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200+ community outreach campaigns |
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900 presentations of Surfrider's education program, Respect the Beach |
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8,000+ beach water tests taken |
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600 beach cleanups, 125+ meetings
and events involving city, county, and state
governments were attended by Surfrider Chapter
representatives |
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140,000+ volunteer hours!! |
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| 2009 BOARD
OF DIRECTORS |
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 Sean Ahlum spent his formative years in southern New Jersey with his Pop-Pop, waking before sunrise to bail boats and set minnow traps in the tidal marsh behind his house before heading to the beach. It is here where he learned his major life-lessons and also began a life-long love affair with surfing. His Pop-Pop's prophetic comment that Sean would never be anything more than an educated beach bum with his brains in his feet has set the course for his life. His parents, though, were careful to instill a deep appreciation for education in him, which still drives Sean today.
Currently, Sean holds the position of Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life for Technology and Communications at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He holds a BA in English, MFA in Creative Writing, and an MBA from the Cameron School of Business (projected May 2009). He is a five-year faculty member with his class, Chasing the Fountain of Youth, in the UNCW Cornerstone Learning Communities Residential Learning Program. He actively sits on university wide committees and is most proud of his department's sustainability efforts in the development of UNCW's newest residential community and first LEED Certified building development, Seahawk Crossing. In 2001, Sean created the UNCW Surfrider Group to help educate and involve students in the Surfrider Core Mission, CARE, which he still advises today.
As a resident of Wrightsville Beach, NC, Sean has
been actively involved on a chapter level for over ten years, and has built up
the Cape Fear Chapter from one low volunteer involvement and community support
into an organization with significant influence and a solid executive board.
Sean, along with Cape Fear Chapter volunteers, has successfully pushed local
communities to improve sewage systems, increase and protect beach access and
educate hundreds of students and citizens to be environmentally responsible members
of the community. Sean is happiest traveling to quality surf destinations and
spending time surfing or fishing in the waters of southern New Jersey and southeast
North Carolina.
 Meg Caldwell. As the child of a US Navy officer, Meg Caldwell grew up mainly on the coastline and developed a strong personal connection with the ocean. She now directs the Center for Ocean Solutions - a collaboration between Stanford University, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute - whose core mission is to increase the impact of the natural, physical and social sciences on ocean policy and to develop practical solutions to major ocean challenges. Meg also directs the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy program at Stanford Law School where she teaches and researches land use, the use of science in ocean and coastal resource policy and management, and private and public incentives for natural resource conservation. Public service is a major part of Meg's life. In 2004, she was appointed by the State Secretary of Resources to the California Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force for the central and north central coasts and is currently serving on the Third Phase Blue Ribbon Task Force for the south coast. That same year, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Meg to the California Coastal Commission, for which she served for three years, including two as its chairperson. As chair of the Commission, she also served on the State Coastal Conservancy Board. Meg returned to the Coastal Commission in 2009 as Mary Shallenberger's alternate. A good cup of coffee, dark chocolate, hanging out with her two sons, and walking along a wild shoreline are the hallmarks of her perfect day.
 Laura Cantral is a Senior Mediator in Meridian Institute's Washington, DC office. Prior to joining Meridian, Laura was the Associate Director for Governance for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, a presidential commission appointed in 2001 to develop recommendations to the President and Congress on improving the use and management of ocean resources. From 1998-2000, she also served as staff for the Florida Governor's Ocean Committee, appointed by the late Governor Lawton Chiles to make recommendations about how to improve management of Florida's ocean and coastal resources. With a background in marine law, Laura has extensive experience working on ocean and coastal policy issues at the state, regional, and national levels, through which she has developed a keen understanding of and commitment to addressing the many issues facing our coasts and oceans. As a board member, Laura will bring this broad experience to help with implementation of Surfrider's strategic plan, particularly with regard to addressing policy issues and developing partnerships with other organizations. Laura lives in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter.
 Vipe Desai was born in Bombay, India. Shortly afterward, he and his family moved to Southern California, where he quickly adapted to beach culture. By the time he was 14, he was a regular fixture at Hermosa Beach.
After graduating from Point Loma College in San Diego, Vipe moved back up the coast to Orange County and opened his own surf shop, H20. He also became an early supporter of Surfrider Foundation, helping to organize local events and fundraisers. After several successful years on the retail side of the industry, he decided to leave the shop and pursue a long time goal of opening his own marketing agency. In 2000 he started Propaganda Headquarters (HQ).
