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About Us

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Community-Led

Ladera Health Watch is a resident-led community health organization working to better understand environmental health concerns in Ladera Ranch and advocate for safer, healthier practices for our community.

Our team includes residents with backgrounds in law, nursing, science, engineering, landscape design, social work, research, technology, and communications. Together, we collect and analyze public records, connect families with researchers and experts, work with government agencies and elected officials, support independent environmental research and testing, and advocate for precautionary policies where potential exposures can reasonably be reduced.

We believe residents deserve transparent information about the environment where their families live, learn, and play, and that unanswered health questions deserve serious, science-based investigation.

Our work spans cancer surveillance and research, environmental exposure investigation, safer land management, water and infrastructure, public-health transparency, and environmental-health policy.

Our Team

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Jackie French

Founder

Jackie is a California attorney and former journalist who founded Ladera Health Watch in 2026. She directs the organization's environmental-health research, government and legislative engagement, public-records work, policy initiatives and communications.

Her work includes coordinating with researchers and public agencies, investigating environmental and regulatory records, and advancing initiatives related to cancer-data transparency, pesticide policy, water and community environmental health. She also serves on LARMAC's Landscape Advisory Committee.

Taryn Morais

Community & Research Coordinator

Taryn is a nurse and one of Ladera Health Watch's lead organizers. She coordinates with non-profit organizations and researchers, connects residents with experts, conducts research, and helps keep the organization's many projects moving forward.

Taryn also researches environmental-health issues including water quality and testing, filtration systems, EMF, and practical ways families can reduce everyday environmental exposures. She serves on LARMAC's Landscape Advisory Committee.

Samantha Dazey

Pesticide Research & Community Advocacy

Samantha has been working on pesticide concerns in Ladera Ranch for more than seven years and brings extensive knowledge of the community's pesticide-use history and prior efforts to change landscape practices.

A former victim advocate and social worker, Samantha also previously served as president of Young Professionals Against Cancer, the fundraising arm of the Foundation for Oncology, Children and Families. Her background in advocacy and longstanding commitment to this issue help guide Ladera Health Watch's work on pesticides and community health.

Nubia Krikorian

Design, Sustainability & Environmental Advocacy

Nubia is a designer with a focus on sustainable materials, and the co-founder of a better-for-you CPG company. She brings nearly a decade of involvement in Ladera Ranch’s pesticide advocacy and serves on LARMAC’s Landscape Advisory Committee, where she advocates for Organic Land Management practices.

She also leads much of Ladera Health Watch’s creative and digital work, translating complex research and developments into clear, accessible information for the community. She is also part of The Ecology Center’s Farm Raised community in San Juan Capistrano, deepening her understanding of regenerative ecosystems, soil health, and sustainable land stewardship.

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Additional Research & Community Support

Scientific & Technical Advisors

Scott Neiman - Landscape & IPM Support Advisor

Scott is a landscape architect who advises Ladera Health Watch on landscape management practices that align with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles. Drawing on his experience in landscape design and stewardship, he helps identify practical, prevention-focused approaches that support healthy soils & resilient plant communities.

Brian Dazey - Water & Environmental Systems Research

Brian is an engineer who focuses on water and infrastructure issues affecting Ladera Ranch. He has extensively documented concerns involving the community's reclaimed-water and researches water management, infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and other potential environmental issues.

His technical background in and 30years of experience in commercial and residential construction projects helps the team identify water-related questions that warrant further investigation and understand complex engineering and infrastructure records.

Warren Martin - Water Safety Committee Chair

Warren is an attorney and leads Ladera Health Watch's Water Safety Committee. He helps guide the group's research into drinking water, infrastructure, regulatory oversight, and other water-related environmental concerns, with an emphasis on primary-source records and objective analysis.

Tiffany Kahnen - Research & Community Advocacy

Tiffany is a Ladera Ranch resident and licensed attorney who volunteers with Ladera Health Watch, contributing public-records research, analysis and community perspective. She assists with the initiative’s environmental and community advocacy in her individual capacity as a resident volunteer.

She also serves on LARMAC's Landscape Advisory Committee, where she is helping evaluate and develop safer landscape-management practices for Ladera Ranch.

Julie Cain - Research, Social Media & Community Outreach

Julie assists with research, social media, and community outreach for Ladera Health Watch, helping organize information and keep residents informed about the group's work and ongoing developments.

Dustin Matteson - Research & Community Advocacy

Dustin serves on LARMAC's Landscape Advisory Committee and assists Ladera Health Watch with research and community advocacy. He has also helped investigate environmental concerns related to the Prima Deshecha Landfill and its potential impacts on the surrounding community.

Bryan Ortiz - Creative Director supporting design

Saritta Hines - Ai Engineer supporting data and initial web build.

Our advisors provide expertise in public health, chemistry, scientific research and technical analysis to support Ladera Health Watch's investigative and educational work.

Jennifer Piazza, PhD - Professor of Public Health, California State University, Fullerton.
Dr. Jennifer Piazza is an NIH-funded researcher whose work examines the relationship between stress, health and well-being across the lifespan. She is coordinating a multidisciplinary team of CSUF researchers investigating environmental health questions in Ladera Ranch.

Stevan Pecic, PhD - Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton

Dr. Stevan Pecic is a medicinal chemist whose research focuses on drug discovery, enzyme inhibitors and molecular biosensors. Previously a research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center, he has received NIH funding for his research into potential therapeutic compounds.

Brian C. Sisk, PhD - Chemist and Engineer

Dr. Brian Sisk earned his doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, where his research focused on chemical sensing and detection technologies. His professional experience spans scientific research, defense intelligence and senior technical leadership in energy-storage engineering. He brings expertise in chemistry, engineering and technical analysis to Ladera Health Watch.

CSUF Research Team - Researchers at California State University, Fullerton, coordinated by Dr. Jennifer Piazza, are conducting independent environmental research relating to questions raised in Ladera Ranch. The multidisciplinary team brings together expertise in analytical chemistry, atmospheric science, environmental health and epidemiology.

Daniel B. Curtis, PhD

Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton

Dr. Daniel Curtis is an analytical chemist specializing in atmospheric aerosols and their chemical and physical properties. His research examines airborne particles, including those associated with wildfire smoke and urban pollution, using laboratory and field measurements to understand their environmental effects.

Paula K. Hudson, PhD - Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton

Dr. Paula Hudson specializes in analytical and atmospheric chemistry. Her research examines the chemical and physical properties of airborne particles, including the formation of brown carbon associated with wildfire smoke and urban pollution. She uses advanced analytical techniques to study atmospheric processes and particle chemistry.

Bo Young Park, PhD, MPH - Associate Professor of Public Health, California State University, Fullerton

Dr. Bo Young Park is a perinatal epidemiologist whose research examines environmental exposures during pregnancy and their effects on maternal and child health. Her work investigates how environmental and genetic factors influence pregnancy outcomes and childhood development, including the potential health effects of prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants.

Phillip B. Gedalanga, PhD - Associate Professor of Public Health, California State University, Fullerton

Dr. Phillip Gedalanga is an environmental health scientist specializing in water quality, environmental microbiology and contaminant transport. His research investigates how chemical and biological pollutants move through natural and engineered water systems, including the environmental fate of emerging contaminants and potential pathways of human exposure.

Disclaimer
Scientific advisors and research collaborators contribute in their individual professional capacities. Institutional affiliations are provided for identification and do not imply institutional endorsement of Ladera Health Watch. Researchers maintain independence in their scientific methods, findings and conclusions.