Board of Directors and Staff
The Coastal Quest Board wishes to acknowledge George Donaldson’s long-standing service, since 2010. He was an astute advisor and key supporter of the organization and its values. His wonderful spirit and love of the coast will continue to inspire us to protect and restore the coast for people and nature.
A memorial donation can be made here
Board of Directors
Board President: R. Peter "Chip" Mallari
R. Peter “Chip” Mallari is an avid ocean lover with family roots in Hawaii. Chip is a devoted surfer and musician who understands the value of healthy coastal and ocean communities. He joined Coastal Quest in 2010 and brings extensive legal and advising experience.
Chip is a consultant and technology attorney based in Silicon Valley. He has managed and/or participated in the sales, finance, business and corporate development, licensing, intellectual property, marketing, human resources, and facilities and operations of technology companies, either in house or as a consultant. Currently, Chip works as a consultant for start-up companies in a variety of sectors including business technology, social media, music/musical instruments, and athletic apparel. Previously, Chip was the senior director of worldwide legal affairs for Fonality, Inc., a VoIP and unified computing company. Prior to that, he served as managing attorney for IronPort Systems, a company focused on email and web security.
During his time at IronPort, the company’s revenues grew from $30 million a year to over $500 million a year; IronPort was purchased by Cisco Systems, Inc. Prior to IronPort, he was senior corporate counsel at Verisity Design, Inc., a company focused on semiconductor chip design; Verisity was purchased by Cadence Design Systems. Chip performed a wide variety of tasks with IronPort and Verisity (similar to his role at Fonality), with the added role of managing and/or participating in the merger and subsequent integration activities of IronPort into Cisco and Verisity into Cadence, respectively.
Chip started his legal career as a corporate associate at Fenwick & West LLP, a law firm based in Silicon Valley. His practice focused on technology companies, representing both companies and investors in venture capital financings in excess of $250 million, mergers and acquisitions in excess of $7 billion, and public offerings in excess of $550 million. He earned his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Davis.
Board Vice President: Cat Kuhlman
Cat Kuhlman was appointed by California Gov Jerry Brown in 2012 to serve as Deputy Secretary for Ocean Policy and Ocean Protection Council Executive. Until she retired in 2016, she provided the vision to lead agencies toward the shared goal of healthy ocean ecosystems and a sustainable future for oceans and those who rely on them to make their living. Her work spans the west coast where she built productive collaborations with neighboring states by identifying common priorities and approaches that serve across political borders. Key to her success, both within California and beyond, was positioning science to inform sound policy goals and decisions, and providing open, transparent processes that led to durable outcomes. Critically, Cat reached out to tribal peoples, fishermen, industry and others to ensure the broadest input and created a stronger understanding of the impacts of climate change on ocean systems and policy options to combat them.
Prior to this role, Cat led the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board where her work at preserving critical headwaters earned her national recognition and multiple awards. Here too, her success derived from fair, open and informed processes where science served as a common denominator. Cat has also served in various capacities within the US Environmental Protection Agency, addressing complex water resource management issues across jurisdictions and national borders. Known as a staunch advocate for resource stewardship and a problem solver who seeks equitable solutions, Cat continues to be sought after for her expertise at working on the intersection of the Clean Water Act and marine resource management. When she’s not working Cat and her husband are avid travelers, exploring waterways and coasts throughout the world.
Treasurer of the Board: Kathryn “Kathy” Randlett
Kathy Randlett earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from California State University, Hayward in 1976. She became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of California in 1978 and is currently a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs.
Kathy spent five years in public accounting before leaving to become Controller for a real estate development company where she stayed for 7 years before the company was acquired by Quadrant, a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser. She continued to provide consulting services to Quadrant and coordinated the transition. At the same time, she formed her own business and accounting consulting practice to a variety of mid-size businesses, becoming an integral part of the management team for her clients. In many cases, Kathy bridged the gap between the internal and external accounting functions. She has over 40 years of experience in the accounting field and is currently a retired CPA residing in San Francisco.
