Calla Allison (she/her),  Founder & Executive Director

MPA Management Pillar Lead: Enforcement and Compliance

Calla Allison has been playing and working in the coastal waters of California her entire life.

She began with a 16 year career as a State Parks Lifeguard, working on the lifeguard boat, making rescues from shore, and teaching Junior Lifeguards in Santa Cruz and San Diego.  After serving on the Lifeguard Exchange to New Zealand, she became interested in international environmental policy.  She was especially interested in how to apply high level policy to on-the-ground, grassroots driven action and stewardship.   Much of what Calla learned about local ocean policy implementation came from her years as the Marine Protection Officer for the City of Laguna Beach and as Director for the Orange County MPA Council (OCMPAC). After serving as a member of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative’s South Coast Regional Stakeholder Group, she became focused on expanding the OCMPAC model statewide, and the Collaborative Network was born.

Calla holds a Master’s degree in Pacific International Affairs from UC San Diego. She loves to travel, bodysurf, and play water polo.

 Claire Arre (she/her),  Program Manager 

MPA Management Pillar Lead: Research and Monitoring

Claire grew up in Southern California and knew from a young age that she wanted to be a marine biologist. She actually fell in love with the ocean in Abalone Cove, which is now a state marine conservation area, and she still loves tidepooling there today. In addition, Claire enjoys recreating from beach combing to diving all along the California coast.

She has worked for the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe), Laguna Ocean Foundation, as well as Orange County Coastkeeper before joining MPACN.  She is passionate about the research, restoration, and monitoring happening throughout the California coast including in our marine protected areas. In addition, she is an American Cetacean Society Whalewatch Naturalist, an Aquarium of the Pacific Sea Turtle Monitor, and sits on a few steering committees and working groups all connected to the marine environment. Although her world is filled with wonderful marine organisms, her heart lies most deeply associated with getting students, particularly women of diverse backgrounds, into marine science. She wants everyone to know they have a place along our coast, regardless of where they come from.

She began her education at California State University, Long Beach where she did the CSU Catalina Semester at the Wrigley Marine Science Center. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology she went on to Cal Poly Pomona for her Master of Science in biology. Her master’s thesis research was actually in the tidepools of Costa Rica, creating community composition records of seaweed and invertebrates at 35 sites on both the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts. Although she loved her time there, she openly admits that California’s cold waters and kelp forests have always felt like home and is glad to be working to connect more people to our local waters.

Aubrie Fowler (she/her), South Coast Specialist

MPA Management Pillar Lead: Policy and Permitting

Aubrie calls Southern California home. She spends nearly every day exploring nature, especially during her ocean adventures like diving and sea cave kayaking. Aubrie is excited to bring her passion for marine conservation to the MPA Collaborative Network and dive deeper into California’s network of MPAs!

She has worked with various non-profit organizations, including Surfrider Foundation, leading and coordinating members and volunteers. She worked as a California Sea Grant Fellow (2017-18) as the Resource Protection Specialist at the NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary where she led programs to reduce the threat of ships strikes to whales and collaborated with lobster fishermen to remove lost gear and other marine debris from the Channel Islands. She is an advocate for engaging youth, including as a Naturalist at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment Program.

She holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where she majored in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Marine Biology and Fisheries. Aubrie’s thesis explored the inner workings of the stress response in intertidal mussels due to oxygen deprivation. The learn-by-doing attitude she practiced at Cal Poly translates into all of her career pursuits.

Krystle Ramos (she/ella), Central Coast Specialist

Lead: Communications and Pathways

Jamie Blatter (she/her),  North Coast and Climate Specialist, Tribal Liaison

MPA Management Pillar Lead: Education and Outreach, Pathways

Jamie grew up in Central California and after many years in Colorado she now occupies Wiyot ancestral lands in Humboldt County (now known as McKinleyville.)

