Board of Directors

President: Edwin Wilson
Yael Bernier
Marci Cook
Lisa Henson
Edson Howard
Richard Kagel
Don Kaminski
Doug Lipton
Judith Olney
Jason Passalacqua
Gerry Pasterick
Maria Rist
Charlee Schanzer
Don Wallace

Yael Bernier

I have lived in Dry Creek Valley since 1976 where I farm with my husband Paul, and currently with my son, Zureal, as well. We farm diverse row crops for restaurants and the local farmers market and grapes which we sell to a number of small Dry Creek Valley wineries. We have raised our family here and deeply care about the Valley's future.
I have served for a few terms as a board member of the Dry Creek Valley Association where I have in the past taken a special interest in the Planning and Zoning Committee. I see the Planning and Zoning Committee as a very important part of the DCVA because of the issues concerning growth, commercial or otherwise, and how those issues affect the Valley. I am strongly in favor of policy that will strengthen and preserve agriculture in the Valley and feel that we also must pay close attention to our resources to achieve and maintain balance. The community of the Dry Creek Valley is another important aspect to consider. Like many of my board colleagues, we want to be part of a larger community and work together to preserve the rural character of Dry Creek Valley for the present and future generations.

Marci Cook

Born and raised in San Francisco and then the East Bay town of Pinole, I moved to Sonoma County to attend SRJC and Sonoma State where I received my teaching credential. I have taught for Windsor Schools since the late 70s. In the mid 80's I stumbled upon my "little slice of heaven" in Dry Creek Valley. I share my 4 acre home with an assortment of wild & domestic flora and fauna. The migratory & resident birds and frogs treasure our little valley within the greater Dry Creek Valley, as do I and my extensive family of animals. Long distance horseback riding (50 and 100 miles in one day on my beloved Arabians) is my other passion besides teaching young children to respect themselves, each other and our fragile earth.

Lisa Henson

Lisa Henson was born in Inglewood, California and grew up in Half Moon Bay. She earned a B.A. degree in Interior Architecture from San Francisco State in 1984. Upon graduation she started her own design business and later owned and operated a bar and restaurant in San Francisco. She obtained a securities license in 1993 and spent 13 years as a stock trader and venture capitalist. Now semi-retired, she lives with her husband John Medinger in Dry Creek Valley, where they grow grapes and publish the distance running magazine, UltraRunning. She joined the Dry Creek Valley Association Board in 2007 and currently serves as Secretary of the Board.

Edson Howard

I learned to appreciate country life when I grew up on a cattle ranch and in a small town at 8,500 ft. elevation in northern Colorado. Life in the country ended when I graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967 and came to San Francisco the same year to pursue a career in engineering. I moved to Dry Creek Valley with my wife Ann in 1999 after being in private practice as a Structural Engineer in San Francisco for 25 years. We have enjoyed visiting the valley since 1988 when we started buying grapes for home wine making, and we are now very happy to return to country life in Dry Creek Valley. I have recently joined the board of the Dry Creek Valley Association with a desire to assist in protecting and preserving the rural agricultural character and heritage of this community that we enjoy.

Richard Kagel

I was born and raised in upstate New York. My Grandfather had a farm in the Hudson Valley region where our family grew wine grapes, cherries and apples and made wine. I looked forward to having my own farm for many years and in 1996 we purchased a property and moved to the Dry Creek Valley in anticipation of the birth of our first (and only) child. He was born at Healdsburg General Hospital about 4 months later.. At work, I am the Laboratory Director at K Prime, Inc., a testing laboratory my wife, Carla, and I started about 19 years ago. The business is located in Santa Rosa near the county airport. K Prime is an environmental testing laboratory where we test air, water, soil and products for the presence of toxic contaminants. I have a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Idaho and have served on the faculty of UC Berkeley and Sonoma State University teaching analytical and environmental chemistry. For over 25 years, my professional career has focused on environmental quality and the ways we evaluate it.
In the local community, I have had the opportunity the past three years to teach chemistry at Alexander Valley Elementary School in their Enrichment Program. I am a member of Healdsburg Community Church where I serve as a Stephen Minister and a Stephen Leader. Stephen Ministry provides trained lay persons to care for those experiencing crisis or loss in their lives. I have also had the honor and pleasure of serving on the Board of the Dry Creek Valley Association (DCVA) for the past five years where I serve on the Natural Resources Committee, have chaired the popular Zin Taste Off competition since 2002 and am presently Chairman of the Fundraising Committee.
My priorities within the DCVA focus on maintaining the degree of environmental excellence we are privileged to experience in the Valley and helping to maintain and build our sense of community. I believe that the Dry Creek Valley is a Jewel, to be cherished not only by its residents, but also by all who come and experience what the residents enjoy every day. The Dry Creek Valley is uniquely beautiful, and its rich soil and water resources support an agricultural lifestyle that is increasingly rare in our modern world. Such beauty is rare, and right now it needs and deserves protection and preservation. As good stewards of this land, I believe that future generations will benefit from this work we do today. My main hobbies are growing grapes, making wine, enjoying wine and time off with family and friends, raising a few geese, fishing and playing catch with my 10 year old son.

