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Meet the Team

Our SLO Chapter Executive Committee and Officers are dedicated to preserving our ocean, waves, and beaches.

Chair

JiMiers bio picm Miers has been surfing, paddling, hiking, and enjoying California's beaches since 1978 when he set out to see every beach area in California.  He completed that quest a few years ago by hiking parts of the Lost Coast.   He has served the SLO Chapter for four years as historian, secretary, Vice Chair, and now Chair. 

Jim is Campaign Coordinator of the Save the Avila Coast campaign and represented the chapter on the Diablo Lands Working Group and the Diablo Decommissioning permit.  He is actively involved in evaluating potential impacts to the environment and coastal users from various proposed renewable energy projects including the Morro Bay Offshore Wind Farm and the Vistra Battery Energy Storage System in Morro Bay and how these projects may affect the proposed Chumash National Marine Sanctuary.  Jim has a law degree and a Masters in Environmental Policy and Management. 

Vice Chair

neilNiel Dilworth is Vice Chair of the Chapter Executive Committee and coordinates the Blue Water Task Force for the Chapter. He is an architect with his own practice in San Luis Obispo and and swims with the Avila Dolphins four times a week at Avila Beach, so he is intimately familiar with the need for clean and safe ocean water. He joined the Blue Water Task Force in 2012 because of his concern about the cleanliness of the water he was swimming in.  

 

Volunteer Coordinator

milne2An avid outdoors adventurer, photographer and writer, Brian Milne is Volunteer Coordinator and administrator of the chapter website and social media platforms. A Cal Poly journalism graduate, Milne has surfed, kayaked and hiked the Central Coast for over 35 years, writing about his outdoor adventures in The Tribune, National Geographic, About.com (NY Times), The Huffington Post, and his own hiking guide, Top Trails: California Central Coast (Wilderness Press).

In 2008, Milne kayaked the entire SLO County coastline from Ragged Point to the Santa Maria River, paddling 98 miles over 6 days and writing about the adventure in an Associated Press Sports Editors award-winning series in The Tribune. 

Secretary

Taylor Gullikson has served as Chapter Secretary for two years.  She is also originator and Program Coordinator of the Chapter's Micro Plastics Task Force.  She has a BS in Biology from Cal Poly and is a grant writer for an environmental consulting firm.

Treasurer

griffn_ty_october_2022 copyTy Griffin is Treasurer and Chapter Administrator, assisting with the treasurer tasks, monthly meeting agendas and document management.  Ty has decades of experience in business management and financial accounting.

KnowYourH20

Brad Snook is program coordinator for the Chapter's Know Your H20 program.  Previously, he served on the Executive Committee for over ten years, most recently as Chair. He focuses his Surfrider time on development of efficient, non-polluting water and wastewater plants and regularly provides recommendations to local public utilities. Brad is a key member of the currently active Dunes Alliance to better regulate off-road vehicle use. He is an articulate public speaker who advocates for Surfrider’s ocean conservation views in various public meetings. His college degree in meteorology enabled him to serve as a program manager for 16 years at a Silicon Valley company which performed real-time ocean meteorological forecasts and transmitted current data to merchant ships. He is currently an Account Manager at a specialty custom wire products corporation serving a worldwide market. He has surfed for 40 years starting in Orange County. 

Blue Water Task Force Coordinators

Steve currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Blue Water Task Force/North, BWTF fundraiser, and member of the Chapter Executive Committee. He joined the Surfrider Foundation in 2000 and since that time has been active in the San Mateo County Chapter and the Capitol (Washington DC) Chapter, prior to transferring to the SLO Chapter in 2015. Steve has enjoyed time in the ocean since boyhood and decided to “give back” by joining and volunteering for Surfrider. He was educated in electrical engineering and served as a manager in a few Silicon Valley companies in the defense electronics sector where he learned the value of teamwork to accomplish meaningful objectives. He and wife Nancy have raised two boys and are now enjoying three grandkids. Occasionally he launches his longboard into the cool, blue Pacific and rides a few waves.

Niel Dilworth coordinates the Blue Water Task Force for the local Surfrider Chapter. He is an architect and open water swimmer and joined the Blue Water Task Force in 2012 because of his concern about the cleanliness of the water he was swimming in.

 

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Rise Above Plastics Campaign Coordinator

Janine Kennel Rand is Campaign Coordinator for our Rise Above Plastics (RAP) campagn, which is designed to eliminate the impacts of plastics in the marine environment by raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the recycling of all plastics.

Ocean Protection Campaign Coordinator

Laura Pedersen is an avid scuba diver and marine protection/conservation advocate.   By day she’s a licensed psychologist working in the area, and after working with patients, she enjoys walking her two dogs and taking photos on SLO County trails.