Karin Hall, executive director of Heal The Bay. (Lauren Foliart)

It’s her favorite exhibit at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. As the executive director of Heal the Bay, Hall epitomizes the work of the environmental nonprofit in that display.

It shows the physical similarities between sea jellies and plastic bags floating in the ocean. Next to the tank hangs a container filled with plastic remnants, such as disposable lighters and deflated balloons, found in the stomach of a local albatross.

“We’ve really tried to go through all of the exhibits here and give the next part of the story, so it ties back to Marine Protected Areas or plastic pollution and the work we’re doing,” Hall said. 

Understated and easily missed in a nook beneath the pier’s entrance, the aquarium provides an educational alternative to the wharf’s jamboree. Visitors can engage with species like the bright-orange California Garibaldi, the spotted horn shark and the ominous moray eel. The underwater exhibit of the pier’s inhabitants puts patrons in the backyard of the magical aquatic family living next door.

Hall joined Heal the Bay’s team 10 years ago as associate director, receiving her promotion to executive in 2006 when longtime employee Mark Gold became president. In light of his departure on Jan. 27, Hall’s position takes new significance in leading the educational and governmental ventures of staff. 

Her prized sea jelly exhibit lends itself to one of the legislative fights Heal the Bay has worked on for almost two years—a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

Plastic materials break down differently in the deep-blue waters of the ocean. Unable to biodegrade, items such as plastic bags disintegrate into smaller pieces of poison easily digested by marine life.  

Environmental groups faced a defeat in Sacramento in August 2010 when the state Senate failed to pass a sweeping plastic bag ban among costly last minute lobbying from plastic manufacturers.

“We were so close!” Hall said. “But politics and budget got in the way of it.” 

Hall speaks with fervor about the fight to ban single-use plastics bags.  The tone of her voice hints at frustration, but falls more on anticipation because the ban is within arms reach.

“We have now a great momentum of a large group of cities and counties across the state who have passed a bill,” Hall said. 

Businesses in Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and Malibu are among the few who now charge 10 cents per plastic bag to grocery store shoppers. The City of Los Angeles is next on the list for Hall and her team at Heal the Bay.

As executive director of the environmental non-profit, Hall organizes the staff at Heal the Bay to run a well-oiled machine of community advocacy. They work out of Santa Monica, but oversee the preservation of precious Los Angeles beaches from Malibu’s Point Dume to the southern Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“At the heart of it, we have this group of people with different backgrounds and with different passions, but we’re all connected through the mission of the organization—to improve the health of our ocean,” Hall said.

Her role among staff changed slightly last month when Mark Gold stepped down to take a job with UCLA and the board chose to eliminate the position of president. 

Gold’s departure marks the end of a chapter at Heal the Bay. A beloved president and leader in the local environmental community, his exit sparked recent questions into the future of the group’s advocacy.

“A science person and a spokesperson, Mark was the best blend of both,” said newly appointed chairman of the board Stephanie Medina Rodriquez. “Heal the Bay—a lot of what it is, is due to Mark’s work,” said Medina Rodriguez. “But there are a lot of people behind the scenes that others didn’t necessarily get to see or know and now they will.”

Hall is one of those people. She will continue to manage their 50-person staff, but her leadership role assumes a new importance due to Gold’s absence. “We’re reshaping a little bit,” Hall said, “but what we at Heal the Bay do, will not change.”

Hall and Medina Rodriquez will work together to connect agendas of the board to specialties of staff, finding ways to effectively drive the different sectors of Heal the Bay.

“What I look forward to the most is the reach and how the reach is growing,” Medina Rodriguez said.  “I live in the valley so I’m really excited to take what I do here and bring it back to those who don’t live so close to the ocean.”

The board is unpaid, but occupied by 45 dedicated individuals who represent both Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles community. 

Volunteer work gives Heal the Bay force in the local communities. Hall says much of the job’s gratification is working with these individuals because it fuels her passion to fight for the environmental community.

“We have a core cadre of volunteers who have taken time out of their life. Some do up to ten hours a week for us,” Hall said. 

She admires the dedication of the volunteers because before working at Heal the Bay Hall struggled to find time to help the ocean she grew up loving. “I always loved the ocean, but could never find time to volunteer between 80-hour work weeks and traveling all the time,” she said.

Hall spent 15 years working in advertisement and business marketing.  Some of her accounts included high-profile clients such as Expedia, EarthLink, DIRECTV, Acura and Starbucks. 

She never intended to become an environmental advocate; her passion for the ocean took form mainly through recreation. Hall grew up in the scenic mountains of Switzerland and remembers family vacations sailing and scuba diving in the ocean. 

“I don’t think my dad would ever say he’s an environmentalist, but he truly was an environmentalist,” Hall said. “I don’t think back then he really thought about it that way, but both my parents were lovers of the outdoors and we traveled the world.”

When she moved to the United States as a senior in high school, Hall’s passion led her to a job collecting marine life for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. However, she graduated from California State Hayward with only a minor in marine biology and instead focused on business management. A friend told her about a job opening at Heal the Bay 10 years ago and she found a way to bring her experience with business together with her passion for the ocean.
 
“I wanted to do something more viable,” Hall said. “At an organization like [Heal the Bay] you might be working the same hours, but you’re also seeing the tangible effect and your working towards solutions.”

Hall also serves on the advisory board for Sustainable Works, a Santa Monica-based environmental education non-profit aimed “to foster a culture of sustainability in cities, colleges, and businesses.”

She lives with her husband in a house on Ocean Avenue and maintains a sustainable lifestyle they created many years ago. 
 
“We made some choices to be able to do that and live on Ocean Avenue and have that view [of the ocean],” Hall said. “I get to hear the ocean every day when I wake up in the morning and go to bed at night and it’s a nice reminder of why I’m doing this.”

As a nonprofit, Heal the Bay faced several drawbacks in recent years because their funding sources got hit by the economy. They have a well-rounded list of sources, from government and corporations, to foundations and donors, but all suffered from the recession.

Hall lets out a tired sigh at the mention of budget cuts and the economy. “It’s hard because it’s not just one sector—it’s in all sectors that are affected by the economy,” she said. “We’re lucky to be very rooted in the community because while people might not be giving at the same level, they still want to be part of Heal the Bay.”

Rather than serve as a source of income, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium breaks even at $3 per adult (recommended $5) and free for children. Instead, the establishment offers itself as a place for both residents and tourists connect with the Santa Monica Bay.

Staffers paint environmental portraits of their aquatic neighbors and provide patrons with ideas on how to individually help the ocean. Walk in down the ramp and the first tank features a kelp forest similar to those guarded in newly-enacted Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Black Sea Bass and the California Halibut swim among their peers just as they would off Catalina Island.

A young boy wearing a paper-made hat in the shape of a fish looks up through the glass with a look of amazement on his face. His mom stands behind him reading the information listed on the plaque below the tank. 
Most likely, they both learned something new that day.

“Whether you’re an educator at the aquarium and you see people walk away with that inspiration and connection to the ocean or you’re fighting for some legislation in Sacramento and you see legislatures understand why we should ban single-use plastic bags,” Hall said. “It inspires you to do the work.”

Audio Slideshow: Heal The Bay's Karin Hall

Reach Staff Reporter Lauren Foliart here.