Club Officers | Watermen's Alliance

Board of Directors

Our Officers

Experienced leaders with deep roots in California spearfishing, ocean access advocacy, and community organizing.

Josh Russo

President

Josh Russo is an active member of the Northern California dive community and has spent years supporting diver education, safety, and responsible access. He has served in leadership, volunteer, and mentorship roles across the diving community and helps new divers better understand regulations, safe practices, and effective hunting.

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Josh Russo is an active member of the Northern California dive community for the last 10 years. Josh is on the board of directors for Diving For a Cause, an administrator on norcalunderwaterhunters.com, a member of the Solano County Dive Rescue Team, and also does volunteer work with several other organizations that help people recovering from substance abuse. For the last six years, Josh has been sharing his passion for the ocean with new divers as an assistant scuba instructor and licensed guide for spearfishing and abalone diving. He also created a mentor thread on NorCal Underwater Hunters that helps new divers find an experienced diver who can teach them how to understand the regulations, dive safely, and hunt effectively.

Brandi Easter

Vice President

Brandi Easter has been involved in marine resource issues for decades and has represented recreational divers in major California policy processes. She brings deep advocacy experience, long-term diving knowledge, and a strong connection to responsible consumptive use issues.

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Brandi Easter was inspired by Bob Humphrey and Randy Fry. Brandi has been involved with issues related to marine resources since 1998–1999. She served as a Marine Life Protection Act Regional Working Group member from 2001–2002 and then served as a Regional Stakeholder Group member in the final implementation of the MLPA for the North Coast region from 2009–2012, representing the recreational consumptive diver in both cases. She has been a SCUBA diver for over 25 years and a freediver / spearfisherwoman for over 20 years. She also enjoys kayak angling and kayak crabbing. Brandi is a professional commercial advertising photographer.

Volker Hoehne

Chairman of the Board

Volker Hoehne brings decades of public policy, environmental mediation, and California diving experience to the Alliance. His background bridges advocacy, conservation, and long-term strategic leadership across coastal and environmental issues.

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Volker Hoehne has 27 years of public policy experience working on issues such as implementation of wild pig hunting tags, environmental mediation, the Marine Life Protection Act, red abalone management, and economic development in Silicon Valley. His experience serving as Chairman of Humboldt Mediation Services, Vice President of the San Diego Council of Divers, Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, and the Sierra Club gives him an inclusive understanding of environmental interests. Thirty-six years of diving experience gave Volker spearfishing adventures in every California coastal community. He also enjoys SCUBA diving and deer hunting. Volker provides market and financial analysis for Fortune 100 companies such as Hewlett Packard, Sempra Energy, and Eastman Kodak.

Dr. Terry Maas

Secretary

Dr. Terry Maas is a veteran freediver, multiple-time U.S. National Spearfishing Champion, author, filmmaker, and marine resource advocate. His decades of experience in bluewater hunting, education, and conservation make him one of the most accomplished voices in the sport.

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Dr. Terry Maas is a veteran freediver. He started diving when he was 14 years old and has been freediving steadily for the last 47 years. In his early years, Terry won the individual U.S. National Spearfishing Championships four times, and his team won 10 championships. In 1982, his interests turned to bluewater hunting. Over the next 10 years he captured three world records for yellowfin and bluefin tuna, and his 398-pound Pacific bluefin tuna record still stands.

In 1995, Terry published his first book, BlueWater Hunting and Freediving, and later published Freedive. He studied marine biology in his undergraduate work at the University of California and holds three advanced degrees: Doctor of Dental Science from the University of the Pacific, Residency in Oral Surgery from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

His PBS video Bluewater Hunters has been viewed by over 25 million people and helped introduce the sport of bluewater spearfishing to a broad audience. Terry has served as director of the International Blue Water Spearfishing Records Committee, co-host for the Outdoor Channel series Speargun Hunter, and an active advocate for marine conservation and the rights of spearfishers.

Nicholas DuMong

Treasurer

Nicholas DuMong was raised in Santa Barbara and has spent his life around fishing, diving, and California coastal waters. He combines an aquatic biology background with a strong commitment to community, tradition, and the long-term future of the waterman lifestyle.

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Nicholas DuMong was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. His father instilled an early appreciation for all aspects of ocean activities. His earliest memories include fishing from the family boat, getting pushed into waves, and strapping on a mask and snorkel to explore local reefs. These activities led to his exploration of the California coastline from Northern California through the Baja Peninsula.

After high school, Nicholas attended UC Santa Barbara, where he received his degree in Aquatic Biology. Currently, Nicholas is employed in the property management field and is the president of the Santa Barbara Freedivers Club. He finds every opportunity to get out into the ocean, either on his boat or on a shore dive. Given the choice, there is no way he would rather spend his day than stalking through kelp forests in search of white seabass or climbing under a ledge to grab lobsters for a friends-and-family barbecue. He believes the best part of the waterman lifestyle is the tradition and community it creates, and he looks forward to passing those ocean traditions to the next generation of watermen.

About Our Leadership

Guided by the Community

The officers of Watermen's Alliance are drawn from the active spearfishing and freediving community across California. Each brings firsthand experience in the ocean, a long-standing connection to the sport, and practical knowledge of the advocacy and regulatory processes that affect it.

The Alliance's organizational structure is designed to be nimble and issue-responsive. Officers coordinate across member clubs, communicate with regulatory agencies and public bodies, and ensure the organization is positioned to act when opportunities for meaningful advocacy arise.

Full bio information and additional officer detail may be updated as leadership evolves. For organizational inquiries, reach out directly through the Contact page.

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