Protect Ladera is guided by advisors who share our commitment to safer parks, greenbelts, and open spaces. We are grateful for their counsel and their example.
Christina Shea
Former Mayor & City Councilmember, Irvine, California
Christina Shea is a former Mayor and longtime City Councilmember of Irvine, California, and a nationally recognized advocate for safer, organic-first landscape practices. During her service on the Irvine City Council, Shea brought forward the 2016 proposal that established Irvine’s landmark organic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) policy for city parks, greenbelts, playgrounds, and open spaces. The program became a model for communities across the country and was later recognized by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation with an IPM Achievement Award.
Shea also took the fight for local environmental protections to Washington, D.C. When provisions in the 2018 federal Farm Bill threatened the ability of cities to regulate pesticide use on their own property, she worked with federal lawmakers, California’s congressional delegation, and local-government organizations to protect local control. The proposed preemption language was ultimately removed from the final legislation. First elected to the Irvine City Council in 1992, Shea served multiple terms as a Councilmember, Mayor Pro Tem, and Mayor, bringing decades of experience in local government, environmental policy, and community advocacy.
Andy Stavros
Advisory Member: Independent Researcher & Land Historian
Andy Stavros is a father, a longtime Orange County real estate professional, and someone too stubborn to walk away from an unanswered question.
Andy lives in Newport Beach, but Ladera Ranch is anything but distant to him. Close friends call it home, and he has served clients here throughout his career. When he heard the stories of local families facing childhood cancer, he reached out and offered to help.
He dove in with the AI research skills he has developed over the last couple years, pairing them with a lifetime of investigating properties, tracing records, and solving complex problems. He has been researching historical archives, including original government records, aerial imagery, maps, and land-use documents, to reconstruct the history of the land this community is built on. That carefully sourced archive now supports Protect Ladera’s push for independent environmental testing and real answers for families.
His rule is simple: no conclusions before measurement. Follow the evidence wherever it leads, and report it honestly.
President of the Stavros Group at Douglas Elliman, Andy holds a degree in Finance, Real Estate and Law. But his most important title here is the one that got him involved: a dad who wanted to help.