PHIL GINSBURG, San Francisco
Commission Chairperson
Phil Ginsburg was first appointed by Governor Newsom to the California State Park and Recreation Commission in 2019. He is in his third term and has served as Chair since 2024. Phil became President of the Resources Legacy Fund and its affiliated organizations, Fund for a Better Future and the Shared Ascent Fund in January 2026. He brings 25 years of impactful leadership and a reputation for optimism, collaboration, and turning big ideas into real world change. Before joining RLF, Phil served for over 16 years as San Francisco’s Parks Director, steering and stewarding the City’s park system into a national model for equity, nature access and workforce development. Under Phil’s leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the United States where 100% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park. Phil lead numerous ballot measures to fund and improve parks and create new car-free spaces in Golden Gate Park and along the City’s coast line.
Prior to his career in parks, Phil served as Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Chief of Staff, San Francisco’s Human Resource Director, and a public sector labor lawyer. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Recreation and Park Association and Children and Nature Network.
Phil is a graduate of UC Law San Francisco and Dartmouth College. Phil and his wife Emily raised their adult daughters, Grace and Sarah, in San Francisco. In his spare time, Phil loves to fly-fish, hike, run, watch sports and spend time in the redwood forests of West Sonoma County.
FRANCESCA VIETOR, San Francisco
Commission Vice Chairperson
Francesca Vietor is Senior Advisor on the Environment at the San Francisco Foundation. Her work spans across the foundation, where she responds to general inquiries about the environment, manages the Youth Access to Nature Fund, provides environmental recommendations for donors, and engages community stakeholders on environmental issues. Francesca has worked in various staff positions at the foundation since 2011.
Previously and over the past three decades, Francesca held multiple leadership positions at environmental non-profits including Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and the Chez Panisse Foundation. She has served as president of the Urban Forest Council, president of San Francisco’s Commission on the Environment and president of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, where she held the environmental justice and policy seat for twelve years. Francesca has served on many non-profit boards, including Environmental Working Group, Center for Environmental Health and SPUR, and she is currently on the boards of Trust for Public Land, Point Reyes National Seashore Association and the Socially Responsibility Network at her alma mater, Georgetown University.
Francesca is a third generation San Franciscan who was brought up in the Bay Area during a time when there was widespread access to opportunity and much less income disparity. San Francisco was known for diversity, inclusion, and natural beauty, which are now under threat. She is committed to helping reverse these trends, to create greater access to nature and to speak up for the green spaces and wild places.
Vietor was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022.
CHRISTINA JAROMAY, Elk Grove
Christina Jaromay received her Bachelor’s from California State University Sacramento, in Applied Ethics in Law with a minor in Business Management. She started her parks career 11 years ago at California State Parks where she most recently created and led the Partnership Division. She oversaw programs such as concessions, cooperating associations, corporate sponsorships, and volunteer programs, generating more than $100M collectively in revenue and in-kind services annually. Prior to the Partnerships Division, Christina worked in the Acquisition and Development Division, managing the division’s contracts unit, including public works and architectural and engineering services for major developments. Prior to state service, Christina was in the technology and marketing fields working internationally with North America, Asia-Pacific, and Japan and with clients in the General, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ markets. Christina is currently the director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department for the City of Lodi.
Jaromay was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022.
JEFF WILLIAMS, Ventura
Jeffrey Williams is the Vice President of Production for Unscripted Television at Paramount Global, overseeing content for BET Media Group. In addition to Jeff’s professional work, his dedication to environmental stewardship and community improvement is reflected in his current role as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Heal the Bay, a prominent Santa Monica-based environmental non-profit organization. By focusing on the restoration of coastal waters and watersheds in Los Angeles, Jeff actively contributes to creating cleaner and safer environments for both marine life and local communities.
As founder of the Black Surfers Collective in 2012 - a non-profit organization in the Los Angeles area promoting and fostering cultural awareness and diversity within the surfing community - Jeff has been instrumental in helping to reshape the narrative of surfing, making it an inclusive experience open to all.
Having served and earned an honorable discharge from the California Army National Guard had a significant impact upon Jeff’s commitment to service in community and environmental related causes. Jeff resides in Ventura County with his wife and daughter, striving to create a life driven by purpose and positive change.
Williams was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023.
TOM HUNTINGTON, San Francisco
Tom Huntington has worked for many years at non-profit organizations and foundations focused on environmental, humanitarian, and educational programs. This includes work at the Environmental Defense Fund as Western Regional Development Director where he engaged in a range of environmental issues in California. Prior to that, Tom was Executive Director at the Friends of the River Foundation and helped add over 10 California rivers to our Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems. Tom became interested in environmental stewardship and connecting people with nature as a river guide and manager at OARS, Inc. an eco-travel company on rivers in California, Oregon, and the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Tom has also served as a volunteer in California on the advisory board of Project Avery, working to assist youth and families with incarcerated parents to access nature-based experiences. Additionally, he served in San Mateo County as both a member of the Ohlone Portolá Heritage Trail Committee and on the Community Advisory Committee for the Don Horsley County Park at Tunitas Creek Beach near Half Moon Bay. Recently, while researching the connectivity of historic trails and cultures, Tom was one of the executive producers of an award-winning documentary - La Recua (the mule pack train) about the trade caravans of Baja California. This bilingual history and travel film was recently selected for national PBS television distribution.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tom has lived in San Francisco for many years with his family.
Huntington was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2025.
DAVID GALAVIZ, Los Angeles
David Galaviz, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission. Galaviz has been Associate Vice President of Community and Local Government Partnerships at the University of Southern California since 2018, where he has held multiple roles since 1997, including Executive Director of Local Government Relations, Community Outreach at the University of Southern California Health Science Campus, and Executive Director of Community Health Partnerships. He was Legislative Director in the Office of Gilbert Cedillo in the California State Senate from 1997 to 2003. He is a board member of Weingart ELA YMCA and the Los Angeles Parks Foundation and a member of the Exposition Park Community Advisory Council. Galaviz earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from California State University, Los Angeles.
Galaviz was appointed to the California State Park and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2025.
CHUCK BONHAM, Berkley
Bonham became the California executive director for the Nature Conservancy earlier this year after serving as director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from 2011 to 2025. He held multiple positions at Trout Unlimited from 2000 to 2011, including California director and senior attorney. Bonham was a Member of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Board from 2010 to 2011. He was an Instructor at Nantahala Outdoor Center from 1994 to 1997. Additionally, Bonham was a Small Business Development Agent for the United States Peace Corps from 1991 to 1993. Bonham earned a juris doctor degree from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College and a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Georgia.
Bonham was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2026.