Explore the Coast Advisory Board

Advisory Board Members

Andrea Sanchez Davidson

Andrea Sanchez Davidson

Andrea Sanchez Davidson (she/her) is an advocate and filmmaker whose work is inspired by social and environmental issues at the intersection of the natural world and health. As the Program Manager for Resource Legacy Fund’s Ocean, Coast, and Fisheries programs, she shapes and oversees projects that advance coastal conservation, climate resilience, and equitable coastal access. She has over a decade of experience supporting advocate networks as well as efforts to bring public and philanthropic funding to frontline communities. Andrea holds a BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Carolyn Everhart

Carolyn Everhart

Carolyn Everhart is the Manager of Environmental Education with Friends of Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles and is a Certified Environmental Educator through California AEOE. She oversees school field trips for pre-kindergarten through 8th grade along with Explore Ballona! Nature Camp. When not in the field leading tours, she is working to create school tours to support state standards, including Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Having worked locally in the Santa Monica Mountains before joining the Friends of Ballona Wetlands team, Carolyn enjoys seeing how the mountains are tied to the wetlands and ocean through the watershed.

Teri Fenner

Teri Fenner

Teri Fenner has 35 years of experience as an environmental consultant, leading teams for beach sand replenishment and lagoon restoration projects in San Diego (as well as a variety of infrastructure projects). She brings technical expertise in coastal resources as well as regulatory requirements, plus a business background as Vice President and West Region Practice Lead at AECOM. She taught an upper division course at SDSU on Recreational Land Use. She has a long history of volunteerism via public school PTA, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troop leadership, and a decade of engagement in the non-profit Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI). She has experience reviewing award applications for professional organizations (WTS and AEP), as well as scholarship applications via the UCSD Alumni group. Her undergraduate degrees are from UCSD (urban planning, political science) and her Geography MA is from SDSU.

Shay Franco-Clausen

Shay Franco-Clausen

Shay Franco-Clausen is a fierce environmental, women’s and LGBTQ rights leader and political consultant, who advocates tirelessly to empower, educate and support stronger, comprehensive legislation that benefits marginalized communities that she has proudly risen from. Shay holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Mills College and recently completed the Executive Leadership in State and Local Government at Harvard Kennedy School. Shay has always been centered in conservation and preservation as she dedicated her hosting local beach, neighborhood and creek clean ups, creating community gardens on her children’s school campuses, and being elected in 2018 to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. Shay currently serves on Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women, Vice Chair of the LGBTQ Caucus, Chair of Courage California C4 Board, Board Member of the Victory Fund Campaign Board, Co-Chair National Black Justice Coalition “Good Trouble Network,” Junior SPAC Delegate of Junior League of Oakland East Bay and Board member with Prison from Inside Out. “I am just trying to be the woman I wished I met at 14,” is the impetus of Shay’s advocacy, which can be seen in her collaborative leadership and deep connections across California and the United States.

Marley Jarvis

Marley Jarvis

Dr. Marley Jarvis is a PhD-trained marine scientist turned science communicator, writer, illustrator, and advisor. She currently serves as the Funding Research and Strategy Lead at Climate Finance Solutions, where she connects private sector climate mitigation solution companies with non-dilutive funding opportunities like grants. Raised outside of Trinidad, California on Yurok land, Marley grew up immersed in both science and the arts—her mother an oceanographer, her father an artist and musician. Her passion lies in connecting people with science that matters to them, driving meaningful change for communities and the environment. Marley specializes in leveraging learning science research to improve science communication for diverse audiences. She has coached and mentored hundreds of scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals on securing funding and communicating their work effectively. Previously, she was a Senior Outreach and Education Specialist at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, where she synthesized research for funders, policymakers, and public audiences. She also worked in informal STEM education and public engagement with science at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. Marley holds a BA in Biology from Carleton College and a PhD in Biology from the University of Oregon’s Institute of Marine Biology, with research spanning nearshore oceanography, plankton, coastal ecology, and deep-sea biology. Marley is also an artist and musician, and enjoys spending as much time as possible with her family along the beautiful beaches of Humboldt County that she calls home.

