Terry Sherry

Surf conservation partnerships

I connect the surf industry with the work of protecting the ocean it depends on.

What I do

Surf parks, brands, and coastal communities all have a stake in healthy coastlines, and most of them want to help. My work is building the partnerships that turn that goodwill into something real: sponsorships, campaigns, and events that fund and advance ocean conservation.

I currently consult to Conservation International's Surf Conservation Partnership, and I work across the surf park development industry, where a new generation of operators is deciding right now what kind of environmental commitment gets built in from the start.

A campaign I helped drive

Surf for the Ocean brought the surf community to the Huntington Beach pier to raise money and awareness for ocean conservation. I helped drive it from concept to sand: three events delivered end to end, municipal permitting, insurance and certificates, vendor sourcing and procurement, creative production, and the sponsor conversations that put boards, wetsuits and a booth on the beach at no cost to the campaign, plus gifts sourced from my own network.

3Events delivered end to end, 2026
10 + 10Boards and wetsuits secured at no cost
1City permit, insurance and COI, start to finish
20+Surf-park industry relationships carried forward
Surf for the Ocean at the Huntington Beach pier: the crew with sponsored boards under the event canopy

Huntington Beach pier, June 2026. Sponsored boards and booth secured at no cost to the campaign.

Read the longer story →

Background

Before conservation work I spent two decades in international trade, founding 1 World Sarongs and sourcing directly from artisan communities in Indonesia and Thailand. Same instinct, different vehicle: build the relationship first, and make sure the people at the far end of it are better off.

I surf, I practice yoga, and I live three miles from the pier where most of this gets organized.