Surf Splendor Creators & Guests

Chad grew up on the coast surfing, swimming, and fishing, and eventually got his first job as an ocean lifeguard in Laguna Beach. These formative experiences gave him both love and respect for the power and fragility of the ocean. In his case, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Chad's father has been a marine science educator for over 40 years, and Chad has vivid memories of catching shrimp and feeding octopus in his father's touch tanks, sitting on the jaw bones of grey whales, and doing seawater buoyancy and salinity tests in his lab with his brother. Chad's brother dedicated himself to making a career out of surfing and now runs a summer surf camp for kids and spends much of the off-season guiding surfers in Fiji.Chad honed his interest in science by studying geology at Brown University, but it wasn't until he considered grad school that he realized that he could combine his passion for science and protecting the environment with his love of the ocean. He found the Coastal Environmental Management program at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and learned that there are many ocean-related careers beyond marine biology. After grad school, Chad explored coastal zone management jobs in the federal and state government, but it wasn't until he found his job at Surfrider that he fully appreciated that protecting the environment needs more than science and government — it needs people! More recently, he completed his doctorate on the economics of coastal recreation and surfing at UCLA to help ensure that our oceans, waves, and beaches are valued appropriately.Surfrider's grassroots approach has become Chad's passion: he loves working with passionate people who are connected to the coasts and want to make a difference in the health of our coastal environment.