Eric Holst, of Sacramento, was appointed to the State Mining and Geology Board on March 14, 2024. Holst has been Associate Vice President of Natural Climate Solutions at the Environmental Defense Fund since 2021 and has held several roles there since 2006, including Associate Vice President of Working Lands and Senior Director of Working Lands. He was California Regional Director of the Forest Stewards Guild from 2004 to 2006. Holst was Principal at Holst Conservation Consulting from 2004 to 2006 and Executive Director at the Resources Legacy Fund from 2003 to 2004. Holst was Environmental Program Officer at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation from 1999 to 2003. He was manager at the Conservation Agriculture Program from 1996 to 1999 and Program Associate at the Ford Foundation from 1994 to 1996. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the State Board of Food and Agriculture, State Forest Guild, American Wild and Wildlife Institute and the University of California President's Advisory Comission on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Holst earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources Ecology from Duke University
