New member elected to Ballona Creek Renaissance Board of Directors

Photo courtesy of BCR New—Ballona Creek Renaissance unanimously elected Deborah Gregory to Board of Directors as Board Secretary.

During its Jan. 28 annual meeting, Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR) unanimously elected Deborah Gregory to its Board of Directors and to the recently open officer-level position of Board Secretary.

An interior designer, teacher, mentor, and BCR volunteer, Gregory brings to the board a passion for creek, community, and nature. Living in the Del Rey neighborhood west of Culver City with her architect husband Brian Reiff and family, Gregory regularly runs along the Ballona Creek Trail, has a basic knowledge of native plants, and enjoys sketching, bicycling, hiking, kayaking and pelicans.

When Gregory saw the BCR E-News announcement about the position opening, she contacted BCR Outreach Coordinator Sandrine Cassidy Schmitt about her interest. After a creek walk together, Sandrine called BCR President Jim Lamm with the good news. Both were delighted.

A few days later, the BCR Board enthusiastically agreed.

“Deborah’s a very engaging, energetic, and hands-on person,” Jim said. “I really think she’ll help us make good things happen! In fact, she epitomizes our goal of connecting creek and community.”

One place where Gregory has connected is at the Ballona Creek bike path entrance at Centinela and Milton in DelRey. It’s where the concrete creek bottom meets the softbottom tidal estuary, a special place of art, creekside vegetation, fish, waterbirds, people and shaded seating. It’s also where BCR hosts frequent creek cleanups.

For details and a flier about the Feb. 8 cleanup and to sign up for BCR’s E-News, go online to www.ballonacreek.org.

Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR)…Connecting Creek and Community A Culver Citybased 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Federal Tax ID No. 95-4764614 P.O. Box 843, Culver City CA 90232…310-839-6896…www. ballonacreek.org