The Elkhorn Slough Foundation names Taylor Honrath as its second-ever executive director.

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation board of directors announced on April 21 that its second-ever executive director will be Taylor Honrath. Honrath has guided ESF's fundraising efforts for the past seven years, including the recently completed Elkhorn Forever conservation campaign which raised more than $13 million for land acquisition and habitat restoration in the Elkhorn Slough watershed.

"We are pleased to welcome Taylor to this new role," board president Susan Matcham said in a press release. "He has been an outstanding deputy director, and we’re confident that he will excel as executive director."

Prior to joining ESF, Honrath worked in nonprofit management and fundraising, led legislative advocacy for renewable energy policy in California, and worked on a variety of state and national political campaigns.

Honrath succeeds ESF's long-serving founding executive director Mark Silberstein, who is retiring and transitioning into an advisory role. Silberstein has led the foundation for four decades, since its inception in 1983.

Two years after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and California Department of Fish and Wildlife established the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, the nonprofit launched to support the 1,700-acre reserve. 

Since then, the nonprofit has played a role in working with local agricultural producers to improve farming practices, manage runoff, conduct research, conserve habitat and species, and acquire land through easements. Today, ESF protects more than 4,200 acres of rare habitat, including oak woodlands, coastal prairie, maritime chaparral, and wetlands.

“I’m honored to be selected by the board to lead the organization at such a pivotal moment in its history," Honrath said. "I’m excited to work with my colleagues at ESF and our partners at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve to increase the scope and visibility of our conservation efforts.”