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.
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Our Team
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 an industrial 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.
Kareen Sassounian
Legal Research & Advocacy
Kareen is an attorney who assists Ladera Health Watch with legal and factual research, public-records reviews, regulatory issues, and government accountability.
Her legal background helps the team evaluate records, understand regulatory responsibilities, and identify practical avenues for obtaining information and advancing environmental-health protections.
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Additional Research & Community Support
Dr. Jennifer Piazza - Scientific Consultant
Dr. Jennifer Piazza, an NIH-funded researcher and professor of Public Health at California State University, Fullerton, serves as Ladera Health Watch's scientific advisor. Dr. Piazza consults with fellow scientists and subject-matter experts and helps to ensure that community concerns are translated into research questions that can be evaluated using appropriate scientific methods.
She has assembled a multidisciplinary team of researchers to conduct environmental testing in Ladera Ranch and is developing scientifically rigorous approaches to examine the link between environmental concerns and community health.
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.