Photo by Jeanne Ciasullo

Rhea Drysdale | Surfrider Girl

Rhea can’t surf, but she is the chair woman of the First Coast Chapter executive committee of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting local beaches. Contrary to popular belief, one does not have to be a surfer to join. You just have to respect the beach. “I was raised to always respect the beach…that was in my blood from day one,” says 25-year-old Rhea, whose father was captain of the Atlantic Beach Life Guards for ten years. “Our beach and our water are very clean and we want to keep it that way,” she says. Her biggest challenge is informing the public about beach erosion and how to prevent it—don’t walk on the dunes! She says the community can help out on a larger scale by voting people into office who are environmentalists. “You have to make change on a big level,” she says.

In addition to being the chairwoman for First Coast Surfrider, Rhea is the online marketing director for Less Everything.

The First Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation was established in 2001, but the original Surfrider Foundation was established in 1984 in Malibu, California.  Learn more about the First Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation at www.firstcoastsurfrider.com .