Jackeline Cordero to join Laguna Canyon Foundation as senior operations director
Jackeline Cordero will be joining the Laguna Canyon Foundation as its senior director of operations, the foundation announced Thursday.
Cordero will begin her new role on Tuesday, Jan. 18. She comes over from OC Parks, where she has served in various roles over the past 16 years.
While at OC Parks, Cordero was responsible for more than 90 full-time employees and a $10-million budget. She was also a park ranger for Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.
“She brings a real special set of skills and a real personal love for the land and a dedication to our parks,” Hallie Jones, executive director of the foundation, said of Cordero.
“Jacky was a ranger at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park,” Jones continued. “That’s how she first started working with Laguna Canyon Foundation years ago, and her love for that experience in that time in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park really gives me a huge degree of confidence in her seamless transition and what a good fit she’s going to be with our team.”
Laguna Canyon Foundation has created a new position to bring Cordero aboard. Jones said the foundation will now have 15 full-time staff members, some of whom are seasonal employees.
As a parks division manager for OC Parks, Cordero said she oversaw a third of the county’s parks, primarily the north and central regional parks and the historical facilities.
The Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation and Laguna Greenbelt made donations totaling $5,000 to support the Laguna Canyon Creek restoration project.
Cordero holds a master’s degree in anthropology, with an emphasis in archeology, that she earned at California State University, Fullerton in 2008. She also completed her undergraduate studies there in 2003.
A passion for conservation and the outdoors grew through backpacking experiences, including in places such as Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, but Cordero added that she wants to make a local impact.
“I really want to use my talents and my skillset to help,” Cordero said. “It’s something that truly is close to my heart because when I was a ranger at Laguna Coast and working with the foundation back in, I think it was 2007 to 2009, I loved seeing just how they were so integral into connecting people into the local hills. It was the best time I’ve ever had in my whole career thus far.”
The rains came throughout December, and the busy season is coming up for those involved with the foundation.
“We’re coming into our weed season and our planting season,” Jones said. “This is the time of year where we need to be out in the parks treating weeds and also planting plants because we do have that soil moisture, so this is definitely the busiest time of year for Laguna Canyon Foundation.”
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