About Us
San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society (SFBayWS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Friends group that supports the education, interpretation, and research activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
We support the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex as a whole and are based at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont, CA. SFBayWS has been assisting the Refuge since 1987. Our other focus refuges are the Farallon Islands, Salinas River, and Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuges.
Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, the Society is supported by hundreds of individual members and by donations and grants from corporations, foundations, and local government agencies. SFBayWS operates the Nature Store at the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Fremont.
Who We Are
Our Mission
San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society seeks to nurture in the public a sense of understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuges, their natural and cultural history, and to conserve, preserve, and restore bay lands as essential wildlife habitat.
Our Vision
Working with partners, we envision wildlife and natural resources thriving in a healthier SF Bay region/area and a reinvigorated society supporting stewardship.
Our Values
- Adaptive and Responsive: adaptive and responsive to changing environments and habitats, changing needs of programs and objectives.
- Resilient and Committed: resilient practices, embracing change, committed to each other, to our members, and to our responsibilities for the wildlife and land.
- Collaboration and Stewardship: with shared vision and values, collaborate with partners (business, agencies, communities, and individuals) to steward the San Francisco Bay region.
- Diversity and Inclusion: ecological diversity is essential to nurture abundance of species. Inclusive education, outreach, and acceptance of diverse communities and businesses to grow a community of advocacy for the environment in the San Francisco Bay region.
Learn more about us by watching our video, filmed at the Refuge.
What We Do
SFBayWS supports and makes possible annual summer camps at the Refuge, and many additional educational and stewardship programs. SFBayWS employs staff at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) in Alviso. These employees conduct programs for school children and the general public to increase awareness of urban runoff pollution into the south San Francisco Bay and to promote personal behavior changes that will prevent pollution. We also employ staff to conduct programs at Refuge sites on the Peninsula, assist volunteers leading programs in Fremont, and employ a biology associate to assist with research and restoration at the Warm Springs unit of the Refuge.
The Visitor Center at the Fremont Refuge facility introduces the public to the seven Refuges of the Complex and highlights the San Francisco Bay salt pond restoration program, with emphasis on the role the salt marshes play in maintaining a healthy bay. San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society has donated funding to provide interactive educational programs on public computers in the Audio Visual room of the Visitor Center, and the lobby of the EEC, which can aid in learning about the plants and animals of the refuge, and their habitats.
We invite you to visit the Refuge, walk the trails, and visit our Nature Store. The Don Edwards San Francisco National Wildlife Refuge is the largest urban Refuge in the country; surrounded by major freeways, it remains a peaceful island in an urban sea.
Organization
Board of Directors
We’re looking for new board members to join our team! Learn more and let us know you’re interested here.
| President | Namit Saksena |
| Vice President | Ceal Craig, PhD |
| Secretary | Olivia Poulos |
| Treasurer | Ravi Kohli |
| Director | Alicia Chen |
| Director | Ranu Aggarwal |
| Emeritus & Founding Director | Chris Kitting, PhD |
| Director | (position open) |
| Director | (position open) |
Distinguished Volunteers
| Webmaster | Martin Cooper |
| Logo and Branding | Alex Tomlinson |
Financial Reports
- SFBWS FY2024 (Tax Year 2023) IRS 990
- SFBWS FY2023 (Tax Year 2022) IRS 990
- SFBWS FY2022 (Tax Year 2021) IRS 990
- SFBWS FY2021 (Tax Year 2020) IRS 990
- SFBWS FY2020 (Tax Year 2019) IRS 990
- SFBWS FY2019 (Tax Year 2018) IRS 990
Other Information
Our Publications
Tide Rising is a quarterly email newsletter published by SFBWS about the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex. You can read updates on projects; articles about people, flora, and fauna; and about our work with and for the Refuges. Links to upcoming activities are provided when available. Subscribe to the newsletter, or become a member of SFBayWS to support our work.
Other publications of SFBayWS are:
- Exploring Our Baylands by Diane R. Conradson, available at the Nature Store
- Sinking Underwater: A Ghost Town’s Amazing Legacy by Anita Goldwasser and Cecilia D. Craig, available at the Nature Store
- Drawbridge, California, A Hand-Me-Down History by O. L. “Monty” Dewey, tells the story of Drawbridge, the ghost town in the bay.
Become a Supporter of the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. Your membership will include a subscription to the Tide Rising newsletter and a 15% discount at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Nature Stores at the Visitor Center in Fremont, and the Environmental Education Center in Alviso.
Volunteering at the Refuge is a rewarding and valuable experience. Through a variety of public programs, visitors understand and appreciate the natural and cultural history of the Refuge.
Your support of our education, interpretation, and research activities is more important than ever. Any amount you’re willing to donate will be greatly appreciated! Donations may be fully tax-deductible.
