Jodi Boas – Executive Director
Jodi Boas is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and frequented the springs and rivers as a youth. She returned to Florida in 2022. She has lived in several geographic areas of the US including central Texas, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northeast. She also worked as a driver guide in Alaska one year. She returned to school when she could no longer reconcile the environmental degradation she witnessed and received a degree in Resource Conservation Management. Since redefining her career she has taught climate change to 5th graders, been a public works analyst and led high school students to remove invasive species and create trails at Ridgeview Conservancy in Princeton. She can be found quite often in the magical waters of the Santa Fe River and Springs.
Officers
Rick Lanese, CPA – President
Rick is originally from Cleveland, Ohio where he graduated in 1981 from John Carroll University with an undergraduate degree in accounting. After moving to Florida in 1987, Rick received an MBA from the University of South Florida.
Rick & his wife Karen were married in 1988 and have two wonderful children, Nicoletta (living in NYC) and Zachary (living in Alexandria, VA).
After working in the world of accounting and taxes for 43 years, Rick has begun transitioning into retirement and is looking forward to spending more time on the activities he loves. Spending time outdoors with nature is high on the priority list. He is passionate about preserving and protecting the environment for future generations.
Over the years Rick has served on many boards and committees in various capacities for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. In January 2024 his role as a member of the Board of Trustees of a Florida HCA Hospital ended after six years. He currently serves on the Finance Committee and is chair of the Audit Committee for the Tampa Bay community Foundation headquartered in Tampa, FL.
Rick currently splits his time between Palmetto FL and High Springs FL. As retirement becomes more official, he intends to spend more time in High Springs paddling and exploring the Santa Fe River and springs, and hiking in the remaining wild places.
Rennie Mills – Vice President
I am proud to be a long term Alachua resident having moved to Gainesville in 1981 from SouthWest Florida. Alachua county provided an expansive tree canopy and plenty of outdoor activities which was a nice change from S Florida. It has been a wonderful place to raise my three children and now there is another generation coming up in Gainesville.
I graduated from The University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Medicine and practiced as a physician assistant for 22 years. In 2017 I completed my Master’s in HealthCare administration from Western Governors University. Shortly after completing my education I transitioned to a new career in Real Estate. Shortly before this my husband and I moved to our home along the Santa Fe river in order to spend more time on the river. Since our move in 2015 we have been active in river clean up anytime we are out on the river. My husband and I are dedicated to working to keep the Santa Fe river as pristine as possible.
Dani Lee- Treasurer
Hi, I’m Dani Lee, a resident (in absentia) of Columbia county in Ft. White. I didn’t know the area was notable for its springs when I settled here about 10 years ago. Over time I was invited to kayak the Ichetucknee and the Santa Fe. I became interested in the natural world around me and started volunteering for Riverfest, mostly the Silent Auction. There I met Kristin Rubin, Terry Phelan, Patty Street, Merrilee Jipson, and others who inspired me to join the OSFR board. I was privileged to serve for a truncated term as Treasurer, when, unfortunately, I had to relocate to Ft Pierce to be with my mother. I think , even from a distance, I can continue to serve OSFR to preserve and protect the Santa Fe River. I have a BS in Plant Science and MS in Pomology from UC Davis, I worked for IFAS for 9 years as the Horticulture agent for St. Lucie County.
Kurt Hurzeler – Secretary
Kurt Hurzeler was raised in Houston Texas and attended the University of Texas in
Austin, receiving a B.A. in English literature. After graduation in 1975 he worked the
offshore oil industry continuously until 2015, both internationally and in the Gulf of
Mexico. His experience includes sales and business management of offshore operations in: Spain, North Sea, West Africa, the Middle East, Northern Europe and portions of the Far East. He returned to Gulf of Mexico operations in 1991 and spent several years in Schlumberger’s Integrated Project Management group before joining Helix Energy Solutions Group in 2000. As Commercial Vice President of Helix Well Ops USA, providing deep water well intervention and decommissioning services utilizing specialist vessels and equipment, his responsibilities included Contracting, Sales, and Business Development for operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Helix Well Ops was a first responder to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010
including on-site pollution reduction and final well shut-in operations.
Favorite pastimes with family and friends include sailing, backpacking, road and
mountain biking, tennis, kayaking, fishing, literature and writing. Following retirement in 2015, Kurt and Elaine, his wife of 47 years, purchased a second home on the Santa Fe River near Poe Springs to be closer to their daughter’s family in Gainesville. They
ensured that the two young granddaughters were introduced to the rivers, springs, coastal marshes and nature of north central Florida. Neighbors who had lived on the river for two generations generously shared their experiences and knowledge of the area. It became clear that the river and springs had, over time, declined substantially in quantity and quality.
As a result of that history and an appreciation of the water and wildlife flowing daily past their back porch, river and spring restoration has become a critical concern for Kurt and his family.
Directors
Jim Tatum – Director
Jim Tatum was born and raised on a farm in rural Custer County Nebraska. He graduated from University of Nebraska, Kearney in 1960 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University in 1962 and 1968 and spent 38 years teaching at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He received a Fulbright Scholarship and a National Defense Education Act Title IV Scholarship for his graduate studies.