Propaganda HQ is a marketing and management agency specializing in board sports culture. Since its inception Propaganda HQ has garnered an impressive roster of clients, including DaimlerChrysler, Twin Fin Wine, US Open of Surfing, Mountain High Resort, Wahoo's Fish Taco, and most recently, representation of professional Surfer Pat O'Connell.
In 2002, Propaganda HQ took on the Surfrider Foundation as a pro bono client. Vipe and his creative team developed Surfrider Foundation's print PSA campaign. The ads feature testimonials from several prominent board sport and entertainment personalities talking about the importance of joining the Surfrider Foundation. Vipe continues to introduce and maintain several beneficial relationships between Surfrider and the Action Sports industry.
Vipe is an avid waterman who enjoys surfing not only local breaks, but traveling to Mexico and Central America in search of waves (and cultures!)
Vipe's current associations include National Board of Director for Life Rolls On Foundation; he is on the advisory committee for The Art Institute of Orange County, as well.
 Michelle
Duval is a lifelong ocean enthusiast who grew up in the Great Lake state of Michigan, but spent countless hours vacationing with family on the Outer Banks and collecting stinky ocean treasures. After receiving a B.S. in Biology from the University of Michigan, she moved from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic coast of North Carolina, where she pursued a Ph.D. in marine ecology at the Duke University Marine Lab. After a summer working with the North Carolina Coastal Federation on its annual "State of the Coast" report, she joined the Raleigh staff of Environmental Defense Fund in November 1997, where she worked on regional fisheries management, habitat protection and coastal development issues for ten years. She recently relocated back to the central North Carolina coast to accept a position as a special assistant to the Director of Marine Fisheries, where she continues to work on fisheries and habitat issues from the ocean to the estuaries. Michelle is an ocean enthusiast, and enjoys taking her pup Rooney for his daily morning jaunts on the beach, as well as hiking, camping, kayaking and playing ultimate frisbee, cooking and reading.
 Wing Lam is a graduate of San Diego State University with a
Bachelor's
Degree in Finance and a minor in Spanish. His Family moved from China to
Brazil in 1958, where their father opened one of the first Chinese
restaurant. In 1975 , the family moved to Orange County, California,
where
they opened the Shanghai Pine Garden restaurant on Balboa Island. Once
the
family moved to Orange County, Wing and his brothers became avid
surfers.
For fun, the three brothers would travel across the Mexican border in
search
of great surf. After a great day of riding fun waves, the brothers would
refuel on the freshly -prepared tacos available at most roadside stands
found in the Baja Peninsula.
Then, in 1988, the brothers decided to import the fish taco they craved
to
Orange County and give it a unique twist. They combined the freshest
ingredients with their Brazilian-family favorite recipes and a dash of
Asian
flare. The combination of the ingredients created a surfer meal that
made
Wahoo's Fish Taco a "must stop after a great surf session."
 Michael Marckx is the vice president of global marketing for Globe international, an action sports based apparel and footwear manufacturer. Prior to Globe, Marckx was the vice president of marketing and advertising with Ocean Pacific (Op) and Seven2. Marckx was also vice president of marketing and entertainment with the Broadband Interactive Group (BIG), where he worked on Bluetorch TV -- which produced unique daily action sports television programming, live events, home videos, online and interactive television entertainment for the youth culture. Previously, Marckx had a long tenure with Primedia as a publisher, among other titles, for The Surfing Group. A former amateur world champion and US National team member, Marckx has enjoyed being an athlete in several sports. He served on the Surfrider Board of Directors from 2000 to 2005 and has come back on in 2008 to serve another term. Still an avid surfer and musician, Marckx lives in Palos Verdes, CA with his wife and two children.
 Sergio de Mello e Souza is founder and director of BRASIL1 Entertainment & Sports, a company based in Rio de Janeiro that specializes in special events. BRASIL1 clients include Mastercard, HSBC, Telefonica, Motorola, Blackberry and Mitsubishi. One of Sergio's career highlights was to organize and promote The Police concert for 80 thousand people in Rio de Janeiro. Prior to founding BRASIL1, he was the General Manager for Clear Channel Entertainment in South America. Early in his career, Sergio worked for the State Tourism Commission and helped develop an ecology friendly approach for the industry. Sergio has been involved with non-profit organizations since 1988, and has participated in many projects, including a research program for the Atlantic Rainforest when he was in college, and later an educational campaign in the northeast of Brazil to stop the slaughter of dolphins and to protect manatees. He also organized campaigns and special events for the Rio 92 Eco-Conference. Sergio joined Surfrider Foundation Brasil in 2003 and has contributed to the restructuring of the organization. He joined the Surfrider global Board of Directors in 2008. Sergio has also been involved in Climate Change awareness projects and sustainability consulting for special events. He enjoys traveling and interacting with different cultures and getting to know exotic and less traveled to spots. He is an avid soccer and tennis player and also does scuba diving. The beach and ocean have always been a source of inspiration for him because he grew up in beautiful Rio de Janeiro (Olympic capital in 2016). He continues to live there with his wife, Natalia.