Jamie has been working in the non-profit realm for nearly a decade, with a focus on centering the voices of youth and community within the environmental sphere. This has involved mentoring emerging young environmental leaders, advocating for urban environmental justice, and supporting climate adaptation projects globally. As a queer woman, Jamie seeks to uplift queer voices and visibility within her field. 

Jamie completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and cultural studies in San Diego. Down the road, she returned to school to obtain a master’s degree in climate change science and solutions. She now has the opportunity to combine her passion for the ocean, climate change, and justice work as the Collaborative Network’s North Coast and Climate Specialist and Tribal Liaison.  

Beyond her love of all things oceanic, Jamie is an avid gardener, aspiring homesteader, spiritual seeker, and long-distance backpacker. She is inspired by ecological and human resilience.

Michael James, Geospatial Mapping and Innovation Specialist

Contractor

Michael James is a highly skilled and experienced professional land surveyor and licensed unmanned aerial pilot. With over 15 years of experience in surveying and a passion for the ocean, he has been able to combine his expertise and love for the environment through his work with the California Marine Protected Areas Collaborative Network as their Geospatial Mapping and Technology Specialist. He has a deep understanding of technology and has been building computers since the age of 13. Michael currently works as a Senior Transportation Surveyor at Caltrans but is able to spend his days off contributing his skills to the CN, traveling across California to map MPA boundaries and developing a web app to help track MPA signs status statewide.

Michelle Chuang,  AAPI* Community Coordinator

Contractor

*Asian American Pacific Islander 

Michelle is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in marketing, communications, and community outreach. Throughout her career, she has been on a mission to drive meaningful change and foster connections within communities.

Beyond her marketing expertise, Michelle is driven by a profound passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This passion inspired her to create “When East Meets West,” a cultural blog site dedicated to bridging the gap between diverse cultures and highlighting the shared human experience. Through compelling content and engaging narratives, Michelle actively strives to inspire a better world by celebrating both our differences and our commonalities.

Growing up in the vibrant mosaic of Southern California, Michelle developed a deep-seated commitment to ocean conservation. Her dedication to preserving our coastal environments for future generations is evident in her tireless efforts to raise awareness and advocate for sustainable practices. Michelle firmly believes that our beautiful coastal environment is a precious gift that should be cherished and safeguarded for the benefit of all.

In her new role as AAPI Coordinator, Michelle is committed to leveraging her extensive experience, cultural insights, and dedication to environmental preservation, along with her passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to make a lasting impact on our community.

Cianna Carrillo Walker-Flom, Black Community Coordinator

Contractor

Cianna Carrillo Walker-Flom (she/her/ella) is an equity and inclusion consultant who is driven by her passion for social justice, community organizing, equitable food access, and youth empowerment. Since 2016, she’s partnered across sectors to develop sustainable equity and inclusion strategy and programs. Cianna specializes in integrating DEI principles at the foundational level to develop equitable infrastructure that support an inclusive and thriving organizational culture.   

She’s supported a range of organizations as they navigate their DEI journeys including small, nature-based nonprofits to startups in the high-tech space.  Outside of her work in DEI, Cianna can be found on a trail with her humans and dogs, at a local playground, or building community on Mvskoke land where she currently resides. She has a BA in Sociology from San Francisco State University and a MA in International Sustainable Development from Escuela de Organización Industrial in Madrid, Spain. 

Kayleigh Wade, Latine Community Coordinator

Contractor

Kayleigh Wade (she/they) 𓆝 is a first-gen queer Mexican-American born and raised on Tongva Land. With familial roots in Baja California, the coast is something she cherishes with all her being. She comes to the MPA Collaborative with years of experience in environmental work, first as the Southeast Los Angeles Youth Organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, and then through her current role as the Senior Manager of Inland Outreach with Heal the Bay. In her spare time, she volunteers with Latino Outdoors and Queer Surf, likes going to restaurants, spends time reflecting on water justice’s connection to her environmental work, reading extremely specific nonfiction, loves cooking for loved ones and taking up new skills like fly fishing, and hanging out with her pet babies Penny and Oats.