Board of Directors

Mujtaba grew up in Britain, where he loved walking through the picturesque English countryside. He moved to the East Coast to earn a PhD in Computer Science from the Johns Hopkins University, then relocated to California in 1993, and rapidly gained a passion for hiking and camping. He works in Silicon Valley, and lives in San Jose. His children were in scouting, which led to a volunteer role as a Scoutmaster, and then as an assistant commissioner (coordinating a number of scouting units), as well as monthly backpacking trips. Mujtaba took the PCRF volunteer training in 2016, to spread awareness and appreciation for these parks, as well as help preserve them, and has been roaming (looking for trail problems) and leading guided hikes for the Foundation since that summer.

Michele brings a rich skill set to the PCRF Board. She graduated from the MBA program at UCLA’s Anderson school and had a 35- year career as a health care executive in the Bay Area. She lives and raised a family in Los Gatos, where she was elected to the Los Gatos/Saratoga High School Board and served for 8 years. In addition, she has served on the boards of a variety of community and non-profit organizations, including Hospice of the Valley, United Way and Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship Foundation. Michele also served as a Court Appointed Child Advocate for 10 years with 2 foster teens and is now a county park volunteer at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose. As part of transitioning into a second career, she is following her life-long interest in the outdoors. As a Board member, she will help support programs which enhance visitor experience to our parks.

Everyone who knows her knows Sarah loves Portola and redwood forests.  She credits her father for passing on his love of nature.  As a local native, Sarah has camped in Portola SP since she was 10 and has brought her children and grandchildren to not just carry on a tradition, but to learn to enjoy and appreciate nature.  Now that she’s retired, it is Sarah’s turn to give back and support the parks she loves by helping visitors enjoy their visit and find the same sense of peace and enjoyment in connecting with nature.  Sarah became a member of PCRF long before she became a docent in 2017 and joined the Board in 2019.

Becky Rivera joined the Portola and Castle Rock State Foundation Board in 2012, following her first hike at Portola Redwoods State Park. At the time, the Park was threatened with closure. Standing in the middle of the forest, she couldn’t say no to a request from a board member to help PCRF save the Park from closing.  In 2013, Becky participated in the first volunteer training program.  In addition to Treasury duties, Becky also manages the membership program.  Helping onsite and remotely to support the gift shop at Portola Redwoods provides Becky with the opportunity to meet visitors and generate revenue for PCRF.  Owner of BRFinance, a small consulting firm, Becky brings over 30 years of finance and administration to the role of Treasurer. A native Californian, Becky earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Finance from Golden Gate University.

Julie moved to the Bay Area in 1996 and is a member of the inaugural 2013 class of Castle Rock and Portola Redwoods State Park Volunteers. She also joined the Board in 2013 and brings with her a legal background. Julie spends many of her Board hours on making the gift shop inside the Portola Redwoods Visitor Center successful. Growing up on the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean, her love of the outdoors has migrated westward to enjoy the close combination of both sea and the Santa Cruz mountains. She is a steward of nature who enjoys hiking, walking the beach with her dogs and finding new places to explore.

Doug Brown grew up in Palo Alto and was introduced to the hiking and climbing at Castle Rock State Park as a teenager by his father. He has been an active volunteer with the Mid-Pen Open Spaces District, the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and the Castle Rock Trail Volunteers. His many volunteer hours hiking the Castle Rock trails, meeting visitors and talking to Rangers has given him an understanding of the many needs of the park. He first became a member and then joined the PCRF Board to help address these needs. Doug attended UC Berkeley, the University of Freiburg, Germany and the University of Washington where he earned a PhD. D in Nuclear Physics. Doug returned to the Bay Area in 1978 and enjoyed a successful carrier in R&D and Management. He retired in 1995 and splits his time between Sunnyvale and Lake Tahoe.

Kai grew up rock climbing, picnicking and hiking at Castle Rock State Park. While attending college at Humboldt State University, he was amazed by the massive trees and learned all about the complexities of the Redwood forest ecosystem. As director of PCRF, Kai looks forward to volunteering with trail maintenance as well as with planning and implementation of other projects within Castle Rock and Portola Redwoods State Parks.

Karl grew up in San Francisco and has lived in the Bay Area most of his life.  Passionate about trail work and currently President of Trail Center, he joined the board of PCRF in 2021 with a focus on establishing a monthly trail crew to support Portola Redwoods.  At over 40 workdays, the crew has volunteered over 1,700 hours to maintain the Portola Redwoods trails.  Away from the trails, Karl has over 30 years experience in technology and management, and helps support our PCRF technology.

Jim joined the PCRF board in 2025.  He grew up in the Chicago area and was active in Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle. He moved to the Bay Area in 1977 joining National Semiconductor, Silicon Systems, and later Texas Instruments. His work expertise is in electronics, radio, and project management.  Jim’s first encounter with Castle Rock was with one of our PCRF founders, Stu Langdoc, climbing Goat, Castle Rock, and others. Jim has been a docent and wilderness patrol volunteer at Castle Rock and Portola Redwoods since 2018. Kids2Parks and school visits have been his main support activities.

Dan grew up in Oakland where he was active in Boy Scout Troop 211 and has lived in Palo Alto for the last 30 years. Dan has spent most of his life camping and hiking in the Redwood Forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. He has camped in the Sierras, Cascades, Rockies and has spent time car camping in the Yukon Territories and Alaska. Dan finished his state park docent training in May 2025 for the Mountain Region which includes Portola, Castle Rock and Big Basin. Dan has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from the Haas School at UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. Dan is a Certified Public Accountant and has spent a large part of his 45-year career working at technology companies. Dan joined the PCRF Board in December 2025 and hopes to focus on awareness and fundraising in Silicon Valley and improving accessibility and restoring lost trail access resulting from the 2020 CZU Fire.