Governing Board

A thirty-five year resident of North Lake Tahoe, Cindy Gustafson has a long history of both work and volunteer service in the region. Prior to being appointed to the Placer County Board of Supervisors on April 11, 2019, Cindy had careers in the public and private sectors.  After moving to North Lake Tahoe in 1983, she joined a local real estate firm and in 1988 she was hired as the part-time Field Aide to then Placer County Supervisor Mike Fluty, a position she held for just over a year before becoming a full time employee for Perini Land Development. In 1991 she joined the Tahoe City Public Utility District where she worked for 26 years, filling a variety of positions, including serving her final eight years as the General Manager, overseeing the full operations of the District. During her career, she secured and administered $30 million in grant funding for a variety of capital projects including bike trails, sidewalks, water and sewer system upgrades, community buildings, public parks, beaches, and environmental restoration projects. In 2017, she retired from local government and took over as the Chief Executive Officer of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and North Tahoe Chamber, a position she held until she was appointed as the District 5 Supervisor for Placer County.

In addition to her professional career, Ms. Gustafson’s passion for public service has included a wide variety of elected, appointed and volunteer positions, all of which have required extensive community engagement and implementation of complex public policy strategies. In 2003 she was appointed to the California Fish and Game Commission by Governor Schwarzenegger, where she served four years. Ms. Gustafson also chaired the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force, which was charged with developing recommendations for protecting the State’s waters along the North Coast of California. In addition she has dedicated her skills, experience, resources and personal time volunteering on multiple boards and commissions for public agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve a broad range of issues, including transportation, education, environmental stewardship, economic development and land use.

Ms.Gustafson and her husband raised three sons in North Lake Tahoe and in their spare time, they enjoy Placer County’s many outdoor recreational activities.

Hayley Williamson is the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, having been appointed Chair by Governor Steve Sisolak effective January 1, 2020. Prior to her Chairmanship, Hayley was appointed Commissioner to the PUCN by Governor Sisolak in 2019. Hayley has also held the roles of Senior Assistant General Counsel and Acting General Counsel for the PUCN. As a PUCN Commissioner and Chair, Hayley has been responsible for developing rules for many important pieces of legislation from the Nevada Legislature, including rules to implement Nevada’s new Renewable Portfolio Standard. Hayley has worked at the PUCN since 2013 and has more than a decade of public utility law experience.

Prior to working at the PUCN, Hayley taught environmental law and environmental science at the University of Wisconsin and at Sierra Nevada College. Hayley has also worked as a ranger for the Dept. of the Interior at Pu’u Honua o Honaunau National Historic Site in Hawaii. Hayley’s work experience also includes work for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association in Wisconsin and Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC. Finally, Hayley has completed internships with the US EPA Region 9, the California Public Utilities Commission, and Senator Finegold and Representative Baldwin, both of Wisconsin.

Hayley graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science; and magna cum laude from Vermont Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctorate. At Vermont Law School, Hayley was an editor of the Vermont Law Review. Hayley also holds a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, where she wrote her master’s thesis on renewable energy and land use issues on the West Coast.

Carson City Representative

I am serving on the TRPA Governing Board because of my support for a bi-state solution to the challenges facing Lake Tahoe. During my tenure on the Board I have used a common sense/consensus building approach to solving problems and have advocated for solutions that protect the Lake while respecting private property rights and the needs of the local economy. I visualize TRPA continuing to lead the effort to promote a new kind of environmentalism – one that is inclusive of diverse interests but dedicated to finding solutions through moderation, sound science and good stewardship.

• Born in Berkeley and raised in Piedmont, CA
• Graduated with a BA from the University of California, Davis in 1979
• President of the Glenbrook Company – 1998 to present
• Vice-President/Corporate Broker of Eden Managements
• Recipient of the Soroptimist International of Carson City’s Women of Distinction Award, the Sam Walton Business Leader Award, the Chamber of Commerce Community Spirit Award and Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow Award.
• Past President of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce
• Member of the Carson City Board of Supervisors – 2003 to 2013
• Carson City’s Appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency since 2003
• President of the Capital City Circles Initiative since 2008
• Spouse – Jay
• Son – Skyler

Ashley Conrad-Saydah translates cutting-edge science and technology into actionable policy through her policy firm, Sowing Change Strategies, with clients including Vibrant Planet, Spatial Informatics Group and the United States Climate Alliance.

A recognized expert in climate change, renewable energy and natural resources policy, Ashley serves on the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and previously served as the Deputy Secretary for Climate and Energy Policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She began her government career as a Presidential Management Fellow, then transitioned to Renewable Energy Program Manager at the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management.

Ashley mentors women through She Shares and serves on the Advisory Board of the UC Davis Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management. Throughout her career, she has worked to provide all people access to nature, education, healthy communities, and good jobs.

Ashley earned degrees from Princeton University and the UC Santa Barbara, Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, where she was a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow.

