Rick Lanman has lived in Santa Clara County since 1985, and was appointed to the District's Board of Directors by the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors in 2012. He joined the Board to work with the agency to build a program to provide educational resources on our wildlife and natural resources to County residents.

A physican scientist and an ecologist, he has authored numerous peer-reviewed medical papers and book chapters, and has also authored several publications about the historical ecology of California. Understanding what our native fauna was like at the time of European contact is key to his work which serves to guide restoration initiatives.

Dr. Lanman is a serial biotechnology entrepreneur and recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Guardant Health, which enabled the DNA in patients' cancers to be sequenced with a simple blood test.

Dr. Lanman was appointed Associate Director when his term ended in January 2023.