Our Story

The Team

Brooke Halsey – Executive Director

Brooke created the vision for TSI and has driven it though to reality. Before starting TSI Brooke was Sonoma County’s Deputy District Attorney; with a focus on environmental and California State Fish and Game violations. He has been on the Marin County Wildlife and Fisheries Advisory Commission for over 15 years and Commission chairperson from 1994 to 1998. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the SF Tyee Foundation and has served as president and vice president of the Tyee Club, and was participating in Club activities since age 8. Brooke is currently a member of the California Fish and Game Recreational Abalone Advisory Commission. From 2003 to 2006 he was on the board of the Tiburon Audubon Leadership Council (a chapter of the National Audubon Society), and from 2006 to now he is an ex-officio member of the Romberg Center. He is an advisor for the United Angles of Casa Grande (a nationally recognized creek restoration program in Petaluma, CA).

Since 2006 Brooke has taught salmon related programs as an unpaid volunteer in four local grade schools for more than 60 hours each year. He organized and directed the May salmon release events where over 1,200 children released 2,000 salmon into the bay and coordinated the October salmon release at the Romberg Center for more than 1,000 school children. He has built strong connections within state and federal environmental agencies and a strong local support base to carryout these efforts.

Brooke is a native of Tiburon; growing up among community leaders, commercial fishermen, small business owners, school teachers, entrepreneurs and professionals. He grew up fishing and caring for wildlife and the local environment.

Dr. Edward Thor – Director / VP Finance / Teacher

Ed joined TSI in March 2008 after a successful business career, including managing finance and accounting for companies with sales from three million dollars to 1.6 billion dollars, and will manage the financial and business aspects of the institute. Ed brings experience in education and environmental management and he also has a PhD in Natural Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. His studies included a year of marine biology classes. He has a current California Community College Instructor Credential in “Natural Resources and Related Technologies.

He worked at the USFS Pacific Southwest Research Center at Berkeley, developing tools and techniques to improve management of public lands and reduce environment impacts. He assisted the in the development and implementation of new environmental public land management laws, receiving a Letter of Commendation from the Chief of the Forest Service, and trained governmental land managers nationwide. Later he formed a specialized environmental impact assessment company to evaluate and testify in court the probable visual, economic, and social impacts of proposed large projects in rural areas.

Ed is a confident teacher, having taught at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, University of San Francisco, and Diablo Valley College; presented formal papers or talks at more than 50 conferences and workshops, and taught managers from federal and state agencies. He invented an environmental education game for grade school children which was adopted by schools in 18 states, and an adult educational management game that was distributed nationwide and published in two national magazines.

Ed is a Bay Area native and 20 year resident of Tiburon that grew up appreciating the natural environment we have. A fly fisherman from early childhood; growing up a hiker, a biker, a sailor, and Sierra backpacker.

Dan Hubacker – Director / Youth Coordinator (Part Time)

Dan Hubacker has a BS in Environmental Studies. He has ten years employment at public and private high schools, has lead the Casa Grande student managed salmon hatchery for four years, and has assisted Tom Ferrer in the nationally recognized United Angles of Casa Grande program. He is currently managing the partnership between TSI and Casa Grande students where Casa Grande young salmon fingerlings are brought to the Romberg Center and reared in our floating pens until they are large enough to be released into the ocean. Dan will continue his management of the Casa Grande hatchery, but will also join TSI as a part time paid employee assisting in the after school and summer salmon programs.

Andrew Wolf – Biologist

Andrew Wolf grew up in Tiburon and currently lives in San Rafael. He attended Redwood High School and obtained a BS in Natural Science from the University of Puget Sound located in Tacoma, Washington. He just finished working for the Marin Municipal Water District where he assessed the 2009/10 distribution and abundance of endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout in the Mt. Tamalpais watershed. Andrew is an avid conservationist who enjoys the beach, mountain biking, being outdoors, and sports. He is currently working on the TSI’s aquarium and youth science education program. Andrew plans to obtain a graduate degree in Marine Biology or Natural Resource Management.

Candice Guy – Director of Education

Candice grew up in Indiana, but has lived in San Francisco since 2008. She joined the Tiburon Salmon Institute in June 2010 as the Director of Education, and is an elementary school science teacher in the city. Candice began her career in education while working on her Master of Science degree in Population Ecology and Evolution at Purdue University. She has presented at several national conferences and has twice been an invited speaker. Candice is a member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and believes that higher education is attainable for students of all races and ethnicities. In her spare time, Candice can be found cycling, hiking, or hitting the slopes in Tahoe.

Al Springstead - Al's Fishing Report

Introduced to Brooke and TSI during the summer of 2007, Al Springstead is a regular volunteer at TSI and the contributor to Al’s Weekly Fishing Report.

Born in Suffern, New York, Al moved to California when he was just eight years old. Upon graduation from San Rafael High School, Al was drafted by the Army and served one year in Vietnam. Wasting no time upon his return in 1968, he immediately married his young high school sweetheart. After working in several fields he went on to spend 24 years with the United States Postal service, from which he is also retired.

Al spent lots of time fishing as a young boy with his dad. Like his dad, he also finds fishing to be a relaxing and peaceful hobby with the added enjoyment of returning unharmed fish back to the water following the thrill of the catch. Fly and fresh water fishing are Al’s favorite methods of fishing.