SEE Turtles Board of Directors

 Brad Nahill (President & Secretary): SEE Turtles

Brad has worked in sea turtle conservation, ecotourism, and environmental education for 20 years. For these efforts, Brad received the prestigious Changemakers Award from the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2019 on behalf of SEE Turtles. Brad is the editor and lead writer of Sea Turtle Research and Conservation: Lessons From The Field by Elsevier Press (2020) and a co-author of the Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles (2014). He is a National Geographic Explorer, was awarded the President’s Award for his work as the chair of the Awards Committee of the International Sea Turtle Society, has authored several book chapters, blogs, and abstracts on turtle conservation and ecotourism, and has presented at major travel conferences and sea turtle symposia. Brad has a BS in Environmental Economics from Penn State University and has taught ecotourism at Mount Hood Community College. He has been director of SEE Turtles since its founding and became President after the organization became an independent nonprofit organization in 2016.

Dan Berman (Treasurer): Berman Memorial Fund

Dan was born and raised in California. He then went on to a career with the Foreign Service, 22 years of which were spent overseas on four continents, where he worked in the field of international agricultural trade with emphasis on economic analysis, trade diplomacy, and marketing. Along the way, he and his wife Reiko became avid scuba divers over 40 years ago; his assignments have provided opportunities to dive around the world. Encounters with turtles were always special and he developed a keen interest in their conservation. In 2016 Dan and Reiko established the J&K Berman Memorial Foundation, with platforms comprised of Marine Conservation, Agricultural Development in support of coffee farmers, and Girls' Education in Asia.

Maureen Cunningham: Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Maureen has worked in conservation for more than two decades. Currently she is Senior Director for Clean Water with Environmental Advocates. Prior to joining EA, Maureen served as Executive Director of the Hudson River Watershed Alliance. Maureen also worked for Rare in Washington, DC, where she managed social marketing, public use planning and community-based ecotourism programs, first as Director of their UNESCO World Heritage Partnership working in six World Heritage Sites in Latin America and Indonesia and later as Director of Rare Radio in the Caribbean and South Pacific. Maureen’s academic training includes a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from The American University School of International Service. She is a trained community facilitator, who also speaks Spanish and French. Since January 2018, she has served as a Town Board Member in Bethlehem, an elected position in a municipality with 35,000 residents outside of Albany. 

Sheridan Samano: Reefs to Rockies

For the last 15 years, Sheridan has worked as the Principal Consultant for Reefs to Rockies, a travel company she co-founded in 2006. She incorporates her years of experience as a field biologist and teaching to develop sustainable, conservation-based travel programs for Reefs to Rockies. Sheridan has a Masters in Biology from University of Colorado – Denver and a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University.

Hector Barrios-Garrido: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Hector is a biologist, husband, and father. For 22 years has worked with sea turtle community-based conservation especially with Indigenous communities, such as the Wayúu People. He has studied the current and ancestral links between traditional communities and sea turtles in multiple countries, such as Australia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, and Venezuela. He has served as Chair of the Awards Committee of the International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS) and has coordinated in different years the Latin American Regional Meeting (RETOMALA) at the International Symposium. Hector had received different recognitions and awards, in which highlight the Archie Carr Best Paper Award in Conservation (Runner-Up) granted by the ISTS, and the Alumni Champion of the Year granted by the Study Queensland Excellence Award. More than 50 research peer-review articles are part of Hector’s varied research portfolio. Hector graduated as a biologist and has a master in aquatic ecology from the University of Zulia (his Venezuelan Alma Mater), where currently also serves as Associate Professor. Hector has a PhD in Environmental Science and Management from James Cook University (Australia). His life motto is Post Nubila Phoebus (After the Clouds, the Sun).

Cecilia Fischer: Independent Consultant

Ceci is an Independent Consultant combating illegal wildlife trade and strengthening marine conservation, with a geographical focus on Southeast Asia. She is working for international organizations and NGOs, such as UNODC, UNEP, the World Bank, ADB, WWF, EIA, etc., and has, among others, coordinated counter-wildlife trafficking projects at the national (Philippines) and regional (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) level, has conducted analyses of regional law enforcement operations, and strengthened coordination among development partners in the region. Ceci co-authored 10-year Conservation Action Plans for Marine Turtles and Dugongs in the Philippines, and was part of conducting a Livelihood Feasibility Study to halt marine turtle egg poaching in the Philippine Turtle Islands. She also conducted a Marine Turtle Legislative Review in the Asia-Pacific for WWF, in close collaboration with CMS, and promoted the ShellBank tool – which includes a global database of marine turtle DNA to identify the origins of poached turtles based on confiscated items. She is a member of the IUCN-Marine Turtle Specialist Group and has undergone several turtle-related trainings held by experts, such as marine turtle tagging and monitoring in Mon Repos, Australia. Ceci is also a PADI Rescue Diver and enjoys watching turtles underwater.

Dr. Bryan Wallace: Director, Ecolibrium

Dr Wallace is a bilingual (English and Spanish) wildlife ecologist specializing in “collaborative conservation”. His work integrates primary research, collaboration, and facilitation to assess how people affect natural resources and to develop strategies for resource management within limited budgets. He has extensive experience in collaborative, multi-stakeholder projects dealing with wildlife monitoring research and management in international and USA geographies. During his career across academia, non-profit and for-profit sectors, working with many different stakeholders, Dr Wallace has learned that balance among perspectives and priorities is the key to effective science and successful, inclusive, and fair conservation solutions. He is also a dad, husband, nature addict, average front-yard gardener, less-than-amateur photographer, keen but green fly fisherman, and avid conservationist/conversationist. He lives in the Rocky Mountains with his marvelous family and lots of sunshine.

Barbara Andrews: Legal Manager, California Academy of Sciences

Barb is the Legal Manager at the California Academy of Sciences located in San Francisco, California, and has worked at the Academy for over 20 years. In partnership with the Academy’s General Counsel, Barb oversees the management of the Academy’s legal operations, including contract procurement, intellectual property matters, and the institution’s insurance and risk management program. Barb was introduced to the world of sea turtles in 1998, initially volunteering as a field assistant to Dr. Jeffrey Seminoff and then Dr. Wallace J. Nichols at their respective field research sites in Baja California, Mexico. Since 2020, Barb has supported Mexico’s community based sea turtle organization, Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias, and has served on the boards of WildCoast, ProPeninsula (Board Chair 2006-2009), and Turtle Island Restoration Network (Vice-Chair 2013-2019). Barb loves the outdoors, is an avid hiker and mountain climber, and has a summer cabin in northern California where she also served on the cabin tract’s HOA board as Secretary and then President (2014-2024). She has a BA in Geography from the University of Oregon, and Paralegal Degree from California State University, Hayward (Cal State Univ. East Bay).

Co-Founder & Former Board Member

Dr. Wallace J. Nichols

Dr. Nichols was been a leading ocean conservationist for more than 30 years. J. co-founded SEE Turtles in 2008, as well as Ocean Revolution, WiLDCOAST, and the Grupo Tortuguero, an award-winning coalition of fishermen, local residents, and conservationists spanning Mexico’s Pacific coast. He was a former President of the International Sea Turtle Society, and Eastern Pacific co-chair for the IUCN’s Marine Turtle Specialists Group. J. earned a PhD in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Arizona, an MEM from Duke University, and BS in Biology from DePauw University. Dr. Nichols is author of New York Times Bestseller Blue Mind and co-author of the Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles.  Learn more about the incredible life and work of Wallace J. Nichols here.