‘We Are Pipes and Wrenches’: Hillary Hauser Finds New Head for Heal the Ocean

Longtime Santa Barbara Activist Reflects on Her Time Leading Ocean Nonprofit, Says She Is Excited for ‘New Energy’

Hillary Hauser (left) is passing the baton of Heal the Ocean, the sea-loving nonprofit she founded, to Karina Johnston (right), an environmental scientist with over a decade of experience. | Credit: Jasmin Tupy

Santa Barbara bigwig Hillary Hauser recently told me the tale of how she first dove into ocean activism. In the 1990s, she learned that septic systems near Rincon Beach were essentially leaking wastewater into the ocean, causing local surfers to suffer rashes and infections.

Gross.

One thing she said particularly struck me: “Just complaining doesn’t get you jack doodle.”

Hauser didn’t just complain. She acted. After twisting some arms, she got those homes to switch from leaky septic systems to proper sewage lines.

Hauser is the longtime captain and co-founder of Santa Barbara’s sea-loving nonprofit Heal the Ocean (HTO). She is stepping down after more than 26 years at the helm and recently announced her younger — but hardly wide-eyed — replacement.

Hauser, overflowing with charm, punctuated Heal the Ocean’s coming-of-age story with wit and life lessons, which are no doubt sewn into the nonprofit’s legacy and the big shoes her successor is expected to fill.

One: Don’t complain. Two: Find the money. Three: Be the monkey wrench. Four: Solve the problem.

Karina Johnston brings with her more than 16 years of experience in coastal environmental science and nonprofit management. | Credit: Jasmin Tupy

Five: Don’t let regulatory agencies get away with any “hanky-panky.”

Hauser — a daughter of devout Christian Scientists who came from the kind of old money that allowed her grandfather to literally buy and sell what are now major California cities — just turned 80. And she has a long history with Santa Barbara — her first saltwater experience was at Miramar Beach, back when it had tidepools and you could rent a house on the beach for only $125 a month.

She said she is stepping down because “new energy is vital.” She referenced billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, who at 94 also recently announced his retirement.

“He said, ‘I saw myself getting a little slower,’” she recounted. “You know, young energy is fabulous, and it’s what’s needed to make an organization go forward.”

Her pace may be slowing, but she still holds the fierce love for the ocean that catalyzed her activism. It started with “Another Day at the Beach,” the name of the Santa Barbara News-Press article she — a former journalist, among her many other incarnations — wrote about those sickly Rincon surfers.

She ended that story with a question, “Can we change this?” So, when the proverbial ball (people throwing money at her to start an organization and solve the problem) fell into her lap, she was not about to drop it.

Heal the Ocean was born. And they were monkey wrenches. “We snuck in everywhere,” she said. Want to expose the Goleta Sanitary District for not properly treating wastewater before dumping it into the ocean? Sneak in and steal samples to prove it (spoiler alert: HTO won).

“Heal the Ocean went from win to win to win,” she smiled. But despite their occasional monkey-wrenching, Hauser preferred diplomacy and good public relations over hell-raising.

“There’s some times that environmental groups have to get nasty, but good negotiations are important,” she said. “To understand their side of the story is important. To not get ugly angry is important. I haven’t always been successful, but that’s what I would try to do with the opposite side. Like, ‘Let’s go get a glass of wine.’”

Whatever she’d do, she found ways to “solve the problem.”

The search for a new executive director, one who can follow in her footsteps, was “hell on wheels,” she said. During the hunt for a new head, Hauser realized something: “We’re not really environmentalists,” she said. “We don’t worry about swallow mating season and three-toed sloths. We are environmental engineers. We are pipes and wrenches.”

After a year of searching, they found the perfect person, the organization announced last week. On June 2, environmental scientist and ecologist Karina Johnston will officially take over, bringing with her 16 years of leadership in coastal environmental science and nonprofit management.

Hauser called her replacement, who she expects will expand HTO into something even bigger, a “dream come true.” She teared up as she told me this.

Her first question to Johnston was about permanency. As a scientist — who is currently completing her PhD in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara — why not go for professorship or research?

“‘I want to put my knowledge to work now,’ she replied. Now.” Hauser said.

“And with that, the choice was obvious,” she added. “My mind was made up immediately.”

Johnston brings expertise in sea-level-rise adaptation, coastal resilience, and science-driven policy, which will “help guide HTO into the future,” Hauser said. Addressing the coming threat of sea level rise was especially important to Hauser, and with Johnston’s experience working as a facilitator for the Goleta Slough Management Committee, she already has a foot in the door.

Hauser (right) said that finding Johnston (left) to lead Heal the Ocean was a “dream come true.” | Credit: Jasmin Tupy

That is in addition to 14 years as the science director at the Los Angeles–based nonprofit The Bay Foundation, as well as directing the scientific monitoring of both the Santa Monica Beach Restoration Pilot Project and the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project.

“Karina comes with impressive projects finished and many more underway,” Hauser said. “She will do all this, while managing all the projects that HTO is known for — the cleanup of homeless camps, boat wrecks, leaking Summerland oil wells, beach cleanups — all of it.”

This is not the end for Hauser, though. While Johnston is getting her footing, Hauser will stay on the HTO board for three years, operating as a strategic advisor and liaison with HTO’s donors.

Hauser said she is beyond excited for the transition, especially after such a strenuous search. Johnston won out over a total 160 candidates.

“Since childhood, I have been fascinated with our coasts and the beauty and diversity of our underwater world,” Johnston said. “It is my honor to lead Heal the Ocean into the next chapter with support of our essential mission.”

“The intersection of science, policy, and advocacy is vital to help protect and restore our coasts for both people and wildlife,” she continued. “We use science and partnerships to help find applied solutions to complex environmental challenges.”