve Smith

Handles merchandising, inventory, and reporting for merchandising inside and outside of the park, including refreshments and fulfillment

Native Plant Garden

Carol Lane

Maintenance, repair replanting of native garden at Mitchell Canyon

Nominating

Staci Hobbet

Recruits and nominates board members and officers

Park Maintenance

Steve Smith

Repairs, replaces, and improves park structures with park approval

Publications

Dick Nicoll

Publishes Mount Diablo Review, Mountain News, MDIA annual report, and other MDIA publications

Telescopes

Carol Lane

Installs, collects money from, and maintains the MDIA telescopes

Trail Maintenance

Carol Lane

Coordinates MDIA-sponsored trail maintenance activities and expenses with park staff; arranges for maintenance of Globe Lily Trail adopted by MDIA

Trail Signage

Steve Smith

Determines the need for new trail signs and posts; coordinates sign orders with park staff; installs signs and posts

Trash Removal

Dan Fitzgerald, Burt Bogardus

Removes non-indigenous material from the park

Volunteers in Park (VIP) Program

Dan Fitzgerald

Acts as the liaison between the Park’s Volunteer Coordinator and the Board; approves, or brings to the Board for approval, expenses requested or incurred by or on behalf of the VIP Program

Website and Social Media

Terese Dixon

Designs, updates, and maintains the MDIA website

bottom of page