Our Team

Scott Artis

Executive Director

Scott Artis is the executive director of Golden State Salmon Association and, in this role, champions the restoration of California salmon for their economic, recreational, commercial, environmental, and cultural importance. He brings two decades of experience spanning the for-profit and nonprofit sectors in conservation, research, business development, management, and fundraising. 

Before stepping into his current role, Artis served as acting executive director and managing director of Turtle Island Restoration Network and Salmon Protection Watershed Network – driving collaborative solutions to conservation issues. He currently serves on the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Development and Policy, a degree in Micro & Molecular Biology, and a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. He has complemented his studies with a Master’s certificate in Environmental Resource Management.  

Cat Kaiser

Vice President of Operations and Engagement

In February of 2018, Cat joined GSSA after 15 years of traveling and a previous career in wine, restaurant, and hospitality management. 

Cat oversees daily operations, membership management, GSSA fundraising dinners, and science and policy project planning. Additionally, they handle PR, marketing initiatives, and assist the GSSA executive director and board members with salmon-related matters. 

In her free time, Cat can be found on the ocean fishing for salmon, tuna, and fish to fill the freezer, or playing catch and release while chasing different fresh and saltwater species with her fly rod. 

John McManus

Sr. Policy Director

Former GSSA president and current Sr. Policy Director. McManus is a former media director for Earthjustice, a national environmental non-profit, a lifelong conservationist, a former commercial and current recreational fisherman, and a former 15-year news executive with CNN.

Barry Nelson

Policy Advisor

GSSA policy consultant Barry Nelson is the former executive director of Save the Bay, a former director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) California water team, and an expert on complex Bay-Delta water policy.  He’s also an accomplished whitewater guide, with experience ranging from running California’s salmon rivers to the Grand Canyon and Alaska.  

Kim Delfino

Water Policy and Legislation Advisor

Kim Delfino is the President and Founder of Earth Advocacy, which provides policy and advocacy expertise to nonprofits and foundations with the goal of protecting and restoring our lands, water, and wildlife for future generations. Prior to establishing Earth Advocacy, Kim was the California Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife for two decades.  Kim has nearly thirty years of experience in public and private land use planning and policy, species conservation, and water policy, including serving on the California Water Commission from 2010 to 2015.  Kim also serves on the boards of the Water Education Foundation, Sustainable Conservation, and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Trends.  

William O’Neal

Marketing & Digital Media Manager

Wil is the quintessential “marketing person with a fishing problem.” After decades in tech—where he didn’t live to work, but worked to fish—he’s happy to bring his experience to a cause that truly matters: protecting California’s salmon fishery and supporting the thousands who enjoy it, whether professionally or recreationally.

When he’s not advocating for salmon, Wil can be found patrolling local waters aboard his Grady White, “Feeling Lucky,” working occasional shifts at Lost Coast Outfitters, or hosting fly fishing trips to far-flung destinations like Belize, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Mike Aughney

Vice Chair and Executive Committee Member

Mike Aughney is one of the original board members of GSSA and has pursued salmon his entire life. Mike is a former commercial fisherman and creator of USAfishing.com. He spent many years working as a deckhand on party boats around the Bay Area in his 20s.

After retiring from the Marin Muni Water District in 2017, he now spends much of his time fishing from his second home in Alaska and currently co-owns the 6-pack boat Reel Magic out of Bodega Bay.

Mike is very knowledgeable when it comes to salmon conservation and is also really good at catching them and sharing with others the thrill of this important fishery.

Ned Brown

Treasurer

Ned joined the Board of GSSA in 2021 and currently serves as the CFO/Treasurer.  He is a lifelong salmon fisherman and advocate, despite a very poor ratio of fishing hours to catching (suggestions welcome!).  Ned has spent his career working in the healthcare industry, and his personal time as an avid outdoorsman focused on the conservation of our natural resources. Ned joined the GSSA Board because of its great people, its mission-driven focus on preserving our imperiled salmon runs, and the urgency needed to save this iconic species.  Our goal is to have 1 million naturally spawned salmon in California’s rivers every year.  We can’t achieve this goal without your help, and we are indebted to you for your support and interest.  

Brandon Dawson

Brandon Dawson is a Policy Advocate for Sierra Club California, where he develops and advocates for strong, protective laws and policies affecting California’s water ecosystems, drinking water, natural lands & parks, and wildlife. Prior to joining Sierra Club CA, Brandon worked in the U.S. DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division on natural resource and conservation counseling and litigation. During law school, he interned at the Environmental Defense Fund and Earthjustice, working on toxics, water quality, air pollution rules, and public health litigation. 

John McManus

Former GSSA president and current Sr. Policy Director. McManus is a former media director for Earthjustice, a national environmental non-profit, a lifelong conservationist, a former commercial and current recreational fisherman, and a former 15-year news executive with CNN.

Marc Gorelnik

Executive Committee member

GSSA director and executive committee member Marc Gorelnik is also the Chairman for Coastside Fishing Club, a Half Moon Bay-based non-profit, and the vice chair of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.  He is also the general counsel for the American Sportfishing Association. When Marc isn’t saving salmon, catching salmon, or traveling, he raises Dutch Partridge dogs (Drents), cats, and bees. 

Chris Lawson

Commercial salmon and crab fishermen with roots that go back generations in the Tomales Bay and Bodega Bay area.

Ben Harris

Executive director, Monterey Salmon and Trout Project.

Melissa Mahoney

Melissa has spent the last 20 years working on advancing the sustainability of the US West Coast commercial fisheries. Her research and policy career spans across academic, governmental, and non-profit sectors, where she has supported or led projects including market-based incentives for sustainability, informing the human dimensions of fisheries, leveraging electronic technologies, and participating in both state and federal fishery management processes.

Adam Messner

Adam Messner is a lifelong conservationist with a passion for California Salmon. In his early 20’s he fished Salmon and Halibut in Alaska for sport and commercially. Half a lifetime later, he’s back in California raising a son and daughter in Marin, and he hopes his kids love to catch California salmon as much as he does — so far, so good! There are salmon to catch, his kids love to catch them, and momma loves to eat them. Adam’s an entrepreneur who brings innovation and a growth mindset to the board.

Caleen Sisk

Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, along the McCloud River watershed.

Randy Repass

Chair and Executive Committee member

Randy is President of Repass Rodgers Foundation and founder of West Marine, Inc., where he served in roles including CEO, Chairman, and Board member. The company was sold in 2017. He is a founding member of GSSA. Randy has a BSEE from Duke University.

Randy has served as commodore of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club, as a director and President of Sail America, the US sailing industry association, as a director of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and as a member of Government Affairs at American Sportfishing Association. As Co-chair of Action Pajaro Valley, he was active in collaborative planning for the area. For many years, he has been and remains active in marine conservation for the benefit of the marine environment, boaters, and fishermen.

Ted Wilson

GSSA director Ted Wilson is a food and hospitality entrepreneur with special expertise in catering foods using sustainable, seasonal, local ingredients. Ted appreciates fostering community, which is evident at The Alice Collective, a café he created in downtown Oakland. He also owns and runs the William Tell House, Marin County’s oldest restaurant, bar, and inn, located in the town of Tomales.

Vance Staplin

Vance Staplin is a former inland rivers fishing guide. He now represents multiple lines of fishing and outdoor gear and deals with outdoors folks throughout the state.

David Zeff

Attorney and environmentalist.

Rachel Zwillinger

Vice President for Water Policy at the Repass-Rodgers Foundation

Rachel is Vice President for Water Policy at the Repass-Rodgers Foundation. Prior to joining the foundation, Rachel served as Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency and as California Water Policy Advisor at Defenders of Wildlife. She has extensive experience litigating and advocating to enhance protections for California’s rivers, and she is passionate about ensuring a future with vibrant salmon runs. Rachel received an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a J.D. and M.S. from Stanford University.

Bryan Eckert, Ph.D.

Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Ph.D. in Cell Physiology from UC Berkeley, commercial and recreational salmon fisherman, lifelong advocate for salmon, and an active participant in related conservation and policy efforts.

Gary Mulcahy

As a member of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and currently acting as the Tribe’s Government Liaison, Gary has worked on and represented the Tribe on water issues, water-related issues, salmon issues, and matters involving Tribal cultural resources affecting the Tribe for over 25 years. He attended Northeastern State University, where he pursued a dual major in Computer Science and Marketing.

Dick Pool (Emeritus Director)

Dick is currently the owner of Pro-Troll Inc., a veteran Central Valley salmon advocate and activist going back to the listing of winter-run salmon in the late 1980s.

Before getting into the fishing tackle business, Dick put in his first career at Kaiser Aluminum as an executive overseeing corporate costs and energy.  After retiring from Kaiser, he turned to his next career in fishing tackle, where he started by designing the world’s best downrigger, the Scotty.  Dick wrote on the secrets of using downriggers and later on using electrical charges to attract salmon.  He helped create one of the first “black boxes” used to control the charges on a downrigger cable.  Dick was among the first to use underwater videography to document salmon being drawn into, and biting, various lures and baits.  Based on that research, he wrote two books and produced three movies on how to catch salmon.   

Dick went on to found Pro Troll and brought the salmon world the rotary salmon killer bait holder and many innovative types of flashers, among many other tackle products. 

He has served on numerous state and federal salmon advisory committees and testified as an expert witness on salmon issues before the California Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2009, he received the American Sportfishing Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his Salmon and Steelhead conservation work. In 2019, he was inducted into the California Outdoor Hall of Fame for his salmon conservation and education work. We are lucky to have his knowledge, passion, and determination on our team.

Mike Bogue

One of the Sacramento River’s best fishing guides.

Robert Boucke

Owner of Johnson’s Bait, Yuba City, Fish and Game Advisory Commissioner, District 3, Sutter County.

Joe Donatini

Owner of Johnson Hicks Marine Electronics, Santa Cruz, and Sausalito.

Andy Guiliano

Andy Guiliano operates the Emeryville Sportfishing Center.  Andy was born and raised in the Bay Area and began charter boat fishing in 1972 at the age of 10.  In 1986, he purchased his first boat, a 17-foot Boston Whaler, and started fishing both for sport and commercially. Over the years, boats got bigger, and beginning in 2008, he began commercial fishing full-time for Dungeness Crab and King Salmon. Emeryville was always his home port, and in 2016, when Emeryville Sportfishing Center needed a new owner, Andy jumped on it.

Chris Lauritzen

Chris Lauritzen is a licensed captain who has run all manner of boats in the Delta and beyond.  His great-grandfather, Hans, emigrated from Denmark to the region in the 1870s, and his grandfather operated a popular ferry service in the early 1900s. Later, the family built Lauritzen Yacht Harbor, located in the town of Oakley, which Chris runs today.  He also keeps a salmon fishing boat in Bodega Bay.