Meet Our Team
Deb Kramer
Executive Director and Board Member
Deb is the Executive Director and has been involved with Coyote Creek since 2014. As a community organizer, she has drawn thousands of people to the Coyote Creek cleanup events, worked closely with many community organizations and agencies, such as Audubon, Open Space Authority, City of San Jose, and Save Our Trails. Professionally, she was project manager in environmentally-related fields, from water, energy, and waste to now watersheds. Deb is a former board member of Save the Bay, and an alumnus of Cal Berkeley with a degree in Environmental Science. Her favorite past times are hiking, backpacking and gardening.
Colter Cook
Interpretive Coordinator
Colter is the interpretive coordinator for Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, providing educational programs. Also, he works for the Youth Science Institute as an instructor at regional parks. He grew up in Redding, CA, surrounded by forests, lakes and wildlife, which led to his passion for nature. At Cal State Chico, he studied Environmental Science and Geology. After graduating, Colter moved to the Bay Area where he worked at the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. There, he pursued his dream to share nature using his interpretive skills and scientific knowledge to raise awareness of the issues facing wildlife. In his free time he enjoys hiking, backpacking, and exploring local parks.
Rebekah is the event coordinator for Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful. She is relatively new to the Bay Area, and all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked in events and catering. She brings with her enthusiasm for process creation for efficient event management and execution. Rebekah is passionate about environmental causes, especially recycling and lowering waste. Joining KCCB is her first step towards a new career path in helping local communities protect and preserve natural habitats. In her free time, she likes to go swimming, hiking, grow vegetables, or take a nice stroll on the beach and of course explore all that the Bay Area has to offer.
Rebekah Cotton
Event Coordinator
Annette McMillan
Volunteer Coordinator
Annette is the volunteer coordinator for Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful. She has been enthusiastic about protecting the environment since her teens. She believes open spaces and natural waterways allow us to connect to ourselves and the earth in ways that only nature can provide. As a recent San Jose State Environmental Studies graduate, she educates people about the importance of protecting our creeks and open spaces through creek cleanups and as a BioBlitz docent.
Tim McRae
President
Tim is the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Vice President, Energy, where he helps members and partners define and carry out energy-related policy, programs and events. Prior to joining the Leadership Group, Tim developed commercial wind projects, worked on sustainability and energy efficiency, advised on climate change policy, and worked on a variety of legislative lobbying efforts in Sacramento. Tim is a graduate of Georgetown University and UC Davis law school. He serves on the Acterra Business Environmental Awards Advisory Committee. Also, he volunteers in the “Reading Partners” program at Cesar Chavez elementary school in San Jose.
Jennifer Rycenga
Secretary
Jennifer is a professor at SJSU in Comparative Religious Studies and a birder. She's the President of Sequoia Audubon Society, San Mateo County's local Audubon chapter, where she is an avid proponent of BioBlitzes and participatory science. As a naturalist, she facilitated a partnership between the California Academy of Sciences and the San Mateo County Parks to conduct BioBlitz events in San Mateo County.
Clinton Pickering
Treasurer
Clinton is a banker with Heritage Bank of Commerce, the largest Community Bank in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also, Clinton is an active Certified Public Accountant. Since he has lived most of his life along the Calaveras Foothills in East San Jose, he has actively trained for triathlons on the Coyote Creek Trail. Clinton and his son enjoy spending quality time together at Coyote Creek’s various parks learning about nature.