David Smernoff was a cofounder of Bay Area Action and has served many roles over the years, from Action Team organizer to head of the Arastradero Preserve Stewardship Project. He was one of BAA+PCCF and Acterra’s three co-directors after the merger, and later became the sole executive director.

David was named the Activist of the Decade by BAA in 2000. Despite his best efforts, he will always be known as Scumby.

Post-BAA

When Acterra spun off its stewardship projects, David was a co-founder of the resulting Grassroots Ecology.

David Smernoff married Cindy Russell in 1998. They met through BAA and their shared passion for the environment.

David co-founded the biotech startup HelioBioSys in 2010 to bring natural products to market based on a patented cyanobacteria refining and harvesting system.