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Santa Barbara Channelkeeper welcomes new executive director

Ted Morton, new Executive Director for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Ted Morton, new Executive Director for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara Channelkeeper announced the appointment of a new Executive Director this week who plans to protect the health of the Santa Barbara Channel.

Ted Morton was chosen for the position at a pivotal time as the organization intensifies its efforts to tackle large-scale environmental issues through local actions.

As Executive Director, Morton plans to guide the organization’s work to protect the health of the Santa Barbara Channel through science-based advocacy, education, fieldwork, and enforcement. He will support and expand Channelkeeper’s programmatic efforts to monitor waterways, advocate for protective environmental policies, hold polluters accountable, and ensure a cleaner, healthier water future.

“I’m thrilled and honored to join Santa Barbara Channelkeeper as Executive Director," said Morton. "The organization has an impressive record of achievements that are a direct result of its programmatic excellence—from in-the-field scientific monitoring to environmental advocacy, enforcement, and community education. I’m excited to build upon Channelkeeper’s legacy of clean water work.”

Channelkeeper said Morton has more than 25 years of experience in ocean conservation policy. For seven-plus years, he directed The Pew Charitable Trusts oceans’ programmatic work at the federal level, which included efforts to strengthen national policies to end overfishing, rebuild depleted fish populations, advance ecosystem-based fisheries management in U.S. waters, and expand the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

Before joining Pew, Ted directed a campaign at the Environmental Defense Fund to improve the international trade of coral reef wildlife. He served as the vice president of organizational effectiveness and operations at SeaWeb, as well as director of operations at the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. Ted was also federal policy director for Oceana, where he was actively involved in successful efforts to persuade Congress in 2006 to strengthen U.S. fisheries conservation and establish a deep-sea coral research program.

“After conducting an extensive, nationwide search, we are pleased to welcome Ted Morton as Executive Director of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. His professional achievements are impressive, and he brings strong leadership skills and a tremendous amount of experience,” said Board President Mike Wondolowski.

Article Topic Follows: Santa Barbara - South County

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