CO-FOUNDER / DIRECTOR

Michael Stewart is a serial social-entrepreneur who has spent the last decade transforming the culture & business of surfing towards a truly sustainable model.

Michael has led the research and development for SustainableSurf’s award-winning programs. Before co-founding Sustainable Surf in 2011, Michael specialized in launching consumer & brand focused carbon offset programs for several companies , as well as sustainable product certification programs.

As a part of the initial launch team for UL Environment (a part of 120 year old non-profit Underwriters Laboratories), Michael managed the energy efficiency certification program for the world’s leading consumer electronics manufacturers. While at Carbonfund.org, Michael developed and managed partnerships with many Fortune 500 brands, including the ‘VW Forest’ campaign partnership with Volkswagen of America that reforested over 1,100 acres in the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, which planted 270,000 trees and sequestered 400,000 tons of CO2. While at Cooler Inc., Michael worked with Intuit, to integrate real-time CO2 footprint data of consumer purchases from financial data for their Quickbooks customers.

Underlying all these intentions is Michael’s lifelong passion for the surfing experience, his gratitude for the simple honest lessons it has to teach, and the pure joy that simply sliding around on waves provides. Michael lives with his family just outside the foggiest part of San Francisco, where he is constantly checking the tides, and seeking the perfect cup of coffee.

CO-FOUNDER / DIRECTOR

Kevin is a green business entrepreneur and a geologist. His passion is solving the problem of climate change, and his career has spanned this field: scientific research in Antarctica, carbon offset policy and development, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and Clean Tech startups developing technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Kevin’s underlying interest is in understanding how complex systems work and what is needed to create large scale change on a societal level.

Sustainable Surf grew out of the recognition that the solution to climate change needs a fun and interesting “low-carbon lifestyle”, which surfing can become. Kevin is also interested in all lifestyle solutions to climate change, such as biodiesel fuel, permaculture, and solar energy.

PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR

Haley spent several years in the surf, skate, and snowboard industry before pursuing her passion for protecting the planet. She has extensive experience working with environmental nonprofits focused on eliminating plastic pollution, enhancing ocean conservation efforts, and reversing climate change. Additionally, she worked as a corporate social responsibility consultant for several companies where she managed nonprofit partnerships, corporate philanthropy, employee engagement, and sustainability initiatives. Her superpowers include strategic partnerships, fundraising, events, marketing and communications. Haley is a proud Canadian, born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She lives in Long Beach with her rescued English bulldog Jackie Chan who loves paddleboarding.

SEATREES PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Leah is a marine conservationist with a background in science and international project development. Leah has a passion for engaging both Indigenous knowledge and modern technology to devise creative solutions to global environmental issues. Leah has worked alongside several international advocacy organizations like WWF, spanning Oceania and beyond, to prevent biodiversity loss and develop improved policy to mitigate marine plastic pollution. Leah was paramount in giving Queensland a voice in the Australian senate inquiry into Shark Mitigation and maintains that her drive has always been for species to thrive!

As the Director for the award-winning United Nations World Environment Day Festival, Leah has a passion for using film and music to tell a story and evoke inspiration. Despite the work that’s still needed to be done, Leah believes that when we inspire humanity with stories of triumph, positive change will spread like wildfire. 

Originating from the Sunshine Coast of Australia – it’s no wonder Leah feels most at home in turquoise tropical waters and coral reefs. When she’s not busy working with our global project partners, you’ll either find her catching an early wave, taking photos during the golden hour, or controlling the DJ desk at an evening dance party.

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Alena is a marine biologist and sustainability enthusiast who's been an ocean-loving beach bum since the first day she got on a surfboard. Alena manages communications for Sustainable Surf, where she uses her love of the ocean to develop communication strategies towards advancing Sustainable Surf's mission to promote, protect and restore our fragile coastal ecosystems. 

Alena is a first-generation Brazilian-American based in Encinitas, CA. Her experience in solving the problem of climate change spans across the globe to Blue Carbon ecosystem and marine mammal conservation projects in Australia, Indonesia, South America and the US. She hopes to use her passion of surf culture, climate change and ocean conservation to bridge the gap between surfing and sustainable practices, all while promoting a low-carbon lifestyle. After work you can usually find Alena surfing, painting, hanging out with her cat Moana, or lecturing her friends & family about how cool whales are.

