Steve Teshara Bio
Steve Teshara
Steve Teshara arrived at Lake Tahoe in the spring of 1973. Like many others, after a couple of Tahoe visits, Steve was drawn to the stunning beauty and unique environmental characteristics of the region. He was looking for an opportunity to make a difference at the community level, as he had done growing up in northern San Mateo County.
Steve’s educational background and work experiences were in the fields of journalism and radio. Even in those days, he felt the Bay Area was too crowded for him to break into either of those professions, so smaller communities appealed to him. He established his first Tahoe residence on the West Shore in Tahoma. In 1975, he opened a small recording studio and reveled in his ability to be creative through a variety of recording endeavors. This included support for the active local music scene, mobile disc jockey, and the “simulated” KNOT Radio.
In 1981, Steve rejoined live radio when he accepted the job as News Director for KEZC-K102 FM in Kings Beach. He quickly earned a reputation for comprehensive, professional news reporting. This led to his hiring as the News Director at KTHO-AM, the preeminent local station and a recognized leader in providing reliable news and information. This was before the Internet, cell phones, and the other communication technologies we take for granted today. Steve’s community-focused work at KTHO was widely acclaimed.
During his years covering local and regional news, Steve took a deep dive into understanding planning, land use, and the emerging regulatory authorities of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). He was fascinated reporting on the relationships involving TRPA, Tahoe’s five counties, one incorporated city, the federal government as Tahoe’s largest land owner and manager, and the region’s two state governments. These foundational experiences would help inform and guide Steve’s career and contributions to the region over the four decades to follow.
After his time at KTHO, Steve worked for 18 months as the Director of Media and Public Relations for the Tahoe North Visitors and Convention Bureau and the North Lake Tahoe Festivals Office. He remained active into the 1990s serving as a community volunteer for an array of special events, including the Snowfest Winter Carnival, Autumn Jubilee, Shakespeare and Music at Sand Harbor, the Truckee Airshow, and the Truckee Rodeo.
In 1986, the detailed knowledge Steve accumulated during his time in local news came to the attention of the Tahoe Sierra Preservation Council (TSPC), the Basin’s largest private property rights organization. Steve accepted the Council’s offer to become TSPC’s Executive Director. At the time, Tahoe was entering into the final stages of the “Consensus Building Workshops.” Initiated by then TRPA Executive Director Bill Morgan, these talks were designed to facilitate an agreement on changes to the 1984 Tahoe Regional Plan. Upon adoption, this plan had been quickly litigated by both the Preservation Council, alleging the ’84 plan took away property rights without just compensation, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe and California Attorney General’s office, alleging the plan was not strict enough to provide adequate environmental protections. A federal judge had imposed a building moratorium at the Lake while the differing parties sought a consensus on how best to proceed. The arduous goal was an agreed upon Regional Plan that could be approved by the judge and the TRPA Governing Board. The break-through finally came in the form of the 1987 Regional Plan.
Working closely with Council Attorney Larry Hoffman and its board of directors, Steve continued as TSPC Executive Director until 1991. Major Council accomplishments were providing information and technical assistance to Tahoe private property owners about TRPA’s new Individual Parcel Evaluation System (IPES), a key compromise of the 1987 Regional Plan. Also, about the federal and state property “buyout” programs that would purchase parcels classified as “unbuildable.”
Subsequent to adoption of the 1987 Plan, Steve partnered with leaders from the League to Save Lake Tahoe, South Tahoe Gaming Alliance, Heavenly Ski Resort and other engaged organizations to find a common ground issue upon which to move forward from the rancor of litigation. The agreed-upon issue was transportation. This led to formation of the Tahoe Transportation Coalition, the activities of which led to TRPA’s 1982 adoption of its first Regional Transportation/Air Quality Plan.
In August 1991, Steve accepted the position of Executive Director of the South Tahoe Gaming Alliance where he elevated the leadership profile of the Stateline resorts. He continued his advocacy for partnerships to address Lake Tahoe’s challenges and opportunities. As part of these efforts, Steve and partners helped organize Tahoe’s first-ever “Joint Federal Legislative Agenda” for presentation in Washington, D.C. to members of Tahoe’s Congressional Delegation. Recognizing their leadership, Steve and other coalition leaders were later selected to be members of the Steering Committee for the historic 1997 Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum.
Following this pivotal event, Steve led a two-year effort to secure support from the governors of California and Nevada and Tahoe’s local governments for establishing the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO). MPO is a federal transportation designation and the eligibility to establish an MPO at Tahoe was one of the outcomes of the Presidential Forum. At the state level, Steve spearheaded a legislative initiative in both Nevada and California to add one representative each from the Truckee-North Tahoe Transportation Management Association and the South Shore Transportation Management Association to the board of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD).
Known then as the Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water Quality Coalition, Steve and many partners were active in shaping and supporting the first Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (LTRA). Passed in 2000, Public Law 106-506 was bi-partisan legislation that authorized $300 million in federal funds for environmental restoration and related work in the Tahoe Basin. Importantly, leading LTRA champions were California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Nevada U.S. Senator Harry Reid. The next step was advocacy in support of amendments to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA). SNPLMA became the source of the $300 million in federal EIP investments authorized by the LTRA. Steve was one of the members appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee, a formal panel which helped review and advise the Secretary concerning the expenditure of the federal funds in the region.
In January 2003, Steve began his 7+ year tenure as Executive Director at the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association (NLTRA), a community-based organization formed in the mid-1990s with the support of Placer County. NLTRA integrated the roles Tahoe North Visitors and Convention Bureau and North Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, adding a community investment structure. NLTRA fostered greater community input into the planning and implementation of projects and initiatives to support economic sustainability and mobility improvements in the North Lake Tahoe portion of Placer County. Major achievements during Steve’s time at the NLTRA included development and adoption of the North Lake Tahoe Tourism and Community Investment Master Plan (2004), new community partnerships, and updates to the marketing capabilities of the organization as the way in which people booked vacations was changing significantly.
In the spring of 2010, Steve stepped down from the NLTRA to launch Sustainable Community Advocates (SCA). As SCA’s owner and principal, Steve continues to serve selected clients and community causes throughout the Tahoe-Truckee region, as described elsewhere on this website. During the years from fall 2010 through the present, from the SCA platform, Steve has continued to serve as the Director of Government Relations for the bi state Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and as an adviser to the leadership of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT). Advancing transportation initiatives remains one of Steve’s passions. He is a planning and management consultant for the Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association and a board member of the South Shore Transportation Management Association.
Steve remains an active member of the legislative collaborations in support of the adopted Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP). This work involves timely advocacy missions to Washington D.C. supporting annual appropriations for Lake Tahoe, along with helping to plan and sponsor the annual Lake Tahoe Summit. On-going federal advocacy for Lake Tahoe included the multi-year effort to secure reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, achieved in 2016. Current “Team Tahoe” advocacy is support for extending the LTRA for another ten years, through federal fiscal year 2034.
Steve is widely recognized for his work in communities throughout the Tahoe region, particularly in the areas of engaging and representing the business community in regional and local planning processes, and advocating for community revitalization and workforce housing projects. Also, as an advocate for federal and state funding for forest health, wildfire, and watershed restoration projects. Over the years, Steve has served on a number of local and regional committees and boards, including as a founding member of the Sierra Business Council, a member of the Tahoe Transportation District board of directors, and the TRPA Advisory Planning Commission.
Entering 2025, Steve remains one of the most consistent, effective community-based advocates in the region.
