We are the Ocean
Sewage Alliance

Larissa Balzer, Senior Network Coordinator for the Ocean Sewage Alliance, is a passionate conservationist, leveraging her science communication and marketing expertise to illuminate the interconnectedness of our world through water. She has spent a decade crafting stories that bridge conservation efforts and society. From her years at Keep Oklahoma Beautiful to her tenure at The Nature Conservancy, Larissa's dedication to environmental stewardship shines through her writing. Recent articles like "Breaking Taboos: The Intersection of Menstrual Hygiene and Sewage Pollution" and "The Ocean is Not a Landfill" exemplify her commitment to fostering awareness. 

Throughout her time at The Nature Conservancy, Larissa authored pieces such as "Respecting Fire: Where Conservation Science and Indigenous Wisdom Meet" and "An Osage Historian on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve," demonstrating her commitment to amplifying diverse voices in conservation.Larissa lives and works in sunny San Diego, where she enjoys biking around Mission Bay, hoping to see monarch butterflies, and trying to identify the wildflowers. As an experienced digital marketing specialist, Larissa brings a multifaceted skill set to her work, amplifying the voices of those dedicated to preserving our blue planet.

Kim Falinski leads strategic planning around land-based pollution that connects into the ocean for the Hawaii and Palmyra Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. An environmental engineer and soil scientist by training, she works to make the case for projects that can reduce wastewater and sedimentation impacts to nearshore ecosystems. When possible, Kim works to include nature-based and indigenous-knowledge solutions into her work, including considering the role of wetlands, taro fields and bioswales to capture nutrients and soils. She has been a technical advisor for a Maui based community water quality program since 2015, and helped to use that data to advocate for watershed management actions. Kim has provided guidance to the Cesspool Working Group for the State of Hawaii to prioritize upgrades, and has focused on finding better ways to choose the right tech solutions for the right communities in the right places to make the most difference for nearshore reef systems. Most recently she has been involved in coordinating the environmental response and planning by community, academia and government to the Lāhaina wildfires. Kim holds a PhD from University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in Tropical Plant and Soil Science (mapping sediment transport across the archipelago), a MSc from Cornell in Biological and Environmental Engineering and a BS in Electrical Engineering from MIT. She is a Professional Engineer for the state of Hawai’i.

Jasmine is the Executive Director of Ocean Sewage Alliance, where she works to eliminate sewage and wastewater pollution in our oceans. She has over 15 years of experience in the public sector, conducting mixed methods research, evaluation, and policy analysis on topics such as climate resilience, environmental justice, HIV prevention, health equity, and disaster resilience. She has a strong track record of fundraising and coalition building, securing grants and contracts from federal, state, and local agencies, as well as collaborating with community partners, stakeholders, and policymakers.  

She did her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and graduate work in Microbiology and Immunology as well as Epidemiology at Tulane University. Outside of her work she has been looking for more opportunities to employ her unique skill set in protecting our coast and oceans and ensuring that we can confront climate related stressors with science and action. She serves as the Vice Board Chair for Healthy Gulf and lives in New Orleans, LA. She generally enjoys spending her spare time near or on the water.

Helen is a coral reef ecologist by training; she has more than 20 years’ of experience working at the boundary of science and conservation. As the Conservation Science Director for the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) she works to protect networks of reefs that are diverse—both genetically and ecologically—to provide reefs with the best chance to survive climate change. Previous positions include leading Field Engagement for the Allen Coral Atlas at the National Geographic Society, Senior Director of Research and Monitoring at Rare, and Director of Marine Science at WWF-US, where she co-founded a research initiative to examine links between marine protected area (MPA) management and governance, ecological impacts, and human well-being in Indonesia and globally. Helen received her Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley in 2002, investigating coral reef recovery and rehabilitation from blast fishing in Indonesia. She has received numerous grants and awards, authored more than 40 scientific publications, logged more than 1,000 dives, and once lived underwater for 10 days in the Aquarius habitat.

