Tom, Justin, and Christian join Jesse and Scott on the Executive Committee.
Chair: Jesse Wernick
Jesse was born in San Francisco and raised all over Marin County, but mostly on the Sausalito waterfront during the hippie heyday.
He has a marine biology degree from UC Santa Cruz and has taken many biology and natural history courses at College of Marin.
Vice Chair: Scott Tye
Scott is a co-founder of the Surfrider Marin Chapter and has been involved with Surfrider since 1990. He was a member of Surfrider San Francisco until a group of members began organizing the Marin chapter.
Scott continues to be an active lead for Marin Chapter's beach cleanups and various tabling events.
Scott grew up in Sacramento but visited coastal areas such as Stinson Beach or Santa Cruz every summer. He's been boogie boarding or surfing since a young age. In college at University of Washington, he was an All-American swimmer.
After graduating, Scott joined the National Park Service, stationed first at Folsom Lake before transferring to Stinson Beach in 1974.
After all these years, he's still passionate about swimming, surfing and protecting our oceans and beaches.
Treasurer: Tom Richards
Tom lives in Bolinas, CA on the Marin County coast. He is a lifelong waterman, having lived and surfed all over the world and worked as a surf rescuer at Bondi beach in Australia. He cares deeply about the ocean health and access missions of Surfrider, and also serves on the national board of The Surfrider Foundation.
He began his professional life as an M&A investment banker in New York; went to medical school in his thirties; practiced as an academic physician at UCSF; and for the last dozen years has combined his previous careers either running, consulting to, investing in, or serving on the board of life sciences companies.
He is a graduate of Yale College (BA English), Harvard Medical School (MD), and the University of Sydney (MPhil, English). He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and has worked as a relief doctor in the less-developed world, including Pakistan and Bangladesh. Most importantly, Tom is a grateful father of three wonderful boys who love the ocean as much as he does!
Contact Tom at: treasurer@marin.surfrider.org
Secretary: Justin Botros
Justin is a longtime resident of Marin and currently a Planning Commissioner for the City of Belvedere.
He's the founder of Headlands Design an environmental design studio specializing in sustainable design and natural materials. Justin graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in Architecture and decades developing products to reduce carbon in the built environment and promote ecological and sustainable design.
A few notable projects are Google Mass Timber-Borregas, the new wing at SFMoMA, Bumblebee Spaces, and many residential properties in Marin and the Bay. He designs with the highest regard for integrating architecture and the natural landscape.
Contact Justin at: secretary@marin.surfrider.org
Communications: Christian Lepley
Christian grew up on the beaches of Southern California working in the kitchen of his family’s pizzeria in Huntington Beach.
He made his way north to the Bay Area to continue his marketing career working for brands in the outdoor, endurance sports, apparel, food, and automotive industries.
He’s a committed hater of plastic that never leaves a trail, park, or beach without a found piece of trash in his hand. Also an ultra-trail runner, world traveler, and pizza maker that will never agree pineapple belongs on pizza of any style.
He joined the Marin Chapter Executive Committee as Communications Coordinator to help amplify our message and grow our community.
Contact Christian at: communications@marin.surfrider.org