Governance

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

James Callegary

President

James Callegary is a retired geophysicist and ecohydrologist. His research with the USGS was focused on the hydrology of riparian ecosystems in arid lands as well as on water resources shared between the US and Mexico. James and his husband, Chris, have been members of Saguaro-Juniper Ranch and part time residents of Cascabel since 2006. Their association with the ranch began several years before that having found great joy and community in volunteering with Saguaro Juniper, helping in whatever way they could to support and care for the land and its inhabitants - the soils, rocks, plants, wildlife, humans, and cows. As a board member, James has been happy to give back to and nurture this community for future generations. Communities like this focusing on spiritual connection and conservation agriculture, where a spirit of learning, simplicity, and mutual respect prevail, are sorely needed.

Katie Talbott

Vice President

Katie was attracted to Cascabel by the land, the community, and the Saguaro-Juniper Covenant. After stumbling onto Cascabel by chance in 2015, she and her husband left their home in Seattle and moved into a 15-foot travel trailer to explore the west for a year. Several years later, they were still traveling, and found their path kept returning to Cascabel. In 2020, they settled on land next to the Saguaro Juniper grazing lease. Katie joined the board in the fall of 2021, then took over the lead herder position when it became available in the fall of 2022. She grew up on a seed farm in eastern Washington and has enjoyed expanding her skills to caring for herd animals. Her roles on the board include connecting the work of the board to the daily needs of the ranch, in particular through budgeting and fundraising. She is also active in the Cascabel Goat Group which has a small herd of milking and walking goats, and is learning to make cheese. You can read more about her on-the-ground experience with Saguaro Juniper in Cow Notes.

Ann Russell

Secretary

Ann is a retired research scientist, living in Davis, California. Her history with Pat and Jim Corbett began in 1969, when she was a student at a Quaker high school in northern California. She was lucky enough to have her name chosen out of a hat to join the first Sonoran Desert Study Group, a group of eight students living with the Corbetts south of Tucson. Part of the curriculum was to spend weeks at a time out on the desert with a herd of goats. Soon after she retired, she began volunteering at Saguaro Juniper, learning to flood irrigate and pull mesquite seedlings. She joined the Board of Directors in 2021.

Tom Orum

Treasurer

Tom and Nancy Ferguson are two of the founders of Saguaro Juniper. Ann Russell introduced Tom to Jim and Pat Corbett in the spring of 1978. This led to a goat milking cooperative, called Los Cabreros Andantes, that supported projects that Jim initiated with goat ranchers near Mulege, Baja California Sur. In the spring of 1981, as a spinoff of Los Cabreros Andantes, the Goat and Garden Group formed and purchased an acre and a half of land just north of the San Xavier Mission in Tucson. This was our first attempt at owning land as a group. Tom continues to serve as Secretary of the Goat and Garden Group. In 1988, Saguaro Juniper Corporation was formed with Nancy Ferguson, Pat Corbett, and Tom as the incorporators. Tom served as Secretary of Saguaro Juniper from 1988 until November, 2025 when he switched to Treasurer. Tom was active in support of Saguaro Juniper’s transition to a non-profit organization in 2023. Tom is also Secretary of Sweetwater Center, a non-profit corporation that owns the 21-acre El Potrero farm that functions as headquarters for Saguaro Juniper’s ranching activities. Tom worked as a Research Technician in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Arizona from 1977 to 2000 with an emphasis on diseases of desert plants. After retiring in 2000, Tom focused his attention on Saguaro Juniper. He continues to live in Tucson with Nancy.

Debbie Hawkins

Board Member

Debbie first visited Saguaro Juniper in 1996, drawn to meet the Corbetts from Jim’s book, Goatwalking. After a visit with the Corbetts, she came to settle in the Valley for the next 8 years. She became one of the herd managers at the time, studying animal husbandry from Jim and Pat Corbett and range management from the University of Arizona library. She endeavored to make a livelihood by pioneering the (then novel) grass-fed direct-to-consumer market to ensure sustainable treatment of cattle from birth to freezer. She now works as an oncology nurse practitioner in Nashville, Tennessee. She has remained steadfast over the years in her hope that Saguaro Juniper could continue to be a place where people could conserve land while interacting and learning from it. Debbie joined the Board of Directors in January 2026.

Nancy Ferguson

Board Member

After graduate school in North Carolina and a stint at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN, Nancy accepted a position at the University of Arizona in 1974. After coming to Tucson, Nancy was a team member in a series of projects: planning in West Africa, raising grapes and making wine, rodent ecology, genetic diversity of wild Bacillus subtilis, and monitoring red squirrels on Mount Graham in Arizona. Tom Orum and Nancy married in 1980 and retired from the University of Arizona in 2000. They share two major loves: the Sonoran Desert and working with groups. Several of these groups included Jim and Pat Corbett. With the Corbetts, Tom and Nancy helped found three corporations: the Goat and Garden Group in Tucson, and Saguaro Juniper Corporation and El Potrero Incorporated in Cascabel. Tom and Nancy have been officers and board members on each of these since their founding. As Nancy ages out of fence mending and mesquite pulling, Saguaro Juniper continues to be part of her daily thoughts and a community that feels like home.

Sue Newman

Board Member

Sue has lived in Cascabel and been involved with Saguaro Juniper for over twenty years. Previously, she studied journalism, had a professional photography studio, and owned a small boarding stable in central Tucson. She came to Cascabel and rode once a month with Pat Corbett, becoming familiar with the valley, the community and the reason so many folks were here, conserving this relatively undisturbed valley. She has introduced many people to Saguaro Juniper through her vacation rental property. As a long-term member, her experience is valuable in finding balance with the new way and the old way of doing things. Sue joined the board in January 2026.

'Arni Vikingur Sveinsson

Board Member

Árni is an Icelandic native who attended the University of Arizona for graduate school and has since lived in Tucson for most of his life working as a psychologist. He became connected with Saguaro Juniper in the mid-90s through his friendship with Dick Henderson, one of Saguaro Juniper’s founders. Árni became a member and was involved in grazing group projects such as fence building and repair, bentonite sealing of cow tanks, and erosion prevention efforts. Through this work, Árni got to know the people who founded Saguaro Juniper, including Jim and Patt Corbett.
Clinical training, followed by family responsibilities, reduced Árni’s involvement with Saguaro Juniper, but the community in Cascabel always had a strong pull. He found opportunities to go there alone or with his children as they grew up in Tucson. Árni joined the Board of Directors in January 2026.

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