Meet Terri Watson, FMSA's New Executive Director

Terri Watson, FMSA ED

New to the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association is Terri Watson, Executive Director. An avid lover of everything outdoors and oceanic, Terri’s career path en route to this seat has held plenty of variety.

A military and commercial pilot since 1983, Terri has flown extensively in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft in locales as far a field as Antarctica, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central America, and throughout the Rocky Mountain states.

In that an aviation career provides one a lot of free time, she has utilized that flexibility to pursue a parallel career in non-profit wilderness education and environmental education and advocacy. Since 1990, Terri has been a senior field instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and an EMT with the Wilderness Medicine Institute.

She has also held multiple operations and program staff positions with a volunteer based environmental aviation group called LightHawk including Executive Director from 2001 – 2004. She continues to serve as the Aviation Chair of LightHawk’s Board of Directors.

Originally coming to the Bay Area as a pilot for REACH Air Medical Services in Santa Rosa, she and her partner live aboard their Mason 33’ sailboat in San Rafael, enjoying the opportunity to explore the Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary firsthand. They are avid sea kayakers and novice kite boarders as well.

A chance to work with an organization dedicated to the advancement of the Sanctuary came at a critical juncture in Terri’s career choices, and, as she puts it, “provides a way to combine my love of the sea, my background in marine education with NOLS, and my desire to contribute meaningfully to our local ocean community.

“I’m really excited to be a part of such an incredible group of people here at the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association. With such strength of program, and such talented volunteers and staff on board, I am confident that we can meet the challenges of bettering our Sanctuary, and continue to grow and thrive despite the economic challenges ahead.”

Terri holds a B.S in Geology and Sportsmedicine from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, a M.S. in Computer Information Systems from the University of Southern California, and has completed her PhD Coursework in Remote Sensing Applications in GIS with the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University.

Look for her at Crissy Field or sailing through the Sanctuary.