By Lookout Staff

September 11, 2013 – Ruskin Hartley will shift his focus from the Redwood Forests to the Santa Monica waters as the new leader of Heal the Bay.

Hartley, a veteran environmentalist, headed the Save the Redwoods League for the past six years, where he worked out of San Francisco restoring and protecting California’s old-growth forests.

Under his leadership, the League raised $100 million of public and private funds to help protect 70,000 acres of redwood forest, according to Heal the Bay officials. Hartley also launched the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative that studies the effects of global warming on ancient forests.

As head of Heal the Bay, Hartley will lead an organization that has nearly 15,000 members and an operating budget of more than $4 million.

“Ruskin Hartley is a leader who will inspire, motivate and lead Heal the Bay’s talented staff,” said Stephanie Medina, chairman of Heal the Bay’s Board of Directors. “He’s a noted speaker on environmental issues with a collaborative science-based conservation orientation.

“His skill as a strategic planner and his ability to bring vision and clarity to our mission will support Heal the Bay’s reputation as an environmental champion,” Medina said. 

Trained as a geographer at Cambridge University in England, the British-born Hartley expanded the League’s reputation as a conservation leader since joining the organization in 1998, widening its work into ecological science and youth education programs.

Hartley – who was selected by Heal the Bay’s board after an extensive national search – will focus on “leading the organization through its next five-year strategic plan, growing general membership and developing new fundraising models,” Medina said.

“With a mission that encompasses urban planning, water conservation and ocean protection in one of the world’s largest metropolises, Heal the Bay is uniquely positioned to devise integrated policy solutions that can be applied to other cities globally,” Hartley said.

Heal the Bay’s board also restructured the 28-year-old organization, naming Alix Hobbs, who has served as interim executive director since last September, as associate director.

Under its new leadership, Heal the Bay will focus on pushing to implement a strong stormwater permit for L.A. County and work to uphold the moratorium on oil drilling in Hermosa Beach.

It also will work to develop a predictive beach water quality model “to provide ocean-users with a more timely assessment of potential bacterial pollution at their favorite beaches,” said officials of the organization, which monitors water quality at more than 500 beaches each week.

In addition, the organization will consult with local governments “to advance policies that will help coastal communities in Los Angeles adapt to the future stressors associated with climate change, such as sea level rise, ocean acidification and beach erosion.”

Before joining the Redwoods League, Hartley served as an environmental planner in Southern California and as a planner on Kuwait’s third Master Plan examining post-war reconstruction, Heal the Bay officials said.