Dennis Rosatti leaving Sonoma County Conservation Action

Dennis Rosatti, longtime executive director of Sonoma County’s largest environmental advocacy group, is stepping down after 13 years, he announced this month.

Rosatti is leaving Sonoma County Conservation Action for a job at Peace in Medicine, the Sebastopol-based medical marijuana dispensary with a second location in Santa Rosa.

“I still feel so strongly and passionately about our mission, but I was ready for a career move,” Rosatti said. “I’m excited to use my skill set to address social and economic issues in this largely unregulated landscape.”

Rosatti started with Conservation Action, a nonprofit with 4,000 members, in 2003. He took over as executive director in 2007 and became a strong voice in key political and environmental battles in Sonoma County, including passage of the quarter-cent sales tax for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. He also has advocated for creation of urban growth boundaries, which restrict sprawl and direct new development into city centers. All nine cities in the county have adopted such boundaries.

“It’s important to have a sustained voice for the environment in the local political arena,” Rosatti said.

Rosatti will take over as public affairs director for Peace in Medicine this June at the latest. He also will oversee public affairs for a San Francisco-based marijuana dispensary called SPARC. Robert Jacob, a Sebastopol city councilman, is the executive director for both nonprofit dispensaries.

Conservation Action was founded by Bill Kortum, Sonoma County’s premier environmental activist, in 1991. The organization is currently seeking an executive director to replace Rosatti.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.