Don Kaminski

I was raised on a small farm in Niles, Michigan with the usual plowing, planting, baling hay, pigs and other farm animals. I've even been known to have milked cows by hand for a week while my uncle went deer hunting. Maybe that is why I obtained a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. The school is so far north I received physical education credits for learning to ski. As a professional I managed structural integrity and performance testing efforts for earth moving equipment, garbage trucks, tank trailers and similar equipment. I have also been a General Manager for a line of large industrial dryers used to dehydrate chopped alfalfa, spent brewer's grains, manure, wood products, blood and other organic products. Following that I managed a company that built and installed solid waste (trash) recycling facilities throughout the US. My wife and I moved to Dry Creek Valley from Wisconsin in 1997 with the idea that I would retire--an idea that didn't last. I am keeping myself happy and busy as the current owner of Bartley Pump, a company that installs and services ground and surface water systems for homeowners, vineyards and municipalities.

Doug Lipton, Ph.D.

Dr. Lipton served as the Principal Scientist at LFR Levine Fricke (a 500-person Environmental Consulting Company based in Emeryville, California) before departing in 2000 to focus on two of the largest ecological restoration projects of their kind in the Country, the restoration of the Napa River and the Montezuma Wetlands Project located in the San Francisco Estuary. During his 10 years at LFR, Dr. Lipton founded and managed the company's "Applied Sciences" group that designs restoration projects, conducts ecological risk assessments, and performs laboratory studies to evaluate remediation techniques for restoring contaminated soil, sediment, and water. Currently, Dr. Lipton continues to manage the Montezuma Wetlands Project, a 3,000 acre restoration project that beneficially reuses sediment dredged from the SF Bay-Delta to raise subsided baylands to intertidal elevations that will restore fish and wildlife habitats for many endangered species. In Sonoma County where Dr. Lipton has lived since 1996, he provides advice and support for the area's environmental community; serving on the Boards of the Dry Creek Valley Association and Russian RiverKeeper, and continues to provide technical assistance to the Sonoma Land Trust where he served on the Board for four years. He also serves on the Board of Healdsburg Jazz Festival and the Friends Advisory Committee for the Sonoma County Foundation.
Before embarking on his environmental career, Dr. Lipton attended Berklee College of Music in Boston to study guitar and played professionally in Jazz groups during the late 70s in Boulder Colorado. There he discovered his other loves besides music: his wife; and gardening that inspired him to return to University of Colorado-Boulder where he majored in both environmental and molecular biology, and then went on to receive a M.S in soil science from University of Missouri-Columbia, and subsequently a Ph.D. in environmental chemistry from University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Lipton lives with his wife (Cindy Daniel) and two sons (Henri and Oliver) in Healdsburg, California, and still plays guitar with local musicians, including his sons. Dr. Lipton and his wife moved from San Francisco to Healdsburg 11 years ago to realize their dream of having a small farm. They started their 15-acre farm from scratch in 1998, and now produce a diverse array of organic fruits, nuts, produce, and wine grapes.

Judith Olney

For the past 20 years, Judith Olney has taken an active role in protecting the rural integrity of her beloved Sonoma County. Judith brings over 30 years of experience as a project manager, as well as a Masters in natural resource planning from UC Berkeley to her role as chair of the DCVA Natural Resources Committee.

Jason Passalacqua

Jason Passalacqua is President and Owner of Passalacqua Winery in Healdsburg, California. Since purchasing the winery and tasting room facility in 2003, Jason has implemented and executed a 100% direct sales model, successfully selling nearly 5000 cases in only the second full year of operation. Prior to venturing into the wine business, Passalacqua worked for Solectron Corporation, a $15B electronics manufacturing services company located in Milpitas, California. During his nearly eight years with Solectron, Passalacqua was responsible for multiple facets of the business, from operational management and new product introductions to corporate and account development with mergers and acquisitions. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University and currently lives with his wife, daughter and son in Healdsburg.

Gerry Pasterick

Gerry and Diane Pasterick have lived in Dry Creek Valley since 1999 where they own a small vineyard and winery producing Syrah in the classic Cote-Rotie tradition. Gerry with over 40 years wine industry experience is an executive consultant well qualified in all phases of the wine industry including; expert witness, strategic planning, finance, operations, production and marketing.
Gerry has been a: Director and Executive Vice President for The Henry Wine Group a national importer and fine wine wholesaler, Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer for Mont LaSalle Vineyards, President and CEO for Guild Wineries and Distrilleries, President and General Manager for Sonoma Vineyards along with various management positions with Heublein Inc. Prior to being involved with the wine industry, Gerry spent eight years at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in fuel cell business development and developing fuel controls for commercial and military jet engines. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Case Institute of Technology and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Hartford.