John Friedrich was elected to serve on the South Lake Tahoe City Council on November 3, 2020. John has 30 years of experience in policy and program work related to creating healthy and sustainable communities. Since moving to South Lake Tahoe in 2005, John has served as the Program Director at the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and managed renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicle programs at Liberty Utilities. In 2020, John founded the Tahoe Green Jobs Coalition to help employ Tahoe residents in livable wage jobs such as solar and EV charging installation.  John has served on the Boards of Tahoe Fund and Sierra Nevada Alliance. John lives in South Lake Tahoe with his wife Kim Carr, daughter Rosie and puppy Koko.

Alvin J. “Bud” Hicks was appointed to the TRPA Governing Board by the President of the United States in May 2018 upon the recommendation of then Governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval. Bud is a long-time resident of Nevada, and a two-time graduate of the University of Southern California (B.S. Finance and J.D. Law). Bud and his wife, Suzette, are the parents of two grown children, Joshua Hicks and Marissa Tolotti, and the proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

Bud grew up in Reno and spent his summers at Lake Tahoe during the time before the adoption of the TRPA Compact by the States of California and Nevada. After graduating from law school and service in the U.S. Army, he returned to Reno and worked in the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office as a criminal prosecutor until he was hired by the Nevada Attorney General to work as Chief Deputy Attorney General in the AG’s Gaming Division. During his time in the Nevada AG’s office, he was deeply involved in the State’s efforts to rid organized crime from Nevada’s gaming industry. After leaving the AG’s office, Bud joined and help build the Nevada law firm now known as McDonald Carano where he specialized in gaming licensing and compliance work. As the gaming industry expanded outside of the State of Nevada Bud assisted and worked with a number of the exceptional people and public companies that expanded the gaming industry into the tremendous national and international success that it now enjoys. Following his retirement from the active practice of law, Bud has remained active in the industry by serving as the Chairman of the Gaming Compliance Committee for one of his former clients, Caesars Entertainment, Inc.

Bud and Suzette were fortunate to buy a second home in Glenbrook Nevada in 1994.  Bud served on the Board of Directors of the Glenbrook Homeowners Association for a period of 14 years, during which time he served as President of the Association for 6 years and had extensive experience dealing with homeowner issues and the TRPA. Bud was appointed by the Governor of the State of Nevada to the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission following the disastrous Angora Fire in 2007 where he and his fellow members of the Commission took testimony from many Tahoe Basin residents, fire professionals, land managers, environmental regulators, scientists and others about the Angora Fire and its after-effects. The Commission developed a comprehensive report that included 48 detailed findings and 90 recommendations that addressed Environmental Protection, Issues of Governance, Community and Homeowner Fire Prevention, Forest and Fuels Management, Fire Suppression and Funding. The report and its recommendations have served as the basis for many constructive changes to policies and practices within the Basin regarding the threats posed by wildfire and has greatly contributed to the improvement of inter-agency and interstate cooperation on matters relating to forest maintenance and related wildfire issues. Bud has continued his service regarding these matters by serving as Chairman of the TRPA’s Forest Health and Wildfire Committee.

Elected in 2020 as Washoe County Commissioner for District 1, Alexis Hill is thrilled to be on the Tahoe Regional Planning Board! Alexis grew up in Sparks and has a passion for working to ensure that our local government makes our community’s lives better. She worked public policy and city planning for more than a decade at the cities of Sparks and Reno. Alexis has also worked in the nonprofit sector at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival and at Kids & Horses, a nonprofit for special needs children and adults. She holds a political science bachelors degree from Texas A&M and a graduate degree from UNR in public administration and policy.

​Vince Hoenigman began his career in high technology, helping found ibis consulting, a San Francisco based IT services company that merged into Proxicom Inc., becoming a leading internet services provider.  Proxicom was listed on the NASDAQ Exchange in 1998. After retiring from Proxicom, he co-founded Citymark Development, a real estate development company that specializes in urban-infill housing in Southern California. Since 2000, Citymark has built nearly 2,000 residences and been a leader in revitalizing urban communities.

Mr. Hoenigman is deeply committed to helping improve the community, the environment, and the lives of children and the disadvantaged. He has spent the last twenty years working with nonprofit organizations to better the community, serving on the board of directors of Larkin Street Youth Services, Team Prime Time, Our Children’s Earth, The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Saint Anthony’s Foundation, and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). He also serves as an appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Board of Governors.

Mr. Hoenigman holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter and loves to spend as much time as possible in the mountains and on the waters of Lake Tahoe (or visiting his son at college).

Julie is a seasoned government affairs, environmental conservation, and communications leader with decades of experience in the public and private sectors. She was selected as Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in 2022 and has held an executive position at the agency since 2003. TRPA was the first environmental interstate compact agency of its kind in the United States. The agency is charged with the environmental protection of Lake Tahoe, the second deepest lake in the United States and the ancestral home of the native Washoe.

Julie earned her master’s degree in journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. She is a Ph.D. student in environmental science at the University of Nevada, Reno focusing her research on the intersection of science and public policy, building on her experience at Lake Tahoe balancing environmental preservation in a $5-billion tourist-based economy.

She is the past Co-Chair of the nationally-focused Network for Landscape Conservation and has contributed writings on destination stewardship to the global conversation on overtourism.

Originally from Delaware, Julie now resides in South Lake Tahoe’s Christmas Valley with her husband and dogs. She is active in the community and is the former Chair of the Barton Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and traveling.