Barry Seid

Barry Seid has been a fixture and integral part of the Heal the Bay for many years. Barry began volunteering at the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center, now known as the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium over 13 years ago and has accumulated over 2,600 hours of volunteer service.

Barry arrives before the first class on Wednesdays and stays through public hours in the afternoon. He is always willing to help us out in a bind and will come in for a second shift anytime we are in need of extra volunteers, whether it be weekday, weekend, morning, noon, or night. He is enthusiastic, generous and warm.

Barry Seid truly is the Aquarium's welcoming committee, making it his duty to greet every guest that walks through the front door and inquire where he or she is from. He is a storyteller and has lots of jokes to share with kids and grown-ups alike. Barry is generous to a fault and has contributed unquantifiable quantities of cookies to the Aquarium over the years and inches to our waistlines. It's hard to imagine an Aquarium without Barry Seid. And if you see him around, please thank him for his contributions and ask him about the time he fell in the shark tank.

Merrill Barr 

A dedicated volunteer who has been devoted to the ocean for 10 years, when Merrill Barr first started to volunteer at the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center, she was unfamiliar with Heal the Bay. However, our partnership with the Ocean Discovery Center, and eventual transformation to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, Merrill transitioned to become a long-term Heal the Bay volunteer. In 2007, Merrill had earned over 320 hours of volunteering at the Aquarium. However, after five major surgeries, Merrill was unable to continue volunteering at the Aquarium and transitioned again. This time, Merrill became a dedicated office volunteer, helping with major mailings, data entry and much more. Today, Merrill continues to volunteer at the office, advocates for a clean bay, and even helps with Stream Team. This spring, Merrill continues to become an even more dynamic volunteer as she attends Speakers Bureau Training. Volunteers like Merrill truly are an asset to Heal the Bay and help make our organization into a family.

Terry Bochanty

Raised by the "Great Lakes," Terry Bochanty has always been aware of and focused on the need to keep our waterways clean and marine life safe and healthy. He spent most of his career as a marketing executive in the entertainment industry, spending time at Paramount, Disney and Universal Studios. Terry also plays the saxophone and leads jazz bands around town. After moving to Santa Monica from Hollywood, Terry was inspired to become a volunteer for Heal the Bay's Speaker Bureau after standing at the edge of Palisades Park enjoying the beautiful panoramic view of Santa Monica Bay, only to be disappointed when he got close to the Pier and saw how it really looked. For the two years he has been with us, Terry, who lives 12 blocks from the ocean and walks to the Pier, has enjoyed leading "beach talks." From the start Terry has been someone we can count on, filling in for talks at the last minute and always being a positive and enthusiastic volunteer.

Corey Cline 

Corey Cline began working at the Aquarium in 2010 as an Aquarist Intern. When she was interviewed we thought she'd be a good addition to our team but we had no idea what was awaiting us. Whenever you work with Corey your day is immediately transformed. If you feel down you become cheerful, if you are in a jam she will bail you out and if you need a person to take care of business, you call Corey. She is always willing and ready to do any job, whether it's feeding the animals, working life support, training new Aquarists or teaching school kids. Corey is loved by all and she has reshaped and redefined what an Aquarist intern should be. Her talents are abundant and we are lucky to have her. I hope that Corey will work with us for years to come. Cheers, Corey and thanks for everything.

Adam Corlin

Community engagement at Heal the Bay comes in many forms –a beach cleanup, a field trip to the Aquarium or a Facebook page. But who would turn an entire house in a quiet Santa Monica neighborhood into a vibrant work of graffiti art challenging us all to protect our oceans? Adam Corlin, that's who; a longtime volunteer and home builder who spent months visualizing, executing and launching his massive art installation last summer to raise awareness about Coastal Cleanup Day and ocean pollution. Working with world-class artists RISK and Retna, Adam created a media buzz that resonated throughout the art and environmental worlds. He took some heat from neighbors and city authorities. But his guerilla tactics truly represent the spirit of Dorothy Green – bold, fearless and creative.

Rhonda Gottsegen

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rhonda Gottsegen has loved going to the beach for as long as she can remember. As a child, her father used to bring her to the original Muscle Beach when he would come to work out as a body builder. While they were growing up, this mother of two worked to instill her love of the ocean, beaches and water sports with her own children, and, four years ago, she began volunteering at the Aquarium to share that love with children from all over Los Angeles. Rhonda has been an amazing volunteer and Key to the Sea Naturalist – safely shepherding students through their first steps on the sand, fostering a love and appreciation for the beach and ocean animals, and connecting students and their actions to their environmental impact. Her smile and generosity make our jobs so much easier, and we are lucky to have her on our team.

Elise Kamp and Mary Ann Wilson

Dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers ever since they were trained in the first group of volunteers for MPA Watch in early 2011, Mary Ann Wilson and Elise Kamp met in the training class and became field partners and friends, while consistently going out to beaches in Malibu to collect scientific data for the MPA Watch program. Through rainy days and illness, these women toughed it out and remained dedicated to their ocean stewardship. They have combined their love of the beach and ocean while collecting valuable scientific data on marine protected areas (MPAs) by walking along beaches and bluffs in Malibu surveying coastal and marine resource use. The data that Mary Ann and Elise collect provides important information to understand how people are using the areas inside and outside MPAs, protected area compliance, and to help inform MPA management.

