About Us

AltadenaWILD was founded by a group of passionate and concerned citizens who value the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains for their natural beauty, native flora and fauna, and their abundant hiking, cycling and equestrian trails. AltadenaWILD is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (EIN#92-3371692) and public benefit corporation in California, created to provide a voice for protecting the treasures of our local wildlands in a sustainable manner for future generations.

Incorporated in 2023, AltadenaWILD seeks to promote the virtues of living in the semi-rural environment that symbolizes the Altadena foothills. Nestled against the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest, these native wildlands remind many residents of why they moved to Altadena in the first place. With a rich biodiversity and numerous recreational trails, the foothills offer abundant opportunities to enjoy nature – or to embrace it from afar.

Meet Our Board

The Board of Directors serves as the strategic and decision-making body for AltadenaWILD, Inc.

We will soon expand Board membership to capture candidates that will provide a diversity of functional, experiential, demographic and geographic traits.

Dr. Michael D. Bicay — President

A 21-year resident of Altadena, Michael is an astrophysicist with extensive experience in science and government management. He was a research and program scientist at Caltech and at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He served 15 years as Science Director at a NASA research center in the heart of Silicon Valley, before retiring on Leap Day 2020. He has been awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and the prestigious White House Presidential Rank Award. He is humbled by the incredible talents and passion of Altadena residents he has met in his time as President of AltadenaWILD.

Nena Davis — Secretary

Has had a varied professional experience in the corporate, academic, and nonprofit sectors. Born in Spain, Nena’s first language was Spanish; English fluency she acquired by being educated in the U.K. Now semi-retired, in her previous role at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity, Nena was responsible for winning $450 million in grant awards with an average of $45 million incoming new grant revenues annually. Since the early-2000s, Nena has lived in Altadena with her wife and partner, Dr. Peggy Gallaher, a professor and statistician. With their cat Powder, Peggy and Nena are lifelong conservationists and nature enthusiasts, choosing to live in Altadena for the peace and tranquility and the warm and eclectic community of this very special place.

Susan Maunu — Treasurer

Is an Altadenan, living the past 21 years in a home adjacent to the Angeles National Forest. Before retiring in 2022, Susan’s career in the legal field spanned over four decades, including eighteen years with Allen Matkins as a paralegal and Government Specialist for the Land Use, Environmental, and Natural Resources Group, working on a wide variety of land use projects throughout the State. Prior to Altadena, Susan was a San Franciscan and a land use professional at the Coblentz law firm. Susan is passionate about cultivating harmony with nature and protecting our foothill wildlands.

Statement of Values

AltadenaWILD (AW) is a public benefit, nonprofit organization dedicated to advocacy on behalf of our precious Altadena foothills. Our organization emphasizes fact-based analysis and rational decision-making in support of its cause.

We ask that community members who support AW harness their passion and energy in furtherance of productive measures and outcomes, while maintaining credibility with all stakeholders. In doing so, AW advises supportive community members to refrain from propagating false claims, hysteric rhetoric, or personal defamation.

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