During his high school and college days, he played trumpet and sax in a dance orchestra. Past hobbies include Indian artifact collecting, classic car restoration, gunsmithing, bird watching, taxidermy, flying (single engine, land), fossil preparation and woodworking. He has been diving Florida’s rivers for fossils since 1977 and currently does fossil preparation and woodworking. He writes the posts for the OSFR newsletter. He is an avid reader.
Jim has taught university courses in the National University of Mexico and in Honduras, and has published two books and many articles. As a youth he spent summers working for the Forest Service in Idaho and the Fish & Wildlife Service on Kodiak Island. He has traveled extensively, including Europe, South America, Alaska and remote areas such as the Northwest Territories, Siberia, China and Mongolia.. He is married with two sons, three stepdaughters and nine grandchildren. Board member from 2012-2013 and since 2016.
Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson–Director
Dr. Valle-Levinson is a Professor in the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department. He was awarded the prestigious CAREER award by the National Science Foundation. He has received research and visiting fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, from the Mexican Academy of Sciences, from the University of Western Australia, from Utrecht University, from the Chilean Science and Technology Council, from the University of Bordeaux, from Kyushu University, from the University of Pernambuco, Brazil and from University of Padua, Italy. He is an author of 230+ peer-reviewed publications in international journals. His research on coastal hydrodynamics is recognized worldwide, specifically in the areas of morphologic effects on estuarine and coastal circulation, and on wind-driven, tidally driven and density-driven circulation. An estuary of southern Chile, off Aysen fjord, was named in his honor (‘Estero Arnoldo’). In 2012, he became one of the <100 worldwide Corresponding Members of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. He is Chief Editor of Continental Shelf Research, and Associate Editor of Estuaries and Coasts, and Journal of Oceanography. He has published a textbook on estuarine hydrodynamics.
Eric Anderson -Director
Eric Anderson was born in Minnesota and has been loving Nature since he could walk. He has traveled to more than 25 countries which usually involves nature conservation and research. After moving to Gainesville in 1986 to attend the Santa Fe College Zoological Parks training program he started working with over 30 species of venomous snakes at a local collection. He worked at Morningside Nature Center back in the 80’s and then went to Environmental Science and Engineering for 8 years testing water and soil samples. After helping a local Landscape Designer build and create the Butterfly Rainforest at FLMNH he started his own Landscape Design & Installation business, ECOrestoration LLC, which he has been operating for 19 yrs. He likes to flats fish out of his kayak and is a Naturalist at heart. Ask him about insects, or other creatures and he will get excited!
Rennie Mills is proud to be a long term Alachua resident having moved to Gainesville in 1981 from South-West Florida. Alachua county provided an expansive tree canopy and plenty of outdoor activities which was a nice change from South Florida. She has found it a wonderful place to raise her three children, and now there is another generation coming up in Gainesville. She graduated from The University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Medicine and practiced as a physician assistant for 22 years. In 2017 she completed her Master’s in HealthCare administration from Western Governors University. Shortly after completing her education she transitioned to a new career in Real Estate. Shortly before this she and her husband moved to their home along the Santa Fe River in order to spend more time on the river. Since their move in 2015 they have been active in river clean up anytime they are out on the river. They are dedicated to working to keep the Santa Fe river as pristine as possible.
Tracy Baker – Director
Tracy was born and raised in South Florida. An avid outdoorsman growing up, he spent his youth diving and fishing in the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay. He has lived in both Switzerland and the West Indies during his years of education. Tracy received his BS in Biology from Tulane University and pursued his career in medicine and surgery at Harvard Medical School. He has published over 30 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals and a respected textbook in his field.
He returned to Miami where he practiced for over 30 years in his surgical private practice. Recently retired, he has relocated to the Santa Fe River with his life partner Sylvia, a retired critical care nurse.
Tracy continues his love of the outdoors and served on the board of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He remains devoted to conservation and to the future of our beautiful Florida resources.
Kathy Russell–Director
Kathy recently retired from Santa Fe College where she was the General Curator of the Teaching Zoo for 37 years. During this time, she mentored over 1500 students in the zoo and aquarium field (58 graduating classes). During her time at the zoo the variety of animals increased, raised the bar on animal care to exceptional care and wellbeing, maintaining the highest standards to continue the zoo’s accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). She was active in some AZA animal programs designed to help species in zoos and aquariums as well as their counterparts in the wild. These included the Hawk headed Parrot Species Survival Plan where she was the studbook keeper and the program coordinator. She was also the studbook keeper and program coordinator of the Perdido Key beach mouse Species Survival Plan. She is still active with the Perdido Key beach mouse program, which is now an AZA SAFE program, Saving Animals From Extinction.
In addition to these two programs, she was also the coordinator of the Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan. In her retirement she remains very active with the Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo programs by being an advisor for the Species Survival Plan as well as the secretary and sustainability working group co-lead for the Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo AZA SAFE program. She continues to be an instructor for one of AZA’s professional development courses, Avian Leadership and Management that is taught once a year.
After retiring she began volunteering with Alachua Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build and started on her first house this past January. At home she spends time with her family and dogs. She has always enjoyed being outside. Since her retirement she has been able to spend more time biking, hiking, gardening, reading, kayaking, and bird watching fill her days. She lives only 5 miles from the Santa Fe River and walks her dogs several times a week at any of the 3 entrances to the Santa Fe River Preserve and Oleno State Park.
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