ACRCD Board of Directors

Katie Connolly
Katie ConnollyPresident, Board of Directors

Katie is a fifth-generation cattle rancher in Alameda, San Joaquin and Calaveras Counties along with her younger sister and parents. She has been active in rangeland conservation efforts for most of her life, and serves on the land committee of Save Mount Diablo. Katie is also an attorney practicing international arbitration and commercial litigation for Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. Her practice focuses on complex cross-border disputes, including international commercial and investor-state arbitration, enforcement of international awards and judgments, and complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. She has also taught as an adjunct professor of Global Lawyering Skills at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California.

Michael Fredrich
Michael FredrichVice President, Board of Directors

Biography coming soon!

Brenda Vieux
Brenda VieuxTreasurer, Board of Directors

Brenda has a rich heritage of cattle ranching the Vieux Family has been ranching for over 100 years in the East Bay. Her father shared with her and her sister at a young age the upmost importance of land stewardship and his passion for ranching. Brenda has worked in the produce industry for over 25 years and is currently the Vice President of Operations for Schwartzman Distributing brokering produce across North America. She currently serves on the Alameda County Agricultural Fair and the Alameda County Farm Burau Boards of Directors.

Karen Sweet
Karen SweetMember, Board of Directors

Agriculture and conservation education, promotion and collaboration have been central to Karen Sweet’s numerous professional and volunteer roles. She helped establish the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition and now is the Executive Director. Karen is a former Executive Officer of the Alameda County Resource Conservation District. Darrel, her husband, and Karen own and operate a cattle ranch in Livermore. They are active in local, state and national cattle industry and rangeland conservation leadership. Karen served as President of the California CattleWomen and continues to be active. Spare time finds Karen tending the yard and watching the wildlife.

Dick Schneider
Dick SchneiderMember, Board of Directors

Dick is a life-long conservationist. He helped write and pass numerous urban growth boundary initiatives in the Bay Area, including Alameda County’s Measure D, which protects the open lands of the county from urban sprawl and other harmful development. Dick served for 20 years as a Sierra Club representative on the Altamont Landfill Open Space Committee. He studied the nutrient cycles of high-altitude lakes at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds B.A. and M.S. degrees from UCB and is co-author of Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards (UC Press, 1991).

Merry Carter
Merry CarterMember, Board of Directors

Merry Carter’s family has been farming and ranching in Alameda County since 1861. Merry, along with her sisters, own the 3 Calhoun Sisters Ranch in Livermore and have been actively implementing conservation improvement projects on the ranch since 2018. Some of the projects have included monarch butterfly restoration, healthy soils, and oak tree regeneration. Their ranch was the first ranch in Alameda County to be Audubon Certified. Merry is a retired IT Operations Manager from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has a fun post retirement job at McGrail Vineyards, and loves to travel. She currently serves on the ACRCD, Alameda County Fair Foundation, and Alameda County CattleWomen Boards of Directors.

Associate Directors

Are you passionate about natural resources, agriculture, or conservation? The Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD) is seeking Associate Directors to help guide our mission of protecting local lands and waters.

This is a great opportunity to learn about conservation leadership and district programs while contributing your perspective to board discussions. Associate Directors are non-voting members and often go on to serve as full Board Directors as positions open.

To learn more, contact CEO Marilyn Harvey at marilyn.harvey@acrcd.org