Marie Rist

I was born in Healdsburg, a native of beautiful Dry Creek Valley. My parents farmed prunes, apples and grapes. They also had a small family winery from which they used the grapes produced from the ranch that we now farm. I have lived here all my life, married to my husband Jack and raised three children. In 1974, Jack and I plus several fellow ranchers were the founders of Dry Creek Valley Association. I Served in the capacity as the first secretary-treasurer of the association for a number of its first years, and have served on the board on several consecutive occasions throughout the years.
My husband and I farm on West Dry Creek Road, growing Merlot and Chardonnay grapes. We previously also farmed prunes until the great conversion some years ago to more grapes. My interests are gardening, sewing knitting, computer, chairman of the Dry Creek Valley Farm Bureau Women's Scholarship Fund and presently a director on the DCVA board.

Charlee Schanzer

Charlee is a realtor with Frank Howard Allen in Healdsburg and has owned her home in Dry Creek Valley since 1989. She is originally from New Orleans where she practiced law and was involved in real estate investments. She moved to the Bay Area twenty years ago and worked in the wine industry as a wine educator and events coordinator.
During her tenure on DCVA's Board of Directors she has been Chairman of the Summer Picnic and Annual Dinner twice. She is currently Vice President, Membership Chairman, and serves on the Planning and Zoning and Communications Committees.

Edwin W. Wilson

I was born in San Francisco and moved soon after to Novato, where I lived on a pear farm with my parents and my six brothers and sisters. At age 10, my family acquired a fishing resort on the Feather River in the Sierra Nevadas near Quincy, where I lived until I graduated from Quincy High School. It was during this period of my life that I acquired and lived my love for nature and the outdoors. I thereafter graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in forestry.
After working in forestry for awhile, I became a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. During much of my 5 1/2 years in the service I flew into Viet Nam often. I was also stationed for a tour of duty at Cam Rahn Bay, Viet Nam, where my primary mission was to supply U.S. Special Forces Camps throughout Viet Nam by air. After the service, I attended the University of California at Davis, where I received a law degree. Thereafter, I worked for two years as the chief law clerk to the Honorable Thomas J. MacBride, Chief Judge of the United States District Court in Sacramento.
While in law school, I worked three summers as a National Park Ranger in Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park, where I rode horse patrol.
While at Berkeley, I met my wife, Annette Cadosi, a Healdsburg girl who swore she would never return to this hick town. She has now lived in the Dry Creek Valley for some thirty years, where she and I have raised four strapping sons. My law offices have been in Healdsburg for the same thirty+ years, where I focus on the practice of environmental, real estate and estate planning law.

Don Wallace

Agriculture is a natural way of life for Don Wallace, the product of four generations of a hard-working California farming family.
Don’s interest in machinery took him away from the farm for fifteen years while he pursued a career in international construction. While he was on a project in Sonoma County in 1980, Don met Dry Creek Vineyard founder David Stare’s daughter, Kim Stare, whom he married in 1982.
With his father-in-law and wife in the wine business, Don’s next move was a stint among the vines at Murphy-Goode Estate Winery to “test drive” his new family’s industry. After one year, Don accepted his father-in-law’s offer to manage ranch operations at Dry Creek Vineyard in 1990. Don’s sphere of influence gradually grew to encompass every aspect of the business, including winery operations and sales, as well as vineyard development and acquisitions. Don took on the role of General Manager in 1999. In April 2006, Don was appointed President of Dry Creek Vineyard.
Frequent twelve-hour workdays notwithstanding, Don’s primary focus is his two children, Taylor and Spencer. From coaching Little League to addressing homework issues at the kitchen table, Don prides himself on being a hands-on Dad. In addition, he still finds time to pursue an array of interests. Don is a passionate gardener and gourmet cook, enjoys mushroom hunting and duck hunting and, naturally, is an avid sailor.
Don frequents the airways traveling coast-to-coast to promote Dry Creek Vineyard and help regional sales programs around the country. An active industry advocate, Don was on the forefront of the sustainable farming movement and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Dry Creek Valley Association. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma County Wineries Association, and The Wine Institute of California. Don is the analytical and practical one, while Kim is creative and intuitive. Despite their stylistic differences, they share the same vision and agree on virtually all strategic decisions. Perhaps most fundamental is their mutual agreement to continue the family tradition of producing only classically styled wines that define their category. The family lives in a house nestled in the vines next to the winery.