Executive Committee Candidate Bios and Photos - 2021

John-Paul (J.P.) Leonardo

I am a graduate of Cal Poly with an Environmental Management and Protection major and a concentration in Ethnic Studies. I worked as an outdoor educator for the City of Monterey and for Delphinus School of Natural History. I have always enjoyed working in the outdoors while simultaneously educating the youth to become inspired and understanding of the natural environments that surround us. I have worked for both state and federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Monterey County State Parks, and SLO County Parks and Recreation as a botany assistant and field assistant for restoration and conservation projects. I was the lead facilitator for DMG Consulting for two years and have developed and facilitated numerous amounts of workshops and trainings for professional staff, organizations, and non-profits within SLO and Santa Barbara County. Through a social and environmental lens, these consulting projects aimed to better many undervalued students and underrepresented communities of color in and out of the workplace. I also worked in the renewable energy field as an engineering designer for PV systems and EV charger stations. My objective in life, no matter the field or organization I work for, is to make sure that everybody is fairly represented and being held accountable for all decisions that affect our communities, while keeping in mind those who are not in the decision-making process.  When it comes to protecting, restoring, and conserving our precious natural and built environments by altering the methods and procedures in which we interact with said systems; I believe it is crucial that all folks are represented, and that justice and equity is achieved. I also rock climb and within the climbing community there is a strong push to keep our mountains and nearby ecosystems healthy and flourishing!

Cynthia Replogle

Cynthia Replogle became an active environmentalist in 2003 when she started learning to surf in Florida. Concerned about cruise lines dumping waste offshore, she helped to start Surfrider’s Cocoa Beach chapter. After moving back to California, Cynthia remained active in leadership roles with Surfrider. Most recently, she served as Vice Chair of the SLO Chapter, where she initiated local Ocean Friendly Restaurants and Hold on to Your Butt programs to reduce plastic waste.

Cynthia is the general counsel for iFixit, a small SLO company with the big goal of helping everyone to fix everything. She has served as a Director on the Oceano CSD Board since 2018. After she joined with the Sierra Club to object, as an individual, to local participation in the environmentally-harmful and expensive proposed Delta tunnel project to bring water from northern California south, the OCSD Board majority stripped her of committee assignments as punishment for disagreeing with their position. Cynthia has signed onto letters to Governor Newsom from Elected Officials to Protect California, urging him to phase out fossil fuels in favor of clean, renewable energy.

In her spare time, Cynthia helps to manage the Central Coast team of National Lawyers Guild legal observers and volunteers as a co-coordinator of the Dunes Alliance. Cynthia is a tireless advocate for the environment and for social, economic and environmental justice, including the re-envisioning of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes without vehicles. Despite retaliation from other members of the OCSD Board and threats from off-roaders, Cynthia remains committed to always standing up for what’s right.