Justin Hodges
Justin first joined The Marine Mammal Center as an animal care volunteer in 2016 and was hired in the Dispatch office two years later. In his current role, Justin oversees the Center’s response capabilities from San Mateo County to Mendocino County and east to Yolo County. He is responsible for recruiting and training new response volunteers, and manages the day-to-day response operations in conjunction with the Dispatch office.
As Northern Range Operations Manager, Justin is a key member of the Field Operations management team, which includes duties related to the high-level response program, such as continued training, volunteer management, partner organization collaboration, gear cache location acquisition and resource management.
Justin holds a Level 2 whale disentanglement certification and has participated in three whale entanglement responses. During his time at the Center, he has built out a series of monthly virtual trainings that focus on specific areas of response work. Justin has also found and upgraded four gear cache locations throughout the northern range (Pillar Point Harbor in San Mateo, Bodega Marine Labs in Sonoma, Gualala Veterinary Clinic in Sonoma, and Fort Bragg in Mendocino), ensuring response teams can access the specialized equipment they need and act quickly in those areas.
Justin was born in South Lake Tahoe, where he enjoyed outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and wakeboarding. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and continues to enjoy the outdoors while taking advantage of everything the city has to offer such as eclectic restaurants and bars, various shows and just relaxing at the beach.
Areas of Expertise
- Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership
- Emergency Situation Management
- Conservation
- Wildlife Health and Welfare
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