Board of Directors

The members of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors are drawn from a broad cross-section of Santa Monica and Westside residents.  Working through its committee structure, and with limited contract administrative support, the Board and a cadre of dedicated volunteers are responsible for conceiving and executing all Conservancy programs.

Mario Fonda-Bonardi, AIA – President

Principal of Fonda-Bonardi & Hohman Architects, specializing in residential design. Member and former chair of the Santa Monica Planning Commission. Former member of the Third Street Historic District Community Participation Committee.

Alec Nedelman – Vice President

Counselor, advisor, author, and speaker in the structured real estate finance industry. Formerly with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

Tom Cleys* – Treasurer

Founding President of the Conservancy. Member, Santa Monica Urban Forest Task Force, Former board member, Friends of Sunset Park. Retired Vice President, Asset Management at Mesa West Capital.

Carol Lemlein – Secretary

Co-chair of the Conservancy’s Advocacy Committee and past President. Chair, Steering Committee of the 2011 California Preservation Foundation Annual Conference in Santa Monica. Co-developer of the Conservancy’s Downtown Walking Tour. Retired marketing and product development manager at Teradyne, Inc.

Catherine Conkle

Project Designer at Sheridan Group, a premier commercial furniture dealer based in Los Angeles. Chair of the Preservation Next and Preservation Resource Center committees. Master of Interior Architecture degree, Cal Poly Pomona, 2020.

Carolyne Edwards

Director of the Quinn Research Center, an educational resource promoting the study and research of Black Family History and Culture in the Santa Monica Bay Area. Retired teacher, Santa Monica Unified School District.

Nina Fresco

Member and former chair of the Santa Monica Planning Commission. Former chair of the Civic Working Group, formed to advise Council on options for the future of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Previously served three terms on the Landmarks Commission.

Karen Ginsberg

Former Director of Community and Cultural Services for the City of Santa Monica, Planning Manager for the City of Santa Monica and Senior Planner at the Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency. Holds a masters degree in historic preservation and serves on the board of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism.

Albin Gielicz

Marketing specialist with focus on strategic partnerships, strong communications, and product performance. Civic minded community leader and small business supporter with broad network of relationships throughout many sectors in Santa Monica.

David Kaplan

Principal of Kaplan, Chen, Kaplan Architects. Specialist in historic preservation. Member of the Conservancy’s Advocacy Committee. Former Chair, Santa Monica Airports Commission.

Ruthann Lehrer

Architectural historian. Co-chair of the Conservancy’s Advocacy Committee. Served three terms on the Santa Monica Landmarks Commissioner. First Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservancy. Former President, California Preservation Foundation.

Judith Meister

Former Beach and Pier manager for the City of Santa Monica and current member of the Los Angeles County Beach Commission and a consultant to the City for the 2028 Olympics. Active in local schools and chair of the Santa Monica-Malibu School District Advisory Board.

Sharon Reyes

Descendant of the Marquez family of the 1839 Mexican land grant. Historian and preservationist for the archival materials of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica and her family history. Preserved the Marquez Family Cemetery in Santa Monica Canyon.

Amanda Seward

Attorney in private practice, preservationist, formerly on the Mar Vista Community Council Board of Directors and Venice Neighborhood Council. Led preservation effort to save Lincoln Place, a 791-unit apartment complex in Venice.

Morgan Sykes Jaybush

Director of Hospitality at Omgivning, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm focused on adaptive reuse. Advocate for architectural preservation and adaptive reuse throughout Los Angeles County.

Ken Breisch* – Board Member Emeritus

Former City of Santa Monica Landmarks Commissioner, architectural historian, writer and Associate Professor Emeritus in USC’s School of Architecture. Founder and Director of the USC Graduate Programs in Historic Preservation.

Doris Sosin* – Co-Founder, 2002-2022

Doris passed away in January of 2022. She was a Co-founder of the Conservancy and served continuously on the Board from 2002-2022. Founder and past chair of the North of Montana Association. Former Curator of Textiles at the Skirball Museum. Former Santa Monica Recreation and Parks Commissioner.

* Founding board members