Leadership

Marc Beyeler is an experienced coastal and environmental planner and senior manager with many years’ experience managing professional, technical and administrative staff and staff teams, addressing a broad range of environmental planning projects and programs, many involving facilitation, program planning and stakeholder and public outreach. Marc currently serves as the Executive Director and Science Director for the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment (BEACON) in Ventura, California. BEACON is responsible for regional sediment management and coastal adaptation planning along the California Coast in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Marc was a long-time senior executive at the California State Coastal Conservancy and has taught and conducted research at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz.

Derek Brockbank is Executive Director of Coastal States Organization (CSO), which represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues. With two decades of experience in Washington DC on coastal adaptation policy and organizational development, Derek is connecting state coastal management programs with federal agencies and resources in order to address the greatest coastal challenges facing society. Derek previously served as Executive Director for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) where he led the strategic planning and outreach, government affairs, and development goals of the nation’s leading organization advocating for beach and coastal restoration. Prior to starting with ASBPA, Derek worked as campaign director for a coalition effort to restore the Mississippi River Delta and Coastal Louisiana, and was part of a gulf-wide campaign to pass the RESTORE Act, securing billions of dollars for Gulf Coast restoration. This followed up on his work with National Wildlife Federation on climate adaption. Derek grew up in New York City and got his coastal education from an early age playing on the beaches of Long Island, and kayaking and fishing in Peconic Bay.

Susan Brodeur is a Senior Coastal Engineer for the County of Orange, California. Susan holds a Bachelor Degree in Physics from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ocean Engineering from Florida Atlantic University. She has more than 30 years of experience as a coastal engineer in both public and private sector, working on a broad range of projects including shore protection, coastal wetland restoration and navigation projects. She is a registered professional engineer in the State of California.