California - Staff Directory

Chuck Bonham, Director
1808B 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 528-4164

Charlton (“Chuck”) H. Bonham is Trout Unlimited’s California Director responsible for developing, managing, and implementing TU’s programs in the state.  He is also a senior attorney for the organization.  Chuck received his J.D. and Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, Oregon.  Before TU, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, and an instructor and guide at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, in Bryson City, N.C. 

Sam Davidson
820 Park Row, #602
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 484-2616
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Sam Davidson is TU’s point person for public lands issues in California, working to enhance protections for headwaters areas and other roadless backcountry, and to build coalitions of anglers and hunters to advocate for conservation of fish and game habitat.  Sam comes to TU from the outdoor recreation industry, where he was Executive Director and Senior Policy Analyst for the Access Fund, a climbers’ advocacy group.  Sam has a degree in Creative Writing from Princeton University and has worked as an outfitter, a fishing and climbing guide, a high school English teacher, and as field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School.  Sam’s outdoor interests include fishing (flies, hardware or bait, it doesn’t matter), upland bird hunting, climbing, surfing, riding the backcountry on horseback, and coaching youth sports.

Brian J. Johnson
1808B 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 528-4772
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Brian J. Johnson manages TU’s California Water Project, where he works to reform state water law and to promote scientifically sound stream flows for trout and salmon. He came to TU after five years at Shute, Mihaly&Weinberger, a public interest law firm where he represented community groups in battles to protect waterways and other natural resources. Before law school Brian was the Communications Director at the White House environmental office from 1993-97, and the co-creator and manager of EPA's first "Energy Star" initiative for energy efficient computers from 1991-93. Brian grew up in Iowa and graduated from Duke University and Stanford Law School. He and his wife Debbie are busy introducing their toddler son Leo to the great outdoors.

Mary Ann King
1808B 5th Street,
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 649-9987
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Mary Ann King is the Stewardship Coordinator for TU’s California Water Project. Mary Ann is responsible coordinating landowner participation in TU’s cooperative initiatives to improve instream flows and water supply reliability in California-- Water and Wine and Streamflow Stewardship.  Before coming to TU, she worked at Recreational Equipment, Inc. She received her M.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. She has written extensively on water and natural resources law and policy and has been published by the MIT Press and the Harvard Environmental Law Review. She received her B.A. in Political Science, also from UC Berkeley. She is an avid hiker, backpacker and road cyclist.

David Lass
10356 Donner Pass Road, Suite 3
Truckee, CA 96161
(530) 587-7110
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David Lass is the Northern California Field Coordinator heading up our new Truckee office, located on the north shore of iconic Lake Tahoe. David is in charge of upholding the SCP framework in California, as well as conducting college outreach work to engage the next generation of conservationists in watershed and land stewardship.  David attended Colorado State University were he earned a BS in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism with a minor in Parks and Protected Area Management. Born and raised in Oregon, the Tahoe area suits David well, as he is a passionate fisherman and outdoorsman.

Lisa Bolton
137 E. Oak Street
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
(707) 962-0115
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Lisa Bolton is the Project Coordinator for TU’s North Coast Coho Project.  Lisa is responsible for managing the portfolio of restoration projects that comprise the NCCP.  She coordinates with NCCP partners to develop, manage and implement restoration projects, both large and small scale, along the North Coast of California.  Lisa received her B.S. in Natural Resources Planning at Humboldt State University.  Prior to coming to work with TU in 2008, Lisa worked as a contractor for several years on various watershed restoration projects in Mendocino County.  In addition, she worked as the Watershed Coordinator for the Noyo Watershed Alliance.  She also contributed two years to serving her community and the environment through the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project at the Mattole Restoration Council and the California Department of Fish and Game.  In her spare time, Lisa enjoys gardening, hiking, biking and jewelry making.