San Diego Chapter Staff

 

As Surfrider’s San Diego Chapter Manager, Joana supports volunteer efforts, programs, and campaigns across the county, helping fulfill Surfrider Foundation’s mission alongside dedicated volunteers.

 

Before joining Surfrider, Joana connected people to wildlife at the San Diego Zoo and managed a non-profit teaching life skills to girls through running. Her background includes guest engagement, advocacy, informal education, and program development. She has also led DEI panels and facilitated conversations on accessibility in conservation.

 

A San Diego native, Joana’s passion for advocacy and conservation began during her Anthropology studies at SDSU, where she cultivated an appreciation for culture, biology, and travel. She has visited 14 countries and loves exploring new places.

 

Joana gives back through volunteering, including collaborating with Latin American professionals on capacity-building programs in Mexico. When not working or traveling, she enjoys time with family and friends and attending a Padres games.

 

Born and raised in Paraguay and with a long detour to a landlocked state, Gabriel finally found his way to the beautiful and vast coastline of San Diego. And boy, oh buoy, is he excited to help keep our beaches clean!

Before Gabriel started supporting our amazing network of volunteers and coordinating beach cleanups all around the county, he spent nearly a decade working for a non-profit in Kansas City, focused on increasing healthy food access and equity and inspiring others to grow their own vegetables and fruits. He traded community gardens for sandy shores but continues to strive to make community spaces healthy and accessible for everyone. 

When he’s not at the beach or office coordinating a cleanup, Gabriel likes to go hiking with Loki (his fabulous-looking pup), gardening, or find a pick-up soccer game around town.

 

Prior to Juneau, Sarah lived in Washington, DC, where she worked to minimize stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay through community engagement and homeowner incentives for green infrastructure projects. Sarah was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and spent many summers enjoying the beach communities of San Diego. After obtaining a degree in marine biology from UC Santa Cruz, she spent much of her 20’s living and working abroad throughout the Mediterranean region. She returned to grad school at American University in DC and the University for Peace in Costa Rica in 2010 to pursue a degree focused on transboundary water conflict and cooperation, combining two of her greatest passions – social justice and water protection. Her other passions include photography, traveling, getting to know different cultures and participatory art projects. 

 

Mitch hails from Southern California and spent 10+ years in the San Francisco Bay Area before relocating to San Diego in 2015. As an activist, he strives to raise awareness of how our everyday choices affect the ocean & planet, and advocates for sensible environmental policy at a local level. His ultimate goal is to see good environmental stewardship become mainstream, even “cool.”

 

Mitch served in various volunteer leadership positions before being hired on as Chapter Manager in 2018. In 2022, Mitch transitioned to the chapter’s policy role. He aims to serve as a voice for San Diego’s coast at the local, regional, and state government levels.

 

When not fighting the good fight, Mitch likes to surf, paddle, ride his bike, and hang out with his nieces. He’s also a big sci-fi nerd, but don’t tell anyone.