Brown Girl Surf

Brown Girl Surf is a fiscally sponsored non-profit organization that works to build a diverse, environmentally reverent, and joyful women’s surf culture by increasing access to surfing, cultivating community, amplifying the voices of women of color surfers, and taking care of the earth. Since beginning our programs in 2014, we have built a vibrant community of dedicated brown girl surfers and allies. Our presence is felt on Northern California beaches from Half Moon Bay to Bolinas, and the surf culture that we have created locally has been amplified via social media across the country.

We are led by a staff and volunteer base that is over 90% women and girls of color, and have a robust volunteer development program for both adult women and youth. Together, we work on building the capacity in our communities to surf, access the ocean, share surfing with others, and advocate for coastal access and conservation. We offer a variety of beach-based programs for female-identified and non- binary folks ages 9-99, and a youth Summer Camp that focuses on both surfing and ocean education. Programs in the water are complemented by programs on land, open to the whole community. These include community celebrations, film screenings, environmental cleanups, and civic engagement events around environmental justice and ocean conservation. Since the start of our community programs in 2014, over 450 female-identified and non- binary folks have participated in and/or hosted our programs.

In all of our programs, we strive to embody our 6 core values: Play, Community, Girls’/Women’s empowerment, Care for the Earth, Arts and Expression, and Gratitude.