A native of the Bay Area, Kathy has always been a supporter of environmental solutions and conservation of our biodiversity and natural resources. She was raised to appreciate the outdoors and continues to enjoy California’s mountains and coastlines.
Board Secretary: Barbara Endemaño Walker
Barbara Endemaño Walker has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Geography from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Anthropology and African Studies from UCLA. She concurrently serves as the Director of Research Development and the Special Assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Diversity Initiatives at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). Prior to these positions, she was an NSF Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Anthropology and the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) at UCSB. Her research and publications focus on the political ecology of marine resources, gender and the environment, and broadening participation in higher education and STEM, and she has conducted field work in Ghana, French Polynesia, Mexico, and California. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, NOAA Sea Grant, the Social Science Research Council, and the Department of Education, among others. She was a founding board member of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP), and she currently leads the Center for Research, Excellence, and Diversity in Team Science (https://oru.research.ucsb.edu/teamscience/). She is also co-author of the book Funding Your Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences: A Practical Guide to Grant and Fellowship Proposals (Routledge 2017).
Board Member and Executive Director: Tegan Hoffmann
Tegan Hoffmann has over 25 years of experience in coastal and ocean conservation and resource management and is one of Coastal Quest’s founding members and the Executive Director of Coastal Quest. After 15 amazing years founding and leading Blue Earth Consultants, both independently and under the ERG umbrella, she left to focus on fulfilling the Coastal Quest vision and mission. Tegan has deep experience working on domestic and international projects, focusing on building climate resilience, and achieving sustainable resource management and conservation goals.
Tegan has extensive know-how designing, developing, and launching projects, programs, and institutions for private foundations, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She has authored several publications and received numerous awards and research grants for her work on conservation, resource management, and building local conservation capacity in the Wider Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, from such organizations as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR Fellowship, the University of California’s Pacific Rim Research Program, and the U.S. Indonesia Society. She has developed and conducted several trainings in the Wider Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions for hundreds of community stakeholders on conservation and resource management issues, and has taught several courses at the University of California. Tegan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in geography and a B.S. degree in conservation resource studies.
Board Member: Jen Sokolove
Jen Sokolove leads the program team at the Water Foundation, which drives grantmaking strategy to secure safe water for people, restore and sustain freshwater ecosystems, and build climate resilience. As a member of the senior management team, she helps implement the foundation’s overall mission and works closely with the CEO to engage new partners, develop campaign strategies, and grow field capacity. Jen has been working on sustainability for more than two decades, with a focus on community-based conservation.
Prior to joining the Water Foundation, Jen led grantmaking at the Compton Foundation around movement-building and narrative in climate change, reproductive justice, and peace and security. She first joined Compton to advance its environmental programs on fresh water, climate, and rural conservation in the western United States, as well as sustainable food systems and art for social change. Before Compton, Jen worked on a variety of community-led conservation projects in California, Montana, and the Pacific Northwest. She serves on the boards of the Story of Stuff, EcoAdapt, and the Biodiversity Funders Group, and the advisory board for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UC Santa Cruz. Jen received a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley.
Staff
Executive Director: Tegan Hoffmann
Tegan Hoffmann has over 25 years of experience in coastal and ocean conservation and resource management and is one of Coastal Quest’s founding members and the Executive Director of Coastal Quest. After 15 amazing years founding and leading Blue Earth Consultants, both independently and under the ERG umbrella, she left to focus on fulfilling the Coastal Quest vision and mission. Tegan has deep experience working on domestic and international projects, focusing on building climate resilience, and achieving sustainable resource management and conservation goals.
