The San Joaquin River Conservancy Board of Directors announced John Shelton as the new Executive Officer last Wednesday morning. John is currently serving as a Senior Environmental Scientist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Previously, he was an environmental scientist with the Bay-Delta Authority and the Department of Water Resources. John has a deep knowledge of San Joaquin River issues.
As a systems ecologist, John is interested in tackling issues holistically, even beyond just considering the ecosystem, but to also try to understand the full social-ecological system.
John’s anticipated start date is November 19, 2018, and the River Parkway Trust’s Board and Staff look forward to working with John to advance the Parkway in the years to come.
John is taking over the position previously held by Melinda Marks. Melinda became the San Joaquin River Conservancy’s Executive Officer in 2001. Over her 17 year tenure, Melinda’s leadership helped advance the Parkway in considerable ways. Among her accomplishments are making Jensen River Ranch a valued open space park, acquiring and improving Sycamore Island for public recreation, restoring habitat on hundreds of acres, rehabilitating the Lost Lake Park campground, and acquiring nearly 2,000 acres for the Parkway.
Melinda retired from her position with the Conservancy this summer.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Melinda for her many years of service. And we wish her the best on her new journey ahead in retirement.
