Emmy Award-nominated Jeff “Swampy” Marsh is creator and executive producer of Disney Channel’s animated comedy “Phineas and Ferb” for which he nabbed two Emmy nominations for ‘Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics’ and ‘Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music’ in 2008. He also writes songs heard in the series and voices the character of Major Monogram.

Over 20+ years, Marsh has worked for many of the top names in animation: Hanna-Barbera, Film Roman, Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon.

He worked for over six seasons on the critically-acclaimed series “The Simpsons,” including three episodes that won Emmy Awards. He also worked as a storyboard artist and designer for the Emmy Award-winning series, “King of the Hill,” and for four seasons as a writer and director on “Rocko’s Modern Life,” gaining the show an Environmental Media Award. Additionally, he spearheaded production of several feature films and series for the UK-based BKN New Media Ltd. Marsh returned to the U.S. after six years of working various projects for the BBC, ITV and Carlton TV in the U.K.

Born in 1960 in Santa Monica, Swampy now lives and surfs in Venice, CA and has two children and four grandchildren.

Steven was born in Los Angeles and, as a youth instantly fell in love with surfing and skateboarding. In the 1970’s, skateboarding was just beginning to emerge as a culture unto itself, and Steven was one of those who helped establish the style, moves, and music that is now indelibly associated with the scene. For years he traveled the world as a successful model and surf/skate competitor. It was during this time that he began taking photos, avidly documenting his friends and life on the road.

Steven’s talent was evident from the start, and when he returned to California, he embraced photography as a career, approaching his work with the same unflagging dedication that he does surfing. Steven has massaged his talent into becoming a successful commercial director. An avid environmentalist, Steven is the director of The Blue Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve the world’s oceans by combining the efforts of like-minded groups educating the masses. He is also an ambassador for SurfAid International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization whose aim is to improve the health, well being, and self-reliance of people living in isolated communities. Steven lives with his wife Ana and two children, Reilley and Ryder, in Malibu – where he is still an avid competitive surfer. A self-described family of artists and surfers, they all do their best to enjoy the ocean, even if only briefly, every single day.

Jason Wolk has two sons, Lucas and Dylan; the youngest of the two has severe Special Needs. Wolk is committed to creating awareness of Autism as it affects both youths and adults. His commitment to such led to him being a founding board member of A Walk On Water in 2012.

Wolk has spent the last nineteen years line producing and overseeing the launch of advertising production companies.  Preceding that, Jason was a producer of motion pictures & television.  With a vast client list, and a history of delivering A-list work for almost every major creative agency in the USA, Jason’s production company Spears & Arrows has serviced almost every major existing brand.  Jason is extremely value driven and relies on morals, ethics, diligence and transparency in all his affairs, both personal and professional.

Jack grew up in Northern California and frequented not only the ocean in Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and San Francisco, but also the waters of Lake Tahoe. Jack was a lifeguard in his younger years and is part of our water safety crew for AWOW. Jack’s love of the water continues to this day; he enjoys surfing, swimming, stand-up and prone paddle boarding, water skiing, wake surfing and sailing.

Jack is a third generation real estate executive, and with his wife, Michele, founded Equity Advisors Real Estate in 2015 after spending decades working for several large real estate brokerages. Equity Advisors has an emphasis on residential sales, but Jack spent a decade handling commercial transactions so he takes care of commercial real estate deals for clients as needed. Jack and Michele, through Equity Advisors, donate 5% of all commissions earned back to A Walk On Water and 15% if it’s a direct referral from someone associated with AWOW.

Jack is honored to have joined the AWOW Board of Directors in 2018. He also sits on the Boardof Directors at his daughter’s school; Our Lady of Malibu. Jack loves spending time with his wife, and his daughter Mia. All three of them have embraced AWOW and consider the AWOW family part of their own. They reside in Malibu, CA.

Ari is a native of Southern California. As a grom, he and his buddies spent their entire summers riding the local beach bus with their surfboards to and from Malibu Surfrider Beach until they were old enough to drive themselves to their favorite breaks. Ari’s passion for the ocean continues to run deep within him. He frequents breaks in North Los Angeles with his weekend surf crew made up of local dads and their children.