Tegan has extensive know-how designing, developing, and launching projects, programs, and institutions for private foundations, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She has authored several publications and received numerous awards and research grants for her work on conservation, resource management, and building local conservation capacity in the Wider Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, from such organizations as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR Fellowship, the University of California’s Pacific Rim Research Program, and the U.S. Indonesia Society. She has developed and conducted several trainings in the Wider Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions for hundreds of community stakeholders on conservation and resource management issues, and has taught several courses at the University of California. Tegan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in geography and a B.S. degree in conservation resource studies.
Senior Director: David Chai
David brings deep experience in politics, policy, management, and systems change. He served in President Clinton’s White House; worked on Al Gore’s presidential campaign, senior staff to former US Ambassador to China Gary Locke, a variety of policy roles for the governors of California, Washington, and Pennsylvania; and he served in senior management positions under the mayors of New York Michael Bloomberg, San Francisco Gavin Newsom and chief of staff to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. In addition, David has worked in the private sector for Cisco Systems former CEO John Chambers; UC Berkeley’s former Chancellors Robert Birgeneau and Nicholas Dirks; Gavin Newsom’s Gubernatorial Campaign; and was one of the main architects of building the Alice Waters Institute at UC Davis, a consortium of programs designed to teach sustainable organic cooking, regenerative agriculture farming and carbon sequestration best practices and improving K-12 school food systems in California.
David graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a BA in Sociology.
When not at work David enjoys the myriad of activities that comes with raising three wonderful children – Swimming daily (Open water when possible) and eating delicious food.
Director: Cristen Don
Cristen Don brings over 20 years of experience working in marine and coastal management on projects benefiting coastal communities and marine ecosystems.
Cristen joined Coastal Quest in 2023 after having worked for 18 years at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). During her tenure at ODFW Cristen worked on the planning and implementation of marine protected areas, wave energy policy and planning, and topics related to changing ocean conditions and building climate resiliency in marine systems. For 12 years she led the ODFW Marine Reserves Program for the state of Oregon overseeing a six-person interdisciplinary team that brought together marine science, social science, communications, public policy, and resource management to implement Oregon’s marine reserve system.
Cristen has extensive experience working with rural coastal communities throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. She has built long-term partnerships with universities, research institutions, and state and federal agencies along the U.S. West Coast as well as with the fishing industry, non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations in Oregon. She has expertise in strategic planning; administering budgets, contracts, and grants; and developing and leading outreach and community engagement.
Cristen holds an M.A. from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Marine Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz.
Cristen lives on the beautiful central Oregon coast. As an avid surfer, you can find her in the water at her home surf break in South Beach or anywhere between Baja and British Columbia. She loves to travel, hike, mountain bike, ski, and read fiction novels.
Director: Tina Lee
Tina Lee works with people to conserve and manage coastal and marine environments through equitable, locally driven, culturally centered approaches.
Tina joined Coastal Quest in June 2022 with over 12 years of experience leading collaborative projects both in the U.S. and globally. She has focused her career on convening multi-sector groups to achieve collective outcomes for the coasts and communities—managing federally funded awards, organizing conferences and meetings, partnering with community organizations, strategic planning, and managing committees and partnerships. Most recently, she spent over four years with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management Pacific Islands region based in Honolulu, HI. There, she supported the launch of the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve and coordinated the Pacific Risk Management Ohana: a partnership of 100+ organizations building disaster resilience in the Pacific Islands. She is also a skilled diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) practitioner, and launched a DEIJ Working Group to connect a national system of 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves towards building equity into conservation and research practices. Prior to her position with NOAA, Tina played an integral role in achieving social and ecological outcomes with organizations such as the University of Hawaiʻi, Conservation International, and the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance.
Tina holds a B.S. in Biology with a focus in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego, and a dual M.A. in Natural Resources/Sustainable Development and International Affairs from American University in Washington D.C. and the U.N. University for Peace in Costa Rica.
She speaks Mandarin and Spanish and enjoys spending time in the ocean, traveling, and making noodles from scratch.
