Christian Lyles has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of North Florida, and is a former Reconnaissance Marine (0321) with 1st Recon Battalion, USMC. Christian is our in house photo-videographer and editor at Las Cumbres Ranch, and works with our ranch operations team part time. He looks forward to building his knowledge of all things ranching. His favorite quote is, “courage is the strength to overcome fear” but can’t remember where he heard it first. 

Arturo has worked with the Selbert family for over 15 years. He oversees and maintains inventory, and is in charge of repairs and maintenance around the ranch. Arturo also works on special projects ranging from the mobile chicken coop to solar cart construction.

José is an essential part of the cattle handling team, and is primary caretaker of the wild mustangs. He is in charge of keeping grazing records with PastureMaps. José also installs and repairs irrigation infrastructure, and maintains mechanical and electrical equipment.

Lino has been with Las Cumbres Ranch since its inception. He is an invaluable part of our team.

Lino is an expert cattle handler, a skilled fence builder, a master stone mason, an experienced construction worker, machine operator, a knowledgeable gardener and supervisor of day workers.

Rodger Savory has managed major cattle operations in Australia, Canada and the United States.  Rodger is a ranch owner in Zambia and has also managed the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe. Rodger is a well respected consultant on holistic management practices. He has entered a team for the Carbon Xprize called Deserts to Grasslands, Feeding the Future (d2gftf.com) in an attempt to improve global awareness that reversing global desertification is possible. Rodger was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).  He was educated at Cordwalles and Michaelhouse in South Africa before coming to Albuquerque New Mexico in the United States to complete his studies at Cibola.  He joined the US Army Field Artillery and was stationed in Alaska.  Using the GI Bill he graduated from the University of New Mexico.  Some recent quotes from Rodger, “Life begets Life, more Life begets more Life.” and “Humans must overcome their instinctual fear of change, to save all humanity.”

Erika Romer offers administrative support in the areas of procurement, marketing, records and research. She has worked in hospitality, nonprofit, natural foods, wellness and publishing, in different capacities, and in different parts of the world. Erika is interested in learning more about ways that humans can live in greater harmony with the environment and one another. She lives in Santa Barbara with her family and is excited about the opportunity to work at Las Cumbres Ranch where learning from nature is a way of life.

Spencer Selbert is a ranch hand at Las Cumbres Ranch while attending Santa Barbara City College. He documents the daily activities of the ranch, manages the trail camera system, and contributes to the ranch’s social media presence.

Stefan Selbert was introduced to regenerative agriculture by Rodger Savory in 2019, and was immediately drawn to the idea of positive environmental change. He is head cowboy of Las Cumbres Ranch focusing on low stress cattle handling, soil health and rotational grazing management, design and maintenance of solar power and electric fencing, events coordinator and public speaker. Stefan is also a co-owner of Harvest Sound Studios / Harvest Events in Los Angeles, and holds a B.A. with honors in Film and Electronic Music from UCSC.

Patricia Selbert manages Las Cumbres Ranch. While researching best practices for the management of the ranch, she became interested in regenerative agriculture and holistic land management. She found Rodger Savory’s holistic management plan the most effective and continues to consult with him to date.

Patricia continues to educate herself on soil health, animal welfare and holistic approaches to a healthy environment. She holds a PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Patricia is a recognized equestrian who has competed at the Pan American Games and the World Equestrian Games and is an award winning author.