Caroline “Cea” Higgins
Advocacy Coordinator
Cea Higgins served as the Executive Director of Coastwalk/
California Coastal Trail Association until 2020 and now serves as
the organization’s Advocacy Coordinator.
Her career includes serving as the Policy and Volunteer Coordinator
for Sonoma Coast Surfrider Foundation, where she has coordinated
beach clean-ups and conducted youth and community marine debris
education programs for the last 20 years. Cea was also selected by
NOAA to serve on the Greater Farallones National Marine
Sanctuary Advisory Council and chaired the Sediment Management
Working Group working with governmental agencies and County
planning departments to develop climate-smart adaptation policies
to more effectively deal with coastal erosion and sea level rise. She is the coastal representative
on the Sonoma County Water Coalition, which focuses on improving water quality. In addition,
she is a founding member of the Bodega Bay Collaborative, which sponsors town halls,
community forums, and provides a voice to unincorporated coastal areas. Cea also helped
establish the Sonoma County Marine Protected Areas Collaborative, where she works with
scientific institutions, environmental NGOs, and tribal governments to raise awareness of the
value of marine protected areas amongst coastal residents and visitors.
Cea earned a BS in Education from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Science in
Curriculum Design & Atypical Learning from the University of Wisconsin. To improve her
ability to advocate for coastal preservation, she earned a Juris Doctorate with honors from
Concord Law School.
An avid surfer, hiker, and trained in marine mammal and sea bird rescue, Cea believes in giving
back to the ocean and coast that she is blessed to enjoy and work to protect.
Contact Information:
[email protected]
707-217-9741
Connie White
Executive Director
With more than 25 years of varied administrative experience in “Creating Order Out of Chaos” Connie has found her niche in helping small organizations succeed. She is a long-time environmental advocate and is passionate about coastal access, clean water and youth engagement. Connie currently manages the Coastwalk Walks Program, Coastwalk Cleanup Crew & Adopt-A-Beach Program, Coastwalk’s Youth Education Program, Coastal Cleanup Day events and is responsible for the day to day operations of Coastwalk.
Contact Information:
[email protected]
707-829-6689
Nancy Morgan
Bookkeeper
Linda Hanes
Office Support
Linda Hanes has been a Coastwalk volunteer since, 1993, in office and on summer Coastwalk trips. She has been a Walk Coordinator, Onsite Coordinator, cook and chuckwagon wrangler for some 30 Coastwalk trips during that time, and has led several day hikes. She has been a member of the Coastwalk board since 1995, and has been President, Vice President and currently Secretary of the Board. Linda was a member of the team that walked the entire California coast, along the California Coastal Trail, in 2003.
She retired in 1999 from 20 years as a Children’s Reference Librarian within the Sonoma County Library system.
Linda has lived in the Santa Rosa/Sebastopol area since 1969, but was born and raised in Michigan.