Sean Ahlum
Secretary
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.
