Would you rather spend three hours fighting traffic from San Diego to Ventura or five hours on a train watching the coast roll by?
Our San Diego Chapter staff and volunteers chose the rails! While the train took longer, it gave us something a car ride couldn't: time to truly connect. Between the scenic views and the shared laughs, we built core memories while keeping our carbon footprint low. Proof that sometimes, the sustainable path is also the most rewarding.
Photo: Day 1 of the conference in the main hall.
A record attendance of about 150 attendees (largest of any regional conference in our network) gathered this past weekend in Ventura, CA. The California coastline stretches approximately 840 miles along the Pacific Ocean, extending from the Mexican border to Oregon. Representing our Surfrider Network along the CA coast, there are 17 Chapters and 74 Student Clubs. The annual CA Chapter and Club Conference is an opportunity for our volunteers and staff to engage with one another, share wins and best practices, but most importantly come together in community and celebrate our ocean, waves, and beaches.
To kick off the conference, our CEO Chad Nelsen presented the 2026 State of the Surfrider Foundation. He celebrated our 2025 impact—highlighting over 40 campaign wins for our ocean, waves, and beaches—and shared a first look at what our California team is prioritizing in 2026:
50th Anniversary of the Coastal Act
For 50 years, the California Coastal Act has protected two key rights: public beach access and coastal preservation. CA Coastal Commission (CCC) Chair, Meagan Harmon, emphasized the importance of public testimony. While the CCC is responsible for upholding the Coastal Act, they rely on the expertise and lived experience of local communities to understand how their policies affect them. Our Beach Preservation Committee plays a key role in this process, ensuring that the unique priorities of San Diego County’s 70-mile coastline are represented and protected.
Conference Sessions
Throughout the conference, attendees participated in focused sessions around:
- Direct Action Organizing and Designing a Campaign
- Student Club Highlights and Chapter Collaborations
- Highlights of Surfer’s Point and Walking Tour
- Coast and Climate Initiatives
- Blue Water Task Force and Ocean Friendly Gardens, and Plastic Pollution
- California Beaches Forever, Drilling is Killing, and Chapter Fundraising
We were also lucky to hear a brief conversation between Surfrider CEO, Chad Nelsen, and Patagonia’s Senior Director of Environmental Activism, Nick Mucha (an editor of Tools to Save Our Home Planet), on the strategies and tools essential for turning environmental activism into real-world impact.
San Diego Representation
The conference was also an opportunity to connect with Surfrider Foundation Chapter and Student Club Leaders, as well as Surfrider Staff from across California. It was a space to learn from one another, share local perspectives, and strengthen our collective impact.
Chapter Volunteers
Photo from L to R: Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter conference attendees included (top) Erika Rodriguez, Katharine Challahan, Eric Leach, Udo Wah, Sophia Uribe, (bottom) Joana Guerra, and Acxel Herrera-Ibarra.
Student Clubs
Photo: Some of the San Diego based Student Clubs with the San Diego Chapter Leaders. 5 of the 18 San Diego Clubs were in attendance.
Many don’t realize that California has the highest concentration of Surfrider Student Clubs in the country—over 45 student leaders attended this conference! The Student Club Network (SCN) team provided an overview of Surfrider’s national SCN, with a focus on California. Before the conference, students gathered for a pre-conference session on policy advocacy, local sightseeing, and leadership workshops.
In San Diego alone, we have 18 student clubs at the high school and college level. Our SCN provides a platform for young people to engage in environmental action through service, leadership development, civic engagement, and direct action organizing. These student-led initiatives drive environmental stewardship on campuses and in local communities.
If you’d like to learn more about how to get involved with a Surfrider Club or Chapter near you, learn more here!