Author: Mara Dias & Colleen Henn

Mara Dias (left) is Surfrider Foundation's Water Quality Manager, who leads Surfrider's Clean Water Initiative. Within the Clean Water initiative are the Blue Water Task Force, Surfrider's citizen science water quality monitoring program, and Ocean Friendly Gardens, Surfrider's educational landscaping program that aims to reduce water quality issues caused by urban runoff. Mara is active in securing federal funding for agency-run water testing programs through the EPA BEACH Act while also providing Surfrider Chapters the support to solve pollution problems on a grassroots level. Colleen Henn (right) is Surfrider Foundation's Clean Water Programs Coordinator. Colleen provides support for the 40+ Blue Water Task Force labs across the US, assisting with the growth of new and existing Blue Water Task Force labs, coordinating logistics and communicating critical water quality data to the public. Colleen also runs her local BWTF lab in Eastern Long Island, doing education programs to engage the next generation of environmental stewards.