Margaret Lewis grew up in Newark, CA where she spent her childhood exploring vacant lots and looking for wildlife in open spaces and muddy fields. Summers were spent playing baseball with neighborhood children and reading. Later, college offered the opportunity to become a worm whisperer or to study Spanish. Languages prevailed and she became a bilingual elementary school teacher. After a short career in the classroom, she became heavily involved in local environmental protection efforts, starting with objections to a development project in a wetland near her home. She has been with the Citizens Committee since the mid 1980’s, beginning with efforts to expand the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Her hobbies include hiking, observing wildlife and tracking down ancestors through DNA matches.