Board of Directors

Shari Anker, President

Ms. Anker, M.S.W., is a native Floridian who as a child was privileged to explore the state’s ecosystems when they were healthier. She feels most at home in wild nature. In the 1990s while teaching sociology courses at Broward College she created a novel, forward-thinking course, "Society & the Environment." Ms. Anker was forced to interrupt her teaching career and her Ph.D. program in Environmental Studies due to developing severe environmental illness. That lived experience as a "canary in the coal mine" further instructed her that what we do to the earth we truly do to ourselves. In 2008 she published a book on the paradigm shift that must occur if we are to save the planet and ourselves: The Life World: Herman's Adventures in Sustainability. Her next project is a three-part cartoon documentary series based on her decades of research on how a new paradigm would work in practice.

Ms. Anker served as mentor for the College Summer Intern program at the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, in which she discussed the new paradigm as it applies to the Florida Everglades. She represents the CASLC at the Rivers Coalition. In 2014 she was honored to receive the Permelia Pryor Reed Award for Environmental Excellence, delivered by Nathaniel P. Reed.

Pam Harting, Vice President

Pam was attracted to St. Lucie County because of the amount of land set aside for parks and preserves. After retiring here, she began taking Florida Master Naturalist classes in order to better understand Florida’s ecosystems. This knowledge spurred a desire to get involved in helping to protect these ecosystems. Pam’s career was as a marketing research leader. She has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern.

Lucy Bukowski, Treasurer

Lucy spent most of her career working in natural history, science, and art museums in financial and administrative positions. She moved to Florida in 2005 to become the Chief Financial Officer at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. Recently retired, she now has more time to enjoy outdoor activities in southern Florida and also has a strong desire to help preserve these beautiful spaces.

John Krivosheyff, Secretary

John first learned about the Conservation Alliance about six years ago in a TCPalm.com article that highlighted the accomplishments of the organization since its inception. Impressed and inspired by the contributions and being an environmentally aware person, John knew right away that this group was for him. John has a strong interest in helping to foster wildlife and marine life habitat protection. He’s also passionate about encouraging smart growth that protects environmentally sensitive areas of St. Lucie County, and water quality measures affecting the Indian River Lagoon. He lives in Fort Pierce and is an avid nature lover, golfer, boater, cyclist, hiker and outdoor enthusiast.

Sarah Cieslinski, Board Member

Raised in a small Florida coastal town, Sarah has seen the impact humans have on the earth. She views plastic as a particularly toxic and pervasive problem. It invades every part of our lives and our landfills and doesn’t go away. Sarah believes that living a low-waste life is one of the best ways to preserve the environment. In our current world where virtually everything has plastic, either in the packing or the product itself, this can be a challenge. To help, Sarah developed an online shop called the Zero Waste Store, which provides easy access to more eco-friendly, waste free products. As a new member of the CASLC board Sarah created an Anti-Plastics Campaign, working with the community and local officials to make St. Lucie County a more ocean-friendly place. Sarah also works at Treasure Coast Wildlife Center to rehab and return feathered, furred and scaled animals back into the wild.

Charles Grande, Board member

Mr.Grande is a long time resident of Saint Lucie County who studied Economics and System Design and Programming at Lehman College. He is married with 2 children and 5 grandchildren. He has had a long and distinguished career in public service. He has served as a Saint Lucie County Commissioner, and on the Boards of the county Fire Dept., Planning and Zoning, Hibiscus Children’s Center, Marine Resources Council and is a current board member of the Conservation Alliance and Rivers Coalition Defense Fund, and the Spay and Neuter Alliance Advisory Board. Mr. Grande served in the Navy and is a member of the American Legion and MENSA.

Charles Vitunac, Board member

Charles’ family moved to St. Lucie County in 1924. The family has been involved for many years in keeping the environmental treasures of the County preserved. Charles graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Economics and then received a JD degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. He practiced local government law in Florida for some 35 years: as the Assistant County Attorney for Palm Beach County for 5 years, City Attorney for the City of Vero Beach for 15 years, and County Attorney for Indian River County for 15 years. Charles retired in 2012. He and his’ wife, Suzanne - who is an environmental lawyer, have two children, both happy adults!

Lace Vitunac, A Founding Board member and past President

Lace K. Vitunac. M.A., is a founding member of the Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, and has been active in the organization since its inception in 1972. She is a former president of the Alliance, and was instrumental in the successful citizen effort to enable the State of Florida to acquire a large tract of land on the ocean for the park now known as the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. Lace is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, and her master’s degree in English is from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. Lace first came to St. Lucie County in 1924. Ms. Vitunac has always been drawn to take action to save our environment, for example, she worked on the first St. Lucie County tree ordinance and started the first newspaper recycling program in the area.

Our beloved Lace passed away on Sunday, April 22nd. It is no small thing that our Earth mother took her leave of us on Earth Day.

Lace and her husband were two of the seven founders of the Conservation Alliance in St. Lucie County in 1972. As Ginny Sherlock states, the Vitunacs were “staunch environmentalists who worked tirelessly … and were true environmental pioneers in our community.” Their achievements were many, including successfully lobbying for the creation of two state parks: Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and the Savannas Preserve State Park.

A truly remarkable person endowed with great wit, intelligence and passionate dedication Lace was universally admired. Lace took to heart the advice Marjory Stoneman Douglas gave to her: “Never give up!” She was a fighter to the end for the welfare of our environment and the people defending it. One of her last questions was to inquire about the progress of her dear friend, Dr. Grant Gilmore’s book, “Rare and Threatened Fishes of the St. Lucie River.”

A more devoted soul to the environment one could not find. All of us who knew her well count ourselves as truly blessed, and forever inspired to follow her example.

She was surrounded by her family, and had been closely attended by them during the last two weeks. Her ultimate resting place will be beside her husband, Walter, at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC.