Linda Hunter
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
Linda has thirty years of experience working to protect the environment. She began her environmental career at Greenpeace where she managed the finances of the West Coast office. She has served as Executive Director of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association and most recently as Executive Director of The Watershed Project, where she led the efforts to develop the first and only native oyster reef to be built entirely by community volunteers. Linda grew up on the ocean and has always been an oyster aficionado. She thinks of our native oysters as the working class stiffs with a huge role to play to make our Bay cleaner and more resilient to rising tides caused by climate change.
Casey Harper
deputy Director
Casey is a San Francisco native transplanted to Oakland and a life-long lover of all things outdoors. She completed her bachelor’s in Zoology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. After college she worked as a Fisheries Observer in the Gulf of Alaska. More recently, Casey received a degree in Landscape Architecture from Merritt College. She is interested in creating regenerative landscapes that emphasize the intersection of art, science, and ecology, and is fired up to be a part of the Wild Oyster Project.
Kathryn Langstaff
Restoration Manager
Kathryn is an ecological designer. Before joining the Wild Oyster Project, she ran her own regenerative design firm for over 25 years. She grew up rowing on the tidal Potomac River of the Chesapeake Bay. She received her Masters in Architecture from U.C. Berkeley and spent her mornings sculling on the San Francisco Bay. Married in Inverness, California she celebrated with oysters from Tomales Bay for her wedding, of course! Kathryn enjoys working on teams and engaging communities to unite in a common purpose.
Laura Valvassori
Development Manager
Laura has spent years on the development teams of human services NGO’s. She was raised on the shores of the Great Lakes but has enjoyed the majority of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Laura has always been passionate about working to protect our environment. The ocean, waterways and watershed have always held a special place for her - whether playing in, on it or under its waters. She is interested in supporting greater sustainability and climate resiliency in a place she calls home on the San Francisco Bay. Her desire is to use her organizational expertise to work with team members and the community to advance the unique work of the Wild Oyster Project and her interest lies in engaging others to join her in investing in revitalizing the San Francisco Bay, one oyster at a time.
Hamza Mahmoud
Volunteer & outreach coordinator
Hamza calls San Jose home but is currently pursuing his bachelor's degree in Sustainable Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. In recent years, he held the position of a campaign lead in the largest US congressional campaign where he focused on promoting environmental policy and worked to mobilize communities around environmental issues. He coordinated and managed different teams of volunteers in order to reach campaign goals. As a Bay area native, whose childhood was filled with chasing his two brothers through Coyote Hills alongside the Bay, Hamza is delighted to be working with The Wild Oyster Project to restore the Bay, his home, to its wonderful days of cleaner waters and increased biodiversity while combating the global challenges of climate change.
Jivan Khakee
Marine scientist
Jivan received his BS in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara. Throughout his undergraduate experience, he worked with the PISCO laboratory investigating California’s rocky intertidal ecosystem. Additionally, Jivan worked as a summer research intern in Florida with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Fund on oyster restoration projects and HAB-related water quality assessment. Since graduating, he has contributed to restoration ecology as part of Dr. Kathy Boyer’s lab at San Francisco State University. Born and raised in New York City, Jivan has lived around urban estuarine ecosystems his entire life and is excited to contribute to local restoration efforts through the Wild Oyster Project.
Alex Maciel
Content specialist
Alex recently moved to the Bay Area and is originally from South Florida where she worked at advertising agencies for a number of years. She loves all things outdoors, particularly scuba diving and playing with her dog Bowie. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising from Florida International University and is looking to put her communications skills to work to protect the Bay Area ecosystem through community engagement. Her experience as a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center drove her to become an ocean steward, and is one of many reasons why she is joining the mission to protect our local filter feeders.
