Greetings fellow wave riders and coastal advocates! It is with great honor and pleasure that I write to you as the new executive director for Save The Waves. I can’t begin to express how excited I am to help lead our organization into the future. I've been working with Save The Waves as a board member since 2002, and have also been a close friend and colleague of Save The Waves founder Will Henry for many years. Will, incidentally, shall remain very involved with the organization, serving as president of our board of directors going forward.

In many ways this is my ultimate dream job, combining my love of surfing and environmental credo with my business and editorial backgrounds, and I look forward to the challenges ahead. It is a critical time for us as an organization, as we grow from a fledgling upstart to a more established (and effective) nonprofit. It’s also a critical juncture for our coastlines and surf spots around the world, as they increasingly come under threat from development, water pollution and ill-advised coastal armoring. From Morocco to Mexico, New Zealand to Nicaragua, the fight to save our coastlines from destruction has truly become a worldwide issue. Fortunately, surfers are a global tribe, more than willing to stand up and fight for their ocean environment, wherever that may be.

Save The Waves is proud to serve as a global watchdog, and to help local environmental groups and coastal advocates however possible. But we truly rely on all of you, out at your local breaks and beaches, to carry on the fight. Together we can accomplish our common goal of saving our coastlines for future generations of surfers and ocean enthusiasts.

Regards,

Dean LaTourrette
Executive Director, Save The Waves Coalition