Having worked for many years as a licensed clinical social worker counseling oncology patients, Elise Kamp had a strong calling and desire to work in the areas of environmental activism and global sustainability. As an ocean enthusiast, her true passion has been marine conservation. This passion led her to volunteer for the marine protected areas (MPA) program at Heal the Bay.

As a student in UCLA Extension's Global Sustainability Certificate program, Mary Ann Wilson learned about the legislative effort to create a network of marine protected areas from one of her instructors, Sarah Sikich, Heal the Bay's Coastal Resources Director. Since then, Mary Ann has further studied the ocean environment, joined the MPA program, and has taken up scuba diving with the hopes of one day doing marine conservation work as a diver.

Thank you to Elise and Mary Ann for being true marine protectors!

Jacoba "Cobi" Lawson

Jacoba Lawson started volunteering with Stream Team in 2009 as a way to give back and help protect the wild green spaces around Los Angeles, which she enjoys to visit. Cobi graduated from USC in 2004 where she studied English and Environmental Science. Since then Cobi have been working in the entertainment industry, most recently as a writers' assistant on various television shows. Cobi likes hiking, swimming, paddleboarding, going to concerts, and especially going to Malibu Creek with Stream Team. Thanks to volunteers such as Cobi, Stream Team continues to collect strong water samples and provide scientific analysis of the health of the Malibu Creek Watershed.

Iris Malinsky 

A volunteer with Heal the Bay since 2006, Iris has become an integral part of the Aquarium. She has brought with her an unwavering dedication, thirst for knowledge, and cheerfulness that few can match. Each week Iris comes into the Aquarium with a positive attitude and an infectious smile on her face, leaving everyone in her wake in good spirits. It's great to watch her speak to the public, as she is so great at it. She seems to spark an interest and a thirst for further knowledge in people. In short, Iris is a delight to all those which she comes across. She very much embodies what a great volunteer should aspire to and we are very fortunate to have her as a volunteer.

Robert Mayorga 

Robert Mayorga first became involved with Heal the Bay in 2008 after reading a Los Angeles Times op-ed by Steve Lopez about Dorothy Green, Robert was moved to attend an orientation and volunteer for Heal the Bay. Since then, Robert has become one our most reliable Community Advocate volunteers. He is always willing to drive far distances, fill in when no other volunteers can attend, and handle any tabling event we send his way. Robert particularly shines at Spanish-speaking events, where he eloquently shares the Heal the Bay mission. Robert's dedication to Heal the Bay is truly inspired. Robert is a testament to Dorothy Green's legacy at Heal the Bay and proof that one person can make a huge difference.

Ms. Urlette Reyes 

Urlette Reyes teaches AP Biology and Marine Biology at King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine & Science. A believer in advocacy for a better tomorrow, she and one of her former colleagues developed and implemented a Marine Science curriculum as an elective for graduating seniors, which would provide rigor and insight to the contributions and opportunities within the Marine Science field. In particular, Urlette has championed Heal the Bay's Creek 101 program. Creek 101 has brought heightened levels of advocacy to the King Drew Marine science curriculum and has fostered leadership in King Drew students. Students regularly participate in local clean ups and have been moved to create science fair projects around the issues that impact the creek. The program has been an asset to teachers and the local community. The success of the Creek 101 program would not have been possible without community partners such as Urlette and we hope to continue to share in the process of making positive change for a better tomorrow.

Andy Shrader

Andy Shrader raised his hand in Heal the Bay's Sarah Sikich's UCLA Extension Social Sustainability class when guest speaker and former Heal the Bay Legislative Director Leslie Tamminen asked if anyone would like to learn how to lobby. Two weeks later, he found himself on a plane to Sacramento for the "2010 Ocean's Lobby Day" and he has been working nearly full-time on marine debris legislation ever since (which is particularly remarkable since all his work has been as a volunteer). In 2011, Andy raised support from more than 30 neighborhood councils representing over a million Angelenos for a plastic bag ban in Los Angeles and for SB-568, the state Styrofoam food container ban. He also spends time pushing plastic bag bans in other nearby cities, including: Pasadena, Carpinteria, Burbank, San Luis Obispo, and Culver City, co-authoring a sustainable school proposal, working for a cleaner Ballona Creek, and organizing L.A. Green Machine, a coalition of L.A. neighborhood council green committee members. What he finds most encouraging about the plastic bag bans is, once people see they can successfully fight Big Plastic, they realize what an impact people power can have on everything. When he's not fighting for (or swimming in) the ocean he loves, Andy writes screenplays for film and television.

Jim Upchurch

Since 2009, Jim Upchurch has been a loyal supporter of Heal the Bay. Jim is an avid surfer who understands the important role that Heal the Bay plays in keeping our coastal waters and watersheds healthy and clean. In between his busy schedule as president and CEO of Caltius Capital Management, Jim helped organize two summer music concerts to benefit Heal the Bay. Along with organizing events, Jim asks all of his friends and family to donate to Heal the Bay for his birthday and any holiday. Jim is not only generous with his donations to Heal the Bay but with his time. Jim has spent countless hours helping guide Heal the Bay's development team to reach new heights and new donors. We are excited to see our relationship with Jim grow and we know that we can always count on him for guidance and moral support. We are proud to have the support of such a selfless individual as Mr. Jim Upchurch!