Our Board of Directors
Percy Abram
Board Chair
Percy is the Head of Gateway School in Santa Cruz, CA. A native of Los Angeles, he received his B.A. (Economics) and M.A. (Education) degrees from UCLA, and received his Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University. Percy and his family moved to Santa Cruz in 2008, and have enjoyed learning about the community, getting to know its history, and exploring its natural, physical beauty. Percy’s students have worked with the SOS educational team and he looks forward to supporting the organization’s educational initiatives in the future. Percy, his wife, Nina, and two children enjoy walks in Wilder Ranch and Henry Cowell State Park.
Paul Morris
Board Vice Chair
Paul Morris has served on numerous institutional technology and strategic/business boards and councils. He achieved Master of Science degrees at both University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and George Washington University in Washington DC, in Computer Science and Project Management, respectively. He completed his BS in Biological Sciences at the University of California at Irvine. Paul recently moved to Santa Cruz to join the Bay Federal Credit Union as Chief Information Officer.
Sally Shepard
Board Treasurer
Sally lives in Santa Cruz and works as a Human Resources management consultant for organizations around the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast. Her expertise is in executive coaching, employee relations, infrastructure setup, compensation and recognition, change management and executive team facilitation in public and privately held companies as well as non-profit organizations. She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and has held senior management roles in Engineering, Information Technology and Human Resources. In addition to her consulting activities, she is currently the VP of Human Resources for CoWare, Inc., a San Jose based software company. She is a running, surfing, golfing and skiing enthusiast. Sally was looking for a new way to give back to the local community and she decided to enroll in the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz’s Board Match Program. Through this program she met Laura Kasa, learned about SOS, and found her passion for the organization infectious. The mission of SOS is consistent with her beliefs and supports her desire to live and play on our beautiful coast.
Ronn Rygg
Board Secretary
Ronn first came to the Monterey Bay while touring California during his college years and returned several times until settling in Monterey to teach at the Naval Postgraduate School. After retiring from Naval Service he began a second career in non-profits where he was the founding Executive Director of a homeless veterans program at the former Fort Ord. Years later, he took another position at a second agency, again as the Executive Director of a homeless and domestic violence agency. He currently is the Director of 2-1-1, a program of United Way Monterey County, a program that assists people to get in touch with local community services, get information during times of disaster, and connects people with volunteer opportunities. A relationship and access to the sea has always been important to him and Save Our Shores allows him to become much more active in promoting its welfare for the benefit of all. Prior to joining the Board he began his service with SOS as Sanctuary Steward in 2011. His teenage son Travis, who also loves the oceans and its inhabitants, joins him in many SOS activities.
Dr. Wallace "J" Nichols
Board Member
Dr. Wallace “J.” Nichols spent his youth exploring oceans and forests, resulting in a fascination for genetics, animal migration, human culture and conservation. These are the areas he studied during his undergraduate years at DePauw University, graduate studies at Duke University and University of Arizona, academic research as a Fulbright Fellow, and as a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences. In 1998 he founded Grupo Tortuguero, an international grassroots movement dedicated to restoring Pacific sea turtles and to sustainable management of ocean fisheries. In 1999 he co-founded and for five years directed WiLDCOAST, an international conservation team dedicated to the protection of coastal wilderness. Currently, J. works with several universities and organizations to advance ocean protection, and is also spearheading the Ocean Revolution, a program that inspires, involves and mentors the next generation of ocean conservation leaders. Check out bluemarbles.org. See J on Nautica.
Ginaia Kelly
Board Member
Ginaia is an attorney and has served on numerous Non-profit Boards including as President of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association, President and Founder of the Young Lawyers of Santa Cruz County, President of Pacific Elementary’s PTA, and Director of Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County. She also served on the Board of the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz, spearheading and implementing a large scale social program for the City, and earning her the “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award..” Ginaia has worked in print and broadcast journalism (KSBW Chanel 8 News), and has experience in fundraising, marketing, and public speaking. Additionally, Ginaia has a strong love for the ocean, as she is an avid and competitive surfer of 20 years, including the World Surfing Championships in Costa Rica. She also has worked as a professional high diver in ocean-based theme parks around the world, including San Diego's SeaWorld, Ohio's SeaWorld, Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, and Japan’s Adventure World. She performed dives from heights of up to 85' and at one-time earned the billing of "the only woman in the world currently performing a triple-flip-with-a-half-twist from 10 meter mini-trampoline!"
Dr. Mike Beck
Board Member
Dr. Mike Beck is a Senior Scientist with the Marine Initiative of The Nature Conservancy and a research associate at the University of California Santa Cruz. He works in the interface between marine science and policy. His present work includes research on (i) marine regional planning, (ii) the nursery role of near shore habitats such as kelp forests, (iii) tools for ecosystem-based management and land-sea integration, (iv) the conservation and restoration of near shore habitats including shellfish reefs and beds, and (v) marine proprietary rights including the lease and ownership of submerged land.
Martel Andersen
Board Member
Martel is a native Californian and moved to the Central Coast in 1996. She earned a Bachelors degree in Statistics with an emphasis in Environmental Studies from U.C. Berkeley. Prior to moving to the Central Coast, she worked as an HR consultant in the greater SF Bay Area. During the summer of 2008, she was looking for a way to volunteer her time and share her passion and enthusiasm for clean healthy oceans. An online search connected her with Save Our Shores… and it was love at first sight. She began volunteering right away. She graduated from the 2009 Steward Class and in 2010 was honored as the “Volunteer of the Year.” She continues to be Site Captain for many of Save Our Shores’ public beach cleanups and she’s a huge “Bring Your Own” advocate and missionary. In her spare time, she enjoys organic gardening, cooking gourmet vegetarian cuisine and taking long walks along the many beautiful beaches located within the Sanctuary with her husband, Dave, and dog, Rosie. Martel has a goal of visiting and documenting all the beaches within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Scott Malsom
Board Member
Scott lives in the Live Oak District of Santa Cruz and spends most of his free time near, in, or under the water. An avid scuba diver and instructor for the last 25+ years, Scott is privilaged to have dived in every ocean on the planet, in many of the larger fresh water bodies in North America and in a goodly number of caves both on land and under the sea. His first boat was a canoe, purchased when he was in the 7th grade. Since then he has kayaked and canoed many of the rivers and lakes in North America, owned power and sail boats of various sizes and generally enjoyed boating in all of its forms. Scott became an SOS Sanctuary Steward in 2009 and has since then participated in and lead many river and beach cleanups, tabled at various events and worked on many special projects.
Fred Keeley
Board Member Emeritus
