Chad Nelsen

Dr. Chad Nelsen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Surfrider Foundation where he leads the world’s largest grassroots network dedicated to the project and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, through approaches that integrate coastal recreation with conservation.

At Surfrider he leads a dynamic and committed team that defends the coast against damaging projects, promotes ongoing coastal stewardship programs, advances ocean and coastal protection policies at all levels of government, while cultivating and developing community activists and leaders.

Prior to taking the helm at Surfrider, Nelsen spent 16 years leading the organizations environmental science and policy team where he developed impacting hands-on programs and led hundreds of successful conservation campaigns.

He earned a Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a Master’s of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School for the Environment, and Bachelors of Science from Brown University.

Chad helped establish the field of “Surfonomics,” which applies natural resource economics approaches to value surfing.