Ari has a long history of dedicating his time and energy to charitable causes that are focused on enriching the lives of children. He has held numerous leadership positions in the Triunfo YMCA, a branch of the YMCA of Southeast Ventura County and played an important role in its fundraising activities. He was the Federation Chief for the Triunfo YMCA Indian Guide and Princess program and is a past board member of the organization.

A proud father of four, Ari’s passion for A Walk On Water originates from his son who is autistic nonverbal. Ari’s son shares his love of the ocean, is happiest in the water and is proud to be one of the many A Walk On Water athletes. Ari’s three teenage daughters love volunteering at A Walk On Water surf therapy events.

Sean Swentek was born in Santa Cruz, CA and grew up all along the coast of CA – never straying far from the beach. He immersed himself in sports from a young age, becoming an accomplished beach volleyball player, while dabbling in nearly every other sport. The majority of his professional career was spent in the hospitality industry, developing his networking and marketing skills. Sean came from a very financially difficult family situation and has always relished the opportunity to improve the lives of those in need. He started his volunteer career 15 years ago with Special Olympics Southern California, also spending time with Children’s Miracle Network and Surfers Healing. It was on the beach with Surfers Healing that Sean first met Pat, and an instant bond was formed over a shared desire to better the lives of those in need.

Sean graduated with a degree in digital marketing from Arizona State University and currently works as Vice President of Social Media for Opus Bank. Sean has a passion for networking and connecting people and projects together and has a natural instinct for working with others, thriving in multitasking environments. He is also a certified sommelier and loves to explore the latest restaurants with his surgeon wife Dr. Lourdes, discovering exciting new food and drink.

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Kim Murphy was born in Southern California but raised in Northern California enjoying camping and waterskiing the beautiful lakes and rivers.

In search of better opportunities she moved back to So Cal and Kim was fortunate enough at a young age to begin her career as a Registered Dental Assistant for a thriving Orthodontic practice. 30 years later has never left that practice! She loves working with kids and found herself becoming intertwined with their families.

Since Kim was always drawn to the water, she was excited when her husband introduced her to surfing. She resides in Ventura with her husband and their two fur-babies-Haole (Ambassadog of AWOW) and Primo.

Kim was so grateful when the opportunity arose to become involved with A Walk On Water, an organization that combines her passions… children, her dog Haole, and surfing.

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Desi was born and raised in Southern California. While growing up in Orange County he was your pretty typical California kid surfing, skateboarding, riding BMX, and playing team sports like Baseball and Soccer. At a pretty early age Surfing took over as his sport of choice. Since then Desi has not looked back.

Desi is a long time surf industry/action sports veteran. Starting out as a competitive surfer, he began working for his sponsors to start his career. First working as operation manager for a small surfboard brand, Desi then went on to work in sales and marketing for an industry leading footwear and clothing company. Most recently, Desi was the Events Director at The Enthusiast Network, where he oversaw a portfolio of events for brands like TransWorld Surf, TransWorld Skate, Surfer Magazine, TransWorld Snowboarding, Stand Up Paddle and more.

Desi has come to AWOW as a seasoned events production professional with a passion for surfing and helping others. Desi spends his time at home in Oceanside, CA hanging with his wife and dog, surfing and enjoying the growing food scene in North County San Diego.

My name is Haole and I am an 9 year old Yellow Lab whose true passion is surfing. I reside in Ventura, Ca with my parents John and Kim Murphy, & my younger dog brother Primo. I have been enjoying beach life since I was 4 months old.A couple of months before my 5th birthday, I “told” my parents I wanted to surf! Upon swimming out to my Dad coming in on a wave, I attempted to get on my Dad’s board and have literally been surfing ever since.

Prior to retiring, I had been competing in the dog surfing circuit for over 3 years, and my parents say I’m well respected throughout the surf dog community. However,my main focus is my involvement with A Walk on Water. My Mom says my calm, mild nature allows me to connect with all people especially children. I have an incredible way of earning their trust. My parents and I find pure happiness in sharing the stoke of surfing with the A Walk on Water athletes and their families. This is my third year surfing with AWOW. According to my Dad, my best quality is making people smile as I cruise in on my waves. I’ve been told that I have the soul of an old surfer, laid back and always happy, and have brought much happiness to those whom I have met along the way. I am proud to represent AWOW as their Ambassadog, am recognized as a Canine Good Citizen, and will continue to surf & spread stoke as long as my 4 legs will allow.