 CJ Olivares is General Manager and Senior Vice President of FUEL TV, the first and only action sports network of its kind launched by Fox Cable Networks on July 1, 2003. In this role, he works closely with Fox Networks Group's advertising and affiliate sales groups to accelerate FUEL TV's revenue growth, identifying new sources of income such as broadband and wireless content distribution, and liaising with the Fox International Entertainment Channels Group to develop localized versions of FUEL TV in major territories around the world. Additionally, Olivares oversees day-to-day operations of the programming, production and marketing departments.
Before joining FUEL TV in December 2002, Olivares served as CEO of the Broadband Interactive Group (BIG), the multi-media company responsible for "Bluetorch," and also advised Extreme Group Ltd on their own expansion across the action sports genre. He first came to Fox as director of program development and acquisition for FSN (Fox Sports Net) in 1997, where he developed the action sports franchise "Rush Hour" programming block before joining BIG in 1999.
A graduate of University of California Los Angeles in political science, Olivares became editor of Triathlete Magazine in 1984, while also photographing sports, fashion and personalities for Nike, Oakley, Glamour, Sports Illustrated, Sportswear International and CNN. He became editorial director of Triathlete in 1988 and then director of development for Inclyne Sports, a pioneer in packaging and producing sponsor-driven television events including ABC's Foot Locker Slam Fest and Ride of Your Life Mountain Bike Race. He became director of operations for FSN predecessor Prime Sports' Event Group in 1996, supervising the creation and execution of 75 annual sports events and 150 hours of complementary television programming including the Bud Pro Surf Tour, Miller Lite AVP Volleyball, HPAC Surf Series and Steinlager Championship Rugby.
Olivares, a passionate lifelong surfer, lives with his wife and three daughters in Manhattan Beach, California.
 Greg Perlot is Senior Vice President of Marketing at Quiksilver, a leading surf and youth apparel company, where he directs the Quiksilver brand in all marketing areas including strategy, advertising, PR, partnerships, events, online and a team of over 70 athletes. Before joining Quiksilver Greg was co-founder and President of the award-winning design and advertising agency 72andSunny, with studios in Los Angeles and Amsterdam, working with brands such as Xbox, Coca-Cola, Quiksilver, DC Shoes, and Nike. Prior to 72andSunny he was Director of Global Advertising and Research at Microsoft.
Growing up in Southern California, Taiwan and the Northwest, Greg has never lived far from the coast and the different ways people enjoy the oceans, beaches and breaks around them. A Surfrider board member since 2007, he has been privileged to volunteer alongside some of the most intelligent and dedicated people he has ever met. People who actually understand what they're talking about when it comes to the ocean we tend to take for granted as we surf and play.
Greg lives in Hermosa Beach, California with his wife Lisa and three children, Nicole, Rachel and Joe. If it's Sunday and it's warm you'll find them hanging out next to the 22nd Street lifeguard tower. If it's not warm, you may find them there anyway.
 Anthony "Tony" Radaich.
Tony presently is the Executive Director of CNM LLP, an accounting and advisory
firm based in Southern California. In June 2007 he retired after 38 years with
the international public accounting firms of Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen.
In addition to his duties as an audit partner at Ernst & Young, Tony was responsible
for overseeing the "Entrepreneur of the Year" and Venture Capital Roundtable
programs in the Greater Los Angeles area. At Arthur Andersen he was the partner
in charge of the firm's Woodland Hills, CA office. Tony is a member of the executive
committee of the AEA and sits on the Board of Directors for InTouch Technologies,
a Santa Barbara-based robotics technology company. In September, he was appointed
to a Strategic Advisory position for the leading private equity firm Riodan,
Lewis & Haden. He is a graduate of California State Polytechnic University,
Pomona.
Tony is a California native who grew up surfing on Orange County beaches. He now resides in the Santa Barbara area and continues to enjoy the Pacific Ocean as a surfer, certified diver and boater with his wife, five sons and daughter.
 Steve Shipsey is currently an Assistant Attorney General with the Natural
Resources Section of the Oregon Department of Justice where he provides
substantive and procedural legal advice to several state agencies and
governing bodies with regulatory or proprietary jurisdiction over ocean and
coastal areas. He is also the recipient of the Department's Outstanding
Service Award for 2006.
