Leadership
Renée Taylor | Chair
Renee Taylor is a near-lifelong Sacramentan who brings decades of community leadership to the Sacramento Botanical Garden. She headed her PR firm Form Communications for 15 years and served in numerous community leadership roles including Executive Director of the Fulton Avenue Association, a member of the SMUD Board of Directors, and CEO of the Northern California World Trade Center. She served multiple terms on local planning councils as well as on the boards of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Region Community Foundation, Roberts Family Development Center, St. John’s Program for Real Change. Renee has apolitical Science degree from UC Berkeley.
William Ishmael | Vice Chair
William is a prominent and active artist who has served as board member, curator, moderator and speaker for multiple organizations and commissions. A former registered civil engineer in California and his native state of Kentucky; formerly a LEED accredited professional, and certified urban planner (AICP) with a Bachelor's Civil Engineering from Duke and a Master's Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. William served as the Managing Principal with Nolte Associates, for the Sacramento office, as well as a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He served under three mayors in the Sacramento City Planning Commission as well as on the Boards of the Capital Area Development Authority, Valley Vision, and as President of the Sacramento Tree Foundation
Raymond Tretheway III | Secretary
As the visionary behind and founding board member of the Sacramento Tree Foundation, Ray is the prime mover behind causing the planting of over a million trees in Sacramento. He served as the Tree Foundation’s Executive Director for 39 years overseeing its growth to a $3million/year organization. Ray has also served as founding board member for the Alliance for Community Trees, and California Releaf, where he currently serves as board president. A Vietnam Veteran, he served ten years on the Sacramento City Council and including a term as Vice Mayor. Ray has received many awards for his work building and protecting urban forests, including the Frederick Law Olmsted Award for exemplary tree planting and conservation work.
Lisa Bodemeijer | Treasurer
Lisa Bodemeijer brings 17 years of experience in accounting in and around the Sacramento area. After graduating from Sacramento State with her degree in accounting, she pursued a career with Franklin Templeton Investments, a global investment firm. In 2005, Lisa created her business, Double-Check Bookkeeping Services and now services businesses in Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo counties. She previously served as Treasurer for Soroptimist International Sacramento North, a non-profit for over two years.
Jeff Townsend
Jeffrey A. Townsend, FASLA, is a retired Professional Landscape Architect with a 36-year legacy in private practice. He concluded his career in 2021 as a Principal at Jacobs, where he directed the Urban Design & Planning practice and managed operations for the Sacramento office. His leadership background spans prominent firms, including Carter & Burgess, Vail Engineering, Takata Associates, and Sasaki Associates. A dedicated advocate for the profession, Jeff served as the National Vice President of Finance for the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and held multiple leadership roles at the state level. Today, he remains active in the Sacramento community, contributing his expertise to boards like the Urban Land Institute and the Sacramento Tree Foundation. He is passionate about civic design and urban forestry while continuing to shape the built environment through dedicated public service.
Beverly “Babs” Sandeen
A former Vice Chancellor and President of the Foundation at both UC Davis and Los Rios Community College District, Babs also led her community of West Sacramento as a member of its planning commission and city council. Babs is active in the Sacramento Region as a volunteer, servings a board member and leader over the years for Metro Chamber of Commerce, United Way California Capital Region, Yolo Basin Foundation, Sacramento Valley Conservancy, Woodland Opera House, American Leadership Forum, Yolo Community Foundation and West Sacramento Foundation. Babs holds both a bachelor's degree in political science and a doctorate in social ecology from UC Irvine.
Christi Black-Davis
Christi Black-Davis is a respected business executive, communications advisor, and community leader. In her role at EGA, a specialty within marketing communications firm Edelman, she consults to public and private sector organizations on public affairs, crisis communications, and consumer education. Christi has a long history of volunteer leadership with nonprofit organizations involved with the environment, youth wellbeing and public health. She served as the first executive director – and later board chair – for the American River Parkway Foundation, and as board member for both the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the American River Natural History Association. Christi also served in leadership roles for numerous other organizations and as part time faculty at Sacramento State University and regional community colleges.
Derrick Lim
After a wide-ranging public service career with the City of Sacramento, Derrick has continued to engage community service projects like establishing Chinese heritage museum in Folsom, ensuring equity for wok-cooking and Asian cuisine, and being on the board of Gifts to Share, Inc. Derrick’s public and community service is rooted in his hometown of Sacramento. His 24-year local government career started in City Hall and concluded as manager of Neighborhood Services. He collaborated with and served on non-profit boards including the Asian Community Center, Asian Resources, Chinese American Council of Sacramento, Folsom History, KCRA-3 (Perceptions public affairs), Leadership Sacramento, Locke, Martin Luther King, Jr. Expo and Job Fair, Pacific Rim Street Fest, Ping Yuen (rental housing), Rebuilding Together, Sacramento County and Grand Jury, United States Courthouse, and 1882 Foundation.
Jose Hermocillo
Jose’s career in government, politics, public affairs, and communications spans decades. He has played key roles in dozens of initiative, legislative and regulatory campaigns. His career began in the State Senate working as a committee consultant. He has co-founded several consulting firms and served as the managing director of a global public affairs firm for two decades. Jose has received national and regional awards for his work. He graduated with honors from Pomona College and the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law and received a certificate in trial and appellate advocacy from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law. Jose has served on numerous boards, including Sierra Health Foundation, Valley Vision, Umpqua Bank, and Capital Public Radio.
Roy Brewer
Roy Brewer has been one of the leading land use attorneys in the Sacramento area for approval of complex multi-use projects since 1984. He has served as legal counsel, project manager and advocate for many controversial, high-visibility projects, and has successfully negotiated approvals with regulatory agencies in more than 40 jurisdictions in three states. Over the last four decades, Roy has served as a respected regional resource on public policy issues including land use, flood control, water resources and local government reorganization. Roy has served in leadership capacities with the American Leadership Forum (having been named an Exemplary Leader in 2025), Los Rios Community College District, Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, KVIE and the Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation.
Tim Youmans
Tim Youmans has remained an active consultant after retiring as one of the founders of Economic and Planning Systems (EPS), a specialist in the financing of public infrastructure and the economics of land development, land use, and government organization. Tim has more than 35 years of experience in assessing the economic impacts and financial feasibility of development projects and designing appropriate financing mechanisms for the construction of needed infrastructure. Tim has a MS in Management from UCLA and a BA in Economics from UC Santa Barbara, and is an active member of Urban Land Institute, Lambda Alpha International, the Building Industry Association. Tim was co-chair of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Civic Amenities Committee and leader of the Chamber’s Civic Amenities Strategic Plan, as well as leader of ULI’s Sacramento Chapter civic amenities efforts
Advisors and Supporters
- Nancy Brodovsky
- Neil Dubrovsky
- Pat Fong-Kushida
- Heather Fargo
- Mark Freeman
- Della Gilleran
- Beth Hassett
- Matt Keasling
- Ashel Rossi
- Randy Sater
- John and Suzanne Taylor
- Daniel Villanueva