Salted Roots is a surfing organization for women, girls and “gender expansive people of color.” It

says its mission is to promote a “surf culture rooted in collective power, equity, love, and reverence for the Earth.” ¹ The organization is a fiscally sponsored project of the Social Good Fund, which sponsors a number of left-of-center advocacy, organizing, and outreach projects. ²

It was founded in 2011 and originally called Brown Girl Surf. ³

Background

Salted Roots says it is an organization that promotes surfing centered on the “experiences, expertise, and emotions of Black, Indigenous, girls, women, and gender-expansive folks of color” that focuses on “cultivating a surf culture rooted in collective power, equity, love, and reverence for the Earth.” ⁴

“Salted’’ is a reference salt water from the ocean, while the group says the word “Roots” is meant to ground people in their heritage, the Earth, and community. ⁵

As of early 2024, the organization’s website says more than 3,000 girls, women, and “gender expansive surfers” participated in the Salted Roots programs and community gatherings. ⁶

The group’s initial mission was to empower women of color to learn how to surf and to give them a voice in the industry, according to Surfer magazine. ⁷ The group later promoted environmentalism as a reason for women of color who love surfing to care for the planet. ⁸

Based in Oakland, California, the organization says it uses beaches from Half Moon Bay to Bolinas. ⁹

The group’s staff and volunteers are 90 percent women and girls of color. The group says its six core values are play, community, girls’/women’s empowerment, care for the Earth, arts and expression, and gratitude. ¹⁰

History

The Salted Roots was founded by entrepreneur Farhana Huq in 2011 and was initially known as Brown Girl Surf. Huq chose the name to honor Polynesian women, who were among the first surfers. ^{11 12}

Brown Girl Surf aimed to inspire women of color worldwide about surfing. The organization became known for its “Surfing Possibility” short films. ¹³

Brown Girl Surf was only a website in 2012 where Huq shared content about ethnic minority women surfers. She hired Mira Manickman-Shirley to run community programs to invite women of varying backgrounds to the beach in and around Oakland, California to learn how to surf. ¹⁴

The group launched its first community surf programs in Hunters Point and San Francisco in 2014. In 2015, the organization began its first community surfing programs in Oakland, which grew into the Soul Surfer Program. ¹⁵

In 2016, Manickam-Shirley became executive director of the organization as it began to focus more on the environment. ¹⁶

In 2017 and 2018, staff members Marlim Reynosa and Maya Yamato joined Brown Girl Surf.  Yamato came in as interim executive director during Manickam-Shirley’s maternity leave. She remained as director of operations until 2020. ¹⁷

Advocacy

In 2018, Brown Girl Surf began promoting “equitable beach access.” ¹⁸

After the group’s lobbying, in 2021, the Pacifica Park Beaches and Recreation Commission approved a permit to be held jointly by Brown Girls Surf and City Surf Project. ¹⁹ After that, the group began advocating for “equitable ocean access” and the conservation of ocean life nationally. ²⁰ The organization lobbied to successfully open Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica to more surfing instructors. ²¹

Leadership

Mira Manickam-Shirley is a co-founder of Salted Roots and previous executive director. She has been an environmental educator and artist in the San Francisco Bay area. She is the former youth program coordinator at NatureBridge. ²²

Adriana Dominique Guerrero-Nardone is the executive director of Salted Roots.  She has 13 years of experience in education and youth development. She has previously been on the leadership team for Women’s March Oakland. She is a secretary on the board of directors at Camp Phoenix, and the Alpha Chi Omega chapter advisor at the University of California, Berkeley. ²³

Madoka Hara is the program director for the group. She has been a full-time yoga, mindfulness, and sex-ed instructor at high schools across the Bay Area in California. ²⁴

Naomi Fuad is the surf program lead for the group. She previously worked in Cambodia in anti-trafficking. ²⁵

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2. “Current Projects.” Social Good Fund. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/
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