Shipsey has been a member of Surfrider since 1991 and has an impressive
history of involvement with the organization. In 1997, he became an
executive board member for the Oregon Chapter, where he participated in
chapter organization, establishment of chapter objectives, policies and
strategies, and served as legal liaison to the national office. Shipsey also
served for ten years on the board of directors of the Oregon Shores
Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit formed to provide education and promote
proper management and planning necessary to retain the natural, aesthetic,
and scenic beauties of the Oregon coast.
 Brooke Simler Smith is the Executive Director of COMPASS (Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea), which works to communicate ocean conservation science to policy-makers and the media. Since 1999, COMPASS has facilitated the promotion of ocean science stories in the news, connected leading marine researchers to decision-makers to ensure policy discussions are informed by the latest science and by scientists themselves, and catalyzed new scientific research intended to respond to ocean policy needs. Brooke's experiences are in ocean sciences and ocean policy, connecting science to policy and the public, state and federal environmental policy, and program and organizational management. Prior to joining COMPASS in 2001, Brooke worked for the federal government, consulting firms, and non-profits all focused on environmental issues including oceans, federal lands, and Native American environmental justice issues. She has an M.S. from Oregon State University's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences with a focus on marine policy, a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University, sits on advisories boards of various ocean conservation non-profits and science enterprises, and was a Donella Meadows Leadership Fellow. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Evan, her daughter, Wren and her dog, Mallory.
 Shaun Tomson was born in the coastal town of Durban, South Africa in 1955. "Surfing gripped me hard and fast from the start, passionately and obsessively, from the first moment I stood up on my little red board in the Indian Ocean. That feeling of excitement, of standing up high and rushing across a wave, looking out on the world, has kept me paddling back out, year after year, decade after decade. "
Shaun went on to become one of the world's greatest surfers, winning events all over the world from Hawaii to Japan, culminating in the surfing world's top honor, the World Pro Title in 1977. He competed on the pro tour for 16 years, winning 19 professional events, and at the time was both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a professional event. He was a true surfing innovator, developing a revolutionary and radical new technique for riding inside the tube of waves in the dangerous surf of Hawaii.
Shaun has been married to Carla for 21 years and they currently reside in Santa Barbara, California. He is recognized as one of surfing's greatest ambassadors and is a strong proponent of environmentalism, having been chairman of the Surfrider Foundation Advisory Board for the last 8 years and recently elected to the Board of Directors. In 2003 the Surf Industry Manufacturer's Association honored him as Environmentalist of the Year and in 2008 Surfrider Foundation in Hawaii presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was most recently listed as one of the 25 most influential surfers of the century (Surfer 1999), one of the 16 greatest surfers of all time. (Surfing, 2004) and has been inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame. He is a business finance graduate from the University of Natal, one of South Africa's best universities and is an inductee in both the South African and Jewish Sports Halls of Fame. Shaun has created two successful market leading, multi-million dollar clothing brands; Instinct in the 80's and Solitude in 1990's, which he sold in 2005 to Oxford, a publicly traded apparel manufacturer.
He is the author of the best selling surfing and inspirational book "Surfer's Code – 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life". He also recently released the award winning documentary film "Bustin' Down the Door" and a companion coffee table book. He is currently in demand as an inspirational speaker, is working on new book and film projects, and still travels the world in search of the perfect wave.
 David Wilmot is a passionate ocean enthusiast who brings over twenty years of experience in ocean science, environmental policy, non-profit governance and fundraising, and political advocacy to the Board. David is the President and Co-Founder of Ocean Champions, the first-ever national political organization focused solely on oceans and their wildlife. David received his MS and BS from the University of Georgia where he also Co-Founded Students for Environmental Awareness. David traveled to the west coast to study the recently discovered deep-sea hydrothermal vents and received his PhD in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. David continued his environmental work while at Scripps (worked with 2 fellow graduate students to ban Styrofoam on campus and local beaches) and it became clear his passion was advocacy. A National Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellowship at the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board helped David better understand ocean policy and the workings of Washington, DC. Next came the jump to advocacy with service as the Executive Director of the Ocean Wildlife Campaign (OWC) where for eight years he worked to build this coalition of six national and international organizations into the leading voice for the conservation of large ocean fishes. David has authored or co-authored numerous ocean science and conservation articles. David lives with his wife and two boys in the Santa Cruz area where they spend lots of time on and in the ocean. When he is not enjoying the ocean, or remodeling his house, David trains in the martial arts and has earned the rank of black belt in Shorinji-Ryu Karate-Do.
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