San Diego Coastkeeper
How You Can Help
San Diego Coastkeeper Staff
The SD Coastkeeper Team
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director
bruce@sdcoastkeeper.org
Bruce Reznik, a California licensed attorney specializing in environmental law, joined San Diego Coastkeeper as Executive Director in August 1999. Under Bruce’s direction, Coastkeeper has grown from two people to a full-time staff of eleven, making it the largest clean water advocacy organization in the region. During his tenure, Coastkeeper has launched its successful Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Watershed Monitoring Program, Project SWELL curricula, Marine Conservation Initiative, and many other programs and campaigns. Under his direction, Coastkeeper has played a key role in helping reduce sewage spills and beach advisories throughout the region and require local agencies to adopt some of the nation’s most protective clean water regulations.
Rachel Bartels, Controller
rachel@sdcoastkeeper.org
Rachel Bartels joined Coastkeeper in October of 2007 to serve as the organization's Controller. She is responsible for the effective management of Coastkeeper’s finances, accounting and human resources functions. Before joining Coastkeeper, Rachel served as the Associate Director for the local nonprofit Outdoor Outreach and as a Senior Tax Accountant at the local public accounting firm, Lindsay & Brownell.
Jennifer Black, Education and Marketing Director
jennifer@sdcoastkeeper.org
Jennifer Black joined San Diego Coastkeeper in June 2007 to manage Project SWELL (Stewardship: Water Education for Lifelong Leadership), a K-12 water quality and pollution prevention program that enhances the existing science curriculum in San Diego schools. Jennifer also oversees Coastkeeper’s Education and Outreach Campaign, marketing efforts and coordinates media relations. Before joining Coastkeeper, Jennifer served as Outreach Coordinator for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation headquartered in the Washington, DC area. Jennifer raised awareness about protecting and preserving the marine environment, specifically our national marine sanctuaries.
Sarah Blakeslee, Volunteer Coordinator
sarah@sdcoastkeeper.org
Sarah Blakeslee joined Coastkeeper in August 2008 to become the organization's first dedicated Volunteer Coordinator, focusing on the Watershed Monitoring Program and Community Based Social Marketing Program. Sarah is also the official captain of "Clean Sweep", Coastkeeper's pollution monitoring boat. She is extremely passionate about conservation, ecology and ocean science, and her people skills and citizen volunteer cultivation methods are invaluable to Coastkeeper as we work to achieve community-driven water conservation.
Livia Borak, Clinic Associate
livia@sdcoastkeeper.org
Livia Borak joined Coastkeeper in September 2007 as an associate in the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. At the Clinic, she works on water supply, stormwater, and water quality issues. Livia was an intern in the Coastkeeper Environmental Law and Policy Clinic in the summer and fall of 2006. She also completed an internship at the Center for Biological Diversity in the Climate Program.
Jennifer Dobbins, Office Manager
Jen@sdcoastkeeper.org
Jennifer Dobbins recently moved to San Diego and joined San Diego Coastkeeper in March 2008 as the Office Manager. Before joining Coastkeeper, Jennifer led successful careers as both a Project Manager for a manufacturing/design company and as the Database and Alumni Relations Manager for an independent school in Orange County. As we know, the trajectory of our lives and careers is not always a certainty; Jennifer heard the calling of our troubled environment and was moved to be a part of the solution. She strongly supports the mission of San Diego Coastkeeper and possesses a lifelong love of our Pacific ocean and its beaches. Jennifer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Sonoma State University and is taking classes to continue her education.
Karen Franz, Watershed Program Director
karenjm@sdcoastkeeper.org
Karen Franz joined San Diego Coastkeeper in January 2006 and directs Coastkeeper’s Watershed Monitoring activities, as well as Low Impact Development / Hydromodification and Community Based Social Marketing work. She combines these program areas and approaches in order to promote watershed stewardship, responsible land-use decisions and positive environmental behavior change using regulatory-level scientific data collected through the program. She is also the Campaign Manager of Coastkeeper’s Water Supply Campaign, and leads efforts to implement knowledge management solutions for the organization.
Kate Hanley, Director of Operations and Development Director
kate@sdcoastkeeper.org
In January 2005, Kate Hanley joined San Diego Coastkeeper as Education Director. She worked to develop and implement Project SWELL, a K-12 pollution prevention and water quality education curriculum that now reaches more than 40,000 students countywide. Kate helped to expand the curriculum into three additional grade levels in San Diego and introduced SWELL in North County. Kate is currently Coastkeeper’s Director of Operations. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing all of Coastkeeper’s environmental programs and program staff. In addition to making sure the organization is on track with programmatic initiatives, she acts as the Development Director and is responsible for raising funds from Foundation, Corporate, Government and Individual sources to support the organization’s vital work.
Danielle Miller, Outreach Director
danielle@sdcoastkeeper.org
Danielle Miller joined San Diego Coastkeeper in February 2006 to serve as the organization’s Outreach Director. In addition to overseeing Coastkeeper’s Marine Debris Campaign, Danielle’s management duties include coordinating our twice-monthly beach cleanups, as well as California Coastal Cleanup Day, which she has help grow into the largest volunteer event in San Diego, involving 6,212 participants last year. Danielle also organizes Coastkeeper’s community outreach and fundraising events, serves as the editor of Coastkeeper’s newsletter, Watermarks, and runs their membership campaign.
Dave Purinton, Development Coordinator
dave@sdcoastkeeper.org
Dave Purinton joined San Diego Coastkeeper in April 2008, as the Development Coordinator. He is responsible for securing financial and in-kind gifts from foundations, corporations, government and individual sources. Dave also assists in coordinating the annual Ocean Gala fundraiser, other fundraising events and database management.
Gabriel Solmer, Legal Director
gabe@sdcoastkeeper.org
Gabriel Solmer joined Coastkeeper in January 2004, working on litigation, legislation, and policy issues. She also directs the Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Coastkeeper's independent legal intern program and coordinates the organization’s legal docket. Gabe leads the Urban Runoff and Toxic Waterways Campaigns, seeking to prevent pollution at its source and remediate hot spots where they occur.
Victor Vazquez, Accountant
victor@sdcoastkeeper.org
Victor Vazquez became a member of the Coastkeeper staff in October of 2008. His role is to serve as the organization's staff accountant. A native of New York City, Victor graduated from the College of Staten Island with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting. Just before he became a Coastkeeper, Victor served as an auditor for the public accounting firm Berdon LLP.
Meagan Wylie, Marine Conservation Coordinator
meaganw@sdcoastkeeper.org
Meagan joined the Coastkeeper team in January 2008 as Marine Conservation Coordinator as part of Coastkeeper’s new Marine Conservation Campaign. SD Coastkeeper is working diligently with stakeholders and an array of other non-profit groups to increase the number, size and protections of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Southern California through the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative in order to preserve our special and unique biological resources. She helps to coordinate outreach, research, education and marine monitoring efforts related to this campaign. In addition, she is helping to oversee the coordination of Coastkeeper’s Areas of Special Biological Significance project, which focuses on protecting water quality in La Jolla’s marine reserves.
SD Coastkeeper Special Projects
Justin Hohn, Water Quality Lab and Data Manager
Justin@sdcoastkeeper.org
Justin Hohn joined San Diego Coastkeeper in June 2008 to manage Coastkeeper’s Water Quality Laboratory, as well as assisting in Watershed Monitoring activities and Community Based Social Marketing efforts. He is also responsible for coordinating collaborations with state, academic, and non-profit organizations to increase our extensive database covering San Diego County’s diverse watersheds.