Board of Directors and Staff

Carol Shinsky, Treasurer – Lived in the Arizona desert from 1973 through 2022. She worked for Tucson Unified School District and Vail School District until her retirement in 2003. She and her husband spent many years hiking, biking, and camping in our beautiful Sonoran desert while working with conservation organizations to help preserve this unique and fragile environment. She has been Board Treasurer for SSSR since 2014 and continues in that position from her new home in Washington State.

Gregory C. Shinsky – Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.  Six years service in the United States Army and twenty-three years service in the Tucson Fire Department.  Retired at the age of 48, volunteering and working on the SSSR Board for 14 years. 

“My passion for the right to clean air and clean water drives my commitments.”

Gayle Hartmann – Worked as an archaeologist and archaeological editor for the Arizona State Museum, the University of Arizona, and several environmental consulting firms in Tucson. She has authored or co-authored several journal articles and books and has served as editor of Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. She has served on the Planning and Zoning Commission for Pima County and as member of the steering committee of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. She also served two terms on the Board of Trustees of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Gayle is currently a research associate at the Arizona State Museum.

Stan Hart, Ph.D.– Grew up in Lynn, MA 1935-1956. Educated at MIT and Caltech. Career in geochemistry and marine geology at Carnegie Institution of Washington; U. California, San Diego; MIT; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (now Emeritus). Resident of Green Valley AZ since 2009. Member, National Academy of Science; American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (See also Stanley Robert Hart, Wikipedia).

Jeff Herr – A fifth-generation southern Arizonan born in Douglas. He grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona with a journalism degree. He worked at both dailies in Tucson, Nogales, in Phoenix (Republic Media), and then ventured into digital media in the mid-90s (Starwave, ABCNews.com, Outside Online, TheStreet.com). He also worked at the national and regional level driving national digital reporting and sales at Lee Enterprises (co-owner of the Star) and all digital for Media-News Group in California (HQed at the San Jose Mercury News).

John Michael Kozma – holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and a Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA.  He served as a decorated junior naval officer during the Viet-Nam campaign and was employed during his professional materials management career with a variety of companies in the metal turning industry.  His latest position was as Materials Manager for New Hampshire Ball Bearing’s Precision Division in Chatsworth, CA.

Edward D. Buster – Security Program Manager for the City of Tucson’s Tucson Water Utility. He overseas, administrates, and directs total security throughout Tucson water’s critical infrastructure including $80 billion in assets, the safety of 2000+ employees, and risk management of Arizona’s second largest municipal utility encompassing 4,600 miles of pipeline transferring 30 billion gallons of drinking water serving 1 million customers throughout Pima County daily.  Ed is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Business Management.

Thomas F. Purdon, MD – Born and raised Waterloo, Iowa, – Matriculated at the University of Iowa, with BA in ’59, Doctor of Medicine in”62 and Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology also Univ. of Iowa. During this time, he married his wife, Kathryn. They have one daughter, Jennifer, who lives in Phoenix, AZ.  He served two years in the US Army Medical Corps and then joined a large multi-specialty group practice in Colo. Springs, CO, where he practiced for 20 years.

Sarah Truebe, Ph.D. – Works for Sky Island Alliance as a Habitat Conservation Manager focused on restoring natural springs in southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. She was born in Tucson, and after a roundabout path through academia and various jobs including Cave Resource Manager at Kartchner Caverns State Park, she is delighted to be back in the Sonoran Desert, working with volunteers and other like-minded individuals who care for these lands. In her free time, Sarah volunteers with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association and the National Cave Rescue Commission and enjoys music and dance in various forms.

Sheila L. Dagucon, Esq. – Lives in Sonoita and has served on the SSSR board for over 12 years.  She is a partner in the law firm of Kramer & Dagucon, LLP also located in Sonoita.  Her legal focus was representing children in either foster care or involved in difficult domestic relation cases.  Sheila now serves as a part time Judge Pro Tempore for the Superior Court of Santa Cruz County.  

Sheila received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  She was awarded a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Roger E McManus – grew up in Tucson and the Sonoran Desert, and this ecosystem is the home he returned to from much of his career in Washington D.C.  He worked in the first Endangered Species Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in two Administrations of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and in the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.  He was the CEO of the Center for Marine Conservation for twenty years, and was a senior staff member for Conservation International.