Speakers

Chuck Graham is a freelance writer and photographer based in Carpinteria. He's been a beach lifeguard there for 26 years and leads kayak tours at the Channel Islands National Park, paddling the chain for 25 years.

His book about the Carrizo Plain, chronicling his extensive exploration of the National Monument, began in 2006 and was published in 2022. 

His stories and photos have appeared in Backpacker, Trail Runner, Men's Journal, Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, Photo Technique, Nature Photographer, Living Bird, Earth Island Journal, The Surfer's Journal, The Surfer's Path, Standup Paddle Magazine, SUP the Mag, Canoe & Kayak, Adventure Kayak, Sea Kayaker, Islands, American Forests, BBC Wildlife, Bay Nature, Outdoor California, Ojai Quarterly, Santa Barbara Seasons, Los Angeles Times, Santa Barbara Independent, Montecito Journal, Natural History Magazine, High Country News, National Geographic for Kids, and the Ventura County Reporter.

 

What do these three disparate people have in common? Ojai resident Douglas Parker. A distinguished attorney, he practiced at the same firm as Richard Nixon in the early to mid-1960s and become his counsel during the darkest days of Watergate. Parker also negotiated one of the most high-profile contract cases of its time, the effort by NBA Hall of Famer Danny Ainge to get released from the Toronto Blue Jays to join the Boston Celtics. As if that wasn't enough, Parker wrote the only authorized biography on poet, humorist and legend Odgen Nash.