Meet our new Director of Operations, John Suhar
Save The Waves is stoked to welcome John Suhar to the team as our new Director of Operations!
We’re grateful to Susan Coffey for her outstanding work in this role over the past year, and excited for John to build on that foundation and take our operations to the next level.
About John: John brings a deep well of knowledge in the non-profit strategy and operations space, most recently serving in a dual role as the VP of Impact at World Surf League (WSL), and as the Executive Director of WSL PURE, the League’s non-profit partner. With 15+ years of experience spanning philanthropy, partnerships, marketing and operations – plus deep roots in the surf world – he’s an ideal fit for Save The Waves. He is the perfect blend of strategic thinking, operational rigor, and collaborative communication.
“I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Save The Waves for nearly seven years through the WSL partnership, and I’ve seen firsthand the power of their coalition-building approach to protecting surf ecosystems globally. I’m thrilled to help scale what’s already an incredible movement and support the amazing work this team is doing to save waves and surf ecosystems for future generations.” – John Suhar
Congratulations to Diego Sancho, our new Director of Conservation Programs
At the beginning of this year, our Stewardship and Resilience Manager, Diego Sancho, has stepped up into the role of Director of Conservation Programs.
About Diego: Diego continues to lead innovative, data-driven work, utilizing his academic training from Stanford in coastal ocean dynamics and management to better integrate regional teams and expand technical capacity in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Indonesia.
Diego grew up in Costa Rica, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, where he spent his time fishing, diving, and surfing. Since then, he’s gone back and forth between Costa Rica and California, where he completed his education at Stanford University with a B.S. focusing on the ocean and climate nexus and an M.S. in coastal ocean dynamics and management.
Last but not least, we want to recognize a few esteemed Board Members
We recently said goodbye to two long serving members of our Board of Directors: Christy Chin and Easkey Britton.
Both had reached their six-year limit on the board, but will continue to stay involved with the organization as volunteers and ambassadors.
We are incredibly grateful for their contributions and advice in philanthropy, strategy, science and so much more. Thank you Christy and Easkey!
