Meet South Coast’s Regional Director, Zach Kantor-Anaya

Zach Kantor-Anaya at Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve / photo by Adam Curtis

Born in Flagstaff, Arizona Zach Kantor-Anaya was raised by parents who worked for the National Park Service at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon — instilling a love of nature in Zach at a very young age. Zach says he grew up climbing Pinyon pine trees, making stick forts and bike jumps with his friends, and hiking sections of the Grand Canyon with his family. 

Zach’s love of the outdoors continued to grow throughout his adolescent years when his family relocated to the Mojave Desert in Yucca Valley. Zach recalls venturing on many solo hikes as a teenager to observe the desert’s wild character. It was during his formative high school years that he discovered a passion for conservation work and was introduced to the mission of The Wildlands Conservancy through a field ecology class at Yucca Valley High School.

“Like many of the wonderful people that have contributed to The Wildlands Conservancy’s success, I was fortunate to have received guidance from the lessons taught by Mrs. Cindy Zacks. It was her field ecology course that ignited my interest in conservation and ultimately introduced me to The Wildlands Conservancy through a field trip to Pioneertown Mountains Preserve,” says Zach. 

After high school, Zach attended Humboldt State University to study forest resource conservation. He soon after joined the Wildlands team in 2010 as a ranger stewarding both Eel River Estuary Preserve and Irving and Jean Stone Sounding Seas Reserve in Humboldt County. In 2013, Zach transferred to Jenner Headlands Preserve in Sonoma County to advance Wildland’s forest restoration goals and jumpstart outdoor education and recreational programming. In 2016, Zach relocated with his family to San Diego County where he jumped into working on the Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve acquisition, which was acquired in 2018, and has helped manage the property since. Zach now works as the South Coast Regional Director for Wildlands.

In Zach’s free time, he loves to spend time outdoors with his closest friends and family. Zach enjoys playing sports with his two children, Blair and Parker, coaching young athletes, hiking, camping, going to the beach with his wife Michelle, and rock climbing in places like Joshua Tree, Idyllwild, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.