Park Advocacy Day Speakers | Cal Parks

Director Armando Quintero, California Department of Parks and Recreation  

Armando Quintero was named director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation in August 2020. An experienced parks professional with expertise in park operations, outdoor education, equity and access, and diversity and inclusion in hiring and retention, Quintero is an environmental scientist by training. Since 2015, he has been executive director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California, Merced, where he was also director of development from 2008 to 2014. He has also served as a member of the California Water Commission since 2014.  

 

Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, Assembly District 56 

Assemblymember Garcia represents California’s 56th Assembly District, which includes cities and unincorporated communities in eastern Riverside County and Imperial County. This area has some of the highest unemployment rates in the state even with the presence of large agricultural and tourism industries. Elected in 2014, Assemblymember Garcia is the current chair of the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife. In 2016, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia passed well over two dozen bills and resolutions signed by Governor Brown. He made a point to champion measures that would increase access to healthcare and recreational opportunities, and bring environmental and economic relief to the areas of the Coachella and Imperial Valley, such as the Salton Sea and New River. 

Danielle Lynch, Environmental and Energy Consulting 

Danielle Lynch specializes in natural resources, conservation, and equity/social justice funding and policy, including developing strategies for clients to achieve their funding and policy goals. Specifically, Danielle helps clients access state funding through relationship building, program design, project positioning with public officials, and providing advice to make projects more competitive. In 2016, Danielle worked with stakeholders to write and insert language into Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, that would provide funding for projects that restore environments damaged by cannabis cultivation. During the years 2016 through 2018, Danielle worked closely with legislators and stakeholders to draft, support, and pass Proposition 68.  

 

Tanisha Gupta, California State Parks Foundation volunteer 

Tanisha Gupta is a freshman in high school. She is a Half Moon Bay Youth Volunteer Core Leader with California State Parks Foundation. She is interested in Biology, Computer Science, and Engineering. In her spare time, she likes traveling to national parks, hiking, reading, and listening to music.