PARTNERSHIPS ADVISOR

Mark has been a board member of Sustainable Surf since its inception and has jumped in to assist the partnerships team with the tremendous growth of the SeaTrees project. In his 'day job', Mark is the Senior Manager, Sports & Outdoors Partnerships for FlipGive.com, a Certified BCorp based out of Toronto that helps youth sports teams and groups make and manage money. 

Mark's professional story is an alchemy of his liberal arts studies (MA, Environmental History), a digital career that lives at the intersection of commerce & cause, and a passion for the outdoors and sports. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and the mantra of "using business as a force for good", Mark has over 20 years of experience building products, teams and accounts from inception to market. 

Born and raised in Southern California, Mark currently resides in Carlsbad with his wife, two kids and two dogs. Mark is fueled by coffee - light roast Ethiopian, no room for cream - out of the water and is fueled in the water by his inability - after far too many decades - to adequately backside tube ride.

FINANCE AND ADMIN DIRECTOR

After a long career in the entertainment business, Alexandra decided to shift gears after moving to California. With her background in finances and accounting, she now manages finances and administration for Sustainable Surf. She discovered her passion for surfing standup paddle boards in Hawaii on vacation. So when she’s not sitting at her desk booking journal entries, you can find her at the beach catching waves or walking her dog and picking up trash.

SPECIAL PROJECTS ADVISOR

Sam Bennett has 17 years of experience in the outdoor industry, scaling global lifestyle brands and helping purpose-driven organizations contribute to a net-zero, nature-positive future.

As the founder and principal impact consultant at SwellMinded, Sam has been supporting Sustainable Surf since 2021 as the Special Project Advisor for the SeaTrees Program. Sam supports go-to-market, strategy and operations, using his expertise to align cross-functional teams to key priorities, streamlining collaboration across the program's initiatives.

Sam holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University, serves on the Executive Committee of National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Business Network, and is a founding Board Member and Board Secretary for the Changing Tides Foundation. Sam spent the first decade of his career between field marketing roles with Red Bull, and then went on to lead global event marketing for GoPro, driving significant growth for both iconic brands.

Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, Sam now lives in Traverse City, Michigan with his wife, son and pup, chasing the mystical waves of the Great Lakes.

ECOBOARD PROGRAM MANAGER

Tyler Fox hales from the cold water and powerful waves of Santa Cruz, California.  Straight out of high school Tyler got the opportunity to travel throughout Europe teaching young kids to surf within the O'Neill Surf Academy. From there he has gone on to excel in the big wave realm and has earned numerous awards and accolades at spots like Mavericks and Ghost Trees. He founded the local media sensation Santa Cruz Waves back in 2010 which has been a platform to showcase important environmental causes both in his community and abroad and feels that protecting our oceans and environment is one of the most important challenges we face as a species. Tyler's love for the ocean, riding waves and protecting our natural world makes him the perfect fit to lead the ECOBOARD project into the future. 

ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATE

Stella is a musician with a deep connection to the ocean.  She works in finance and administration at Sustainable Surf and is very happy to be contributing to an organization that aligns with her intentions as a proponent for sustainability on Earth. 

She has worked in accounting for 13 years helping small to medium companies with business operations. When she is not making or managing bread, you might find her baking actual bread, singing, playing piano or flute, and releasing music as StellaMoon.

SEATREES SCIENCE LEAD

Orion is a marine biologist and conservation scientist based in Philadelphia, PA. Orion recently earned his PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he studied under Dr. Jennifer Smith. While at Scripps, Orion managed the Smith Lab’s Maui Nui long-term monitoring program and conducted fieldwork in Hawai‘i, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palmyra Atoll. For his research, Orion used 3D models of coral reefs to track ecological change over time and quantify coral reef resilience. He partnered with natural resource agencies and non-profits in Hawai‘i to incorporate this research into local conservation planning.

He is currently leveraging this skillset to develop a methodology for quantifying the biodiversity impact of SeaTrees restoration projects. When he isn’t diving or doing research, Orion enjoys making pottery, hiking, hanging out with his dog Milo, and spending time with family.