Why We Exist
Connection. Learning. Perspective. Leadership.
We are inextricably connected with the natural world. Sea Forward brings together donors, foundations, and DAF holders to foster the collaboration and capital needed to accelerate positive change for our ocean.
© Shawn Heinrichs
From a marine biologist's insight to a self-renewing model for ocean capital
Laura Francis spent 27 years at NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary developing marine education programs, coordinating ocean research, and building national strategies. Through it all, she saw that the science was strong, the innovative solutions were emerging — but the capital to scale them was not.
She began pooling capital informally with other donors to access ocean impact funds none of them could reach alone. That collaborative concept grew into the Sea Forward Everblue Model — a self-renewing approach that pools philanthropic capital across diversified ocean impact funds, reinvests returns, and ripples learning outward through the field. Today Sea Forward supports 200+ portfolio companies across 9+ funds. Led by women, rooted in science, built to regenerate.
Our Brand Values
What guides every decision, investment, and action
Every decision we make is shaped by a set of values we hold as non-negotiable.
Collective Action for the Ocean
No donor, foundation, or fund can restore the ocean alone. We bring people together — pooling capital, sharing diligence, co-investing, and organizing isolated donors into a coordinated force. The ocean needs a movement, not a moment. Together, we create the current.
Science-Grounded
Sea Forward was founded by a marine biologist. Every investment decision begins with ecological fluency — what does the ocean actually need? That lens shapes how we evaluate, select, and learn from every fund we back. Guided by the science. Measured by what changes in the ocean.
Catalytic by Design
We deploy capital with the explicit intention of creating outsized ripple — unlocking larger flows, inspiring peer investors, and de-risking markets so that follow-on capital can follow. Returns regenerate capital for new investments, building a continuous swell of ocean capital. Small tickets. Big ripple.
Designed for Every Size Donor
We built an Everblue endowment where the door is open to everyone — from first-time donors to major foundations — because the ocean needs all of us. Every contribution, whatever its size, is meaningful, grows over time, and keeps working for the ocean long after it's made. Meaningful at every level. Returns that keep giving.
Field-Builders, Not Just Fund Investors
We invest in the enabling ecosystem as much as the portfolio — through education, events, investor immersion, peer networks, and publications that grow the entire ocean finance field, not just our own returns. Our Annual Insights Report is public. Growing the field matters as much as growing the fund. Beyond the portfolio.
Ocean Regeneration AND Financial Return
We reject the false trade-off. A thriving ocean is not in conflict with financial viability — it is the precondition for it. Sea Forward exists to demonstrate, investment by investment, that these outcomes reinforce each other. Not 'or.' And.
The Team
People behind the mission
Our team brings together expertise in marine science, conservation finance, communications, and impact investing — united by a shared passion for the ocean.
Laura Francis
Fund Director
A marine biologist and educator for the past 30 years, Laura has dedicated her professional career to ocean conservation. She worked at NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary for 27 years in education and outreach before turning her focus to philanthropy and impact investing. She is passionate about supporting a healthy, sustainable ocean and strives to make impact investing more collaborative, accessible, and inclusive. To this end, she joined the Toniic investor network and founded the Sea Forward Ocean Health Fund at ImpactAssets, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Laura is also on the board of Ocean Conservancy. As an enthusiastic world traveler, Laura finds great joy in being in and around the water whenever she can. Whether it's scuba diving through coral reefs, snorkeling with sperm whales, or kayaking at her local beach, she believes it is these direct, personal experiences with the ocean that inspire hope and motivate action.
Natalie Shriber Klatt
Senior Investment Consultant
Natalie brings more than 15 years of private market fund investment and co-investment experience across asset classes, geographies and investment strategies. Her track record spans more than 65 impact and commercial fund investments in diverse sectors ranging from tech and tech-enabled businesses, agriculture & forestry, FMCG, financial services, infrastructure, climate and social impact. She has served on countless investment advisory boards and is a passionate advocate committed to co-creating a world where all people and planet thrive. Natalie is also a coach and holistic healing practitioner, supporting individuals and groups to up-level their lives, businesses and impact by doing deep inner work and taking aligned action to radically transform their lives.
Nicole Wald
Communications & Marketing Strategist
Nicole is a charismatic content strategist, producer, and educator. Nicole's clients depend on her to build sustainable communications infrastructure and promote memorable brand stories that engage and empower their audiences to make a difference in the world. She often employs her skