Ed Mazzarella on Laughter

Ed Mazzarella, Surfrider's Director of Chapters, is featured in the current issue of Wend magazine.

This ends Ed's profile:

For any activist, keeping a sense of humor helps motivation. I’ve learned over the years that people in the environmental movement get so caught up in the stress of what they do that they forget to laugh.

What help make my work stay enjoyable are the outstanding people involved with Surfrider Foundation. From volunteers to staff members, I’ve made some great friendships. We have a great crew at the Surfrider Foundation office, and we’re probably the funniest out of all the environmental nonprofits. We’re definitely funnier than the Ocean Conservancy staff—I don’t know about Sierra Club, because they’ve never invited me to their headquarters. It’s probably because they’re not as funny as we are.

I joke that they’ll bury me at Surfrider Foundation, and maybe it’s true to an extent. However, I do know that after 16 years I still find my job interesting, challenging and rewarding, which is hard for many to achieve. I feel very blessed for everything I have accomplished at Surfrider Foundation and look forward to the next phase of my tenure.