Alana Knaster is the Deputy Director of the Resource Management Agency.  She was Senior Executive in the Monterey County Planning Department for five years with responsibility for planning, building, and code enforcement programs.

Prior to joining Monterey County, Alana was the President of the Mediation Institute, a national non-profit firm specializing in the resolution of complex land use planning and environmental disputes. Many of the disputes that she successfully mediated, involved dozens of stakeholder groups including government agencies, major corporations and public interest groups. She served in that capacity for 15 years.

Alana was Mayor of the City of Hidden Hills, California from 1981-88 and represented her City on a number of regional planning agencies and commissions.

She also has been on the faculty of Pepperdine University Law School since 1989, teaching courses in environmental and public policy mediation.