Director, Finance & Grant Administration: Hewad Rafiqi
Hewad Rafiqi joined Coastal Quest in 2023 and has more than 13 years of experience in working with federal government agencies and non-profit development organizations in leading financial and budget management positions. Prior to joining Coastal Quest, Hewad worked with the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) for three years where he was responsible for financial and budget management of all the projects and grants of the Afghanistan country office and managed the administrative budget for the World Bank offices in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and UAE. He has worked as Senior Budget Specialist for four years for USAID (United States Agency for International Development) managing finance for complex development projects and grants on a country level. He has received several awards for his work from USAID’s Mission Head and U.S. Ambassadors. Hewad has also worked with United Nations, Foreign Commonwealth Office, and the United Kingdom Trade and Investment Department in different key financial positions. He has extensive experience in financial management, financial analysis, accounting, budget development and management, internal control, donor relations, financial modeling, and reporting.
Hewad holds MBA from the University of Liverpool, U.K., and has an advanced diploma in Management Information Systems. He likes building intricate financial databases and reporting systems.
Hewad speaks Pashto, Persian, Urdu, and Hindi, likes beaches, and is an ocean enthusiast.
Director, Communications & Outreach: Sadie Waddington
Sadie joined Coastal Quest in October 2022 bringing 16 years of experience working with local and global environmental NGOs. She is passionate about building meaningful partnerships and working closely with diverse communities.
During her tenure as a Bay Area sustainable business leader, Sadie worked with environmental non-profit, government agencies and community organizations to advance their mission and provide impactful solutions. She is skilled in strategic planning, identifying key resources, and driving multi-faceted projects to fruition. Sadie feels strongly that collaboration and the sharing of ideas brings about long-lasting, meaningful solutions that better meet our community’s needs.
For the last 5 years, Sadie has been working with diverse partners to engage Bay Area community in Climate Resilience awareness. She developed and implemented complex community engagement strategies to drive support and capacity for the protection of the San Francisco Bay. Through community outreach, stakeholder engagement, volunteer management, project management, and communications strategies, Sadie amplified the work of dozens of local organizations and elevated their impact.
Sadie has a strong foundation in project management and philanthropy and is passionate about building inclusive, collaborative outcomes for protecting the coastal areas from the impacts of climate change.
Sadie holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles and a M.A. in Coastal Zone and Natural Resource Management from San Francisco State University. Sadie lives with her family in the Bay Area and enjoys sharing the joys of tide pooling.
Program Manager: Natalie Bartel
Natalie joined Coastal Quest in February 2023 with 6 years of experience in environmentally focused project management. Natalie brings expertise in technical writing, outreach, and stakeholder engagement, along with a passion for nature-based adaptation solutions, coastal ecology, and water quality issues. Having worked in environmental education, energy resource management, GIS, and environmental consulting, Natalie has extensive experience coordinating with stakeholders, creating solutions that benefit communities, and effectively communicating about environmental issues.
Most recently, Natalie managed municipal streetlight LED conversion projects, where she oversaw project implementation, outreach, urban design, and economic modeling. These projects helped cities decrease their carbon footprint dramatically and save millions of city dollars.
Natalie holds a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz, where she assisted in research on elephant seal and sea lion population dynamics, and a M.S. in Environmental Management from University of San Francisco where she completed a master’s project synthesizing and comparing the benefits of blue carbon sequestration methodologies. She loves invertebrates (marine and terrestrial), biking, and bad horror movies.
Project Coordinator: Lilja Lamkin
Lilja brings skills in project management, research, sales, and customer service to Coastal Quest. She has experience in sustainability, law, and the public sector.
Lilja graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. While going to school, she volunteered both in the Riparian Invasion Research Laboratory and the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. Upon graduation, Lilja led the sustainability department at Trentadue Winery and gained valuable experience in event coordination.
Overall, Lilja is a self-starter and team player who is passionate about environmental justice.