Katie works to build demand for applying behavioral science to sustainability challenges worldwide, including managing external communications, partnerships, and events. As Senior Director, Partnerships and Engagement within Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment (BE.Center), Katie regularly works with external organizations and partners to identify how the BE.Center’s expertise can further their environmental outcomes. She also leads Solution Search, a 10-year program that uses contest methodology to identify, spotlight, and accelerate best practices in applying behavioral insights to environmental challenges (including Solution Search: Water Pollution & Behavior Change). Prior to joining Rare, she consulted with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on engaging local leaders to create healthy indoor environments. Katie holds an MBA with honors from Georgetown University (marketing strategy focus) and a BBA with a minor in Sociology from the College of William and Mary.

Jos Hill leads work conserving freshwater, terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems, and advancing policies to improve the resilience of these ecosystems to climate change in California for Pew’s U.S. conservation project. Jos also helps advance the environment portfolio’s efforts on conservation finance. Prior to this position, she led Pew’s efforts to safeguard coastal estuaries, salt marshes, underwater kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and other important coastal and nearshore marine habitats and ensure sustainable fishing along the West Coast. Before joining Pew, Jos was regional program director for the Coral Reef Alliance, where she designed and led collaborative wastewater management and watershed restoration programs across the main Hawaiian Islands. As executive director of Olazul, she oversaw research and development of small-scale ocean aquaculture models in Mexico, Indonesia, and Palau. She was also the founder and executive director of Reef Check Australia.

Jos holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in biology (international) from the University of Leeds, England; a master’s degree in natural resource management from James Cook University, Australia; and a Master of Business Administration in sustainable management from the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.

Stewart is the founder of Precovery Labs, where creativity and community drive impact and awareness. He has taught as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at the International University of Catalunya and the Cheyenne River Tribal College/Si Tanka University. Stewart has a long history of work with Indigenous communities, particularly in the areas of community finance and economic sovereignty.

Prior to his role at the Resilient Cities Network, he oversaw the Resilient Community Impact Funds and facilitated the Resilience 21 Coalition, Stewart served on President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and was Director of the Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. He participated as an Ocean Fellow for the Northeast Maritime Institute’s Center for Ocean Policy and Economics, Senior Advisor for the Global Island Partnership, member of the advisory committee for SeaAhead, and member of the board of directors for Four Bands Community Fund.

Kelly is a Senior Vice President at Imagine H2O, a global nonprofit organization that empowers entrepreneurs to develop and deploy innovation to solve water challenges. Kelly leads Imagine H2O’s impact investing activities to support water innovation projects globally and has reviewed 700+ early-stage companies, funding 50+. She collaborates across various industries and engages with a diverse set of entrepreneurs, corporate partners, investors, NGOs and government agencies to accelerate the adoption of innovative water technologies. Prior to Imagine H2O, Kelly worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and NatureVest. Kelly holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BS from Vanderbilt University. Kelly currently serves as a Radicle Impact Fellow.

Dr. Stephanie Wear, Senior Vice President of the Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science at Conservation International, brings over two decades of experience in marine science and conservation leadership. Formerly with The Nature Conservancy, she spearheaded strategic initiatives across oceans, human health, and climate change. As a visiting scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (UCLA) and the Duke University Marine Lab, Dr. Wear's research has consistently focused on mitigating threats to ocean ecosystems, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the environment and humanity.

In her diverse conservation career, Dr. Wear co-founded an organization addressing sewage pollution, facilitated the establishment of marine protected areas in collaboration with local communities, and led a global learning network for conservation practitioners. Recognized as a "Clean and Green Pioneer" by Women’s Health Magazine and one of "Moms Who are Changing the World" by Babble.com, she is also a prominent spokesperson, having appeared in various media outlets, "The Martha Stewart Show," Disney's "Oceans," and the BBC series "The Power of Nature." Additionally, Dr. Wear is a member of the inaugural class of NatureNet Science Fellows, contributing innovative solutions to global challenges in sustainable food, energy, and water provision.