Shirley Johnson, MA

Shirley Johnson, MA

I have lived in the Bay Area my whole life and have enjoyed the coast as a child, adult, and as a person in a wheelchair. My disability occurred when I was 21 years old from a car accident. Since then I’ve gone off to college and earned my graduate degree in Environmental Studies. Currently I am part-time faculty at Mendocino College. I’m involved in many nonprofits in my community. Our coast is something I treasure and hope others can enjoy as well.

Emma Palmer

Emma Palmer

Emma Palmer is a staunch advocate for equitable access to outdoor spaces. As a Council Representative for City of San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, Emma serves as the Councilmember’s liaison to regional nonprofit organizations. She manages grant administration and application review for the City of San Diego’s Community Projects, Programs, and Services Funding and the Arts, Culture, and Community Festivals Funding Programs. She also creates and leads community engagement programs to inspire positivity and encourage environmental stewardship. As a former ocean kayak tour guide, Emma spends most of her free time playing in the ocean and rubbing elbows (not actually–she’s a big fan of the Marine Mammal Protection Act) with the local sea life.

Destiny Preston

Destiny Preston

Destiny Preston is an Encinitas-based climate activist with a background in environmental policy and transportation planning. She currently works as an Assistant Deputy Director for the California Transportation Commission. She previously led sea level rise planning for Caltrans HQ, following experience working for the Coastal Commission as a coastal planner. Destiny currently sits on the Leucadia 101 Main Street Association’s board of directors. She also serves as the District 3 representative on the San Diego County Community Action Board. She previously earned two bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from UCLA.

Brandon Quintana

Brandon Quintana

Brandon Quintana is currently a master’s student in the Biological Science department at California State University, Fullerton. Brandon graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara majoring in Environmental Studies and a McNair Alumni. He aims to bring light to environmental justice issues faced by historically-excluded communities and make academia a more welcoming and inclusive environment. For his thesis, he is currently studying how biomass and condition index of filter feeders are responding to different factors such as sedimentation and eelgrass in a living shoreline setting. The goal of his research is to use the results of the study to inform restoration management and better protect coastal communities while increasing habitat and biodiversity. Overall, he plans to use an interdisciplinary perspective that combines coastal restoration, education, and policy to advocate for low-income communities on environmental injustice issues they are facing while concurrently preserving natural and human landscapes.

Cris Sarabia

Cris Sarabia

Cris Sarabia serves as the Conservation Director at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy in the South Coast region of Los Angeles. Cris oversees the stewardship program which includes all conservation projects on the peninsula as well as habitat restoration, rare species protection, and management of the nature preserves and open spaces. Cris holds an M.A. in Geographic Information Science and a B.A in Environmental Science and Policy from California State University, Long Beach. Cris is an also a dedicated and active member of the California Native Plant Society, Puente Latino Association, GreyWater Action Network and Pelecanus, a conservation-based collective. Cris strives to create healthy and resilient communities for humans and wildlife alike, striving to empower and broaden the conservation lens.

Michelle I. Sevilla (she/they/siya)

Michelle I. Sevilla

Michelle I. Sevilla works on local environmental issues and policy in the California State Legislature as Director of Communications for Assemblymember Steve Bennett and was the first Network Manager of the Central Coast Climate Justice Network. She brings a unique lens as a young immigrant from the Philippines, more than a decade of environmental outreach and education experience in the museum setting, and as a volunteer leader in various organizations working in the nexus of equity and justice in the environmental movement. She serves as a Board Member of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy, Board Member of CFROG (Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas), Board Member of the Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club, and as a Steering Committee Member of 350 Santa Barbara.

Nancy Torres

Nancy Torres

Throughout her career, Nancy Torres has centered her background around climate and water equity, coastal research and data storytelling. As Program Specialist for the Environmental Initiatives at San Diego Foundation, Nancy is dedicated to building resources and advancing climate resilience for frontline communities through equitable grantmaking practices. She graduated from the University of San Diego with an M.S. degree in Environmental and Ocean Sciences. As a Margaret A. Davidson fellow for the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, her thesis addressed a key coastal management need by assessing the ecosystem health of the wetland’s contaminant levels. Nancy’s research also discussed the need for coastal management to involve binational community input as the health of people and planet are interconnected. She has also advanced public knowledge on regional water resources and climate equity through her roles with the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative (previously housed at the Nonprofit Institute), San Diego County Water Authority and West Basin Municipal Water District. Nancy attained her B.S. degree in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara where she studied the effects of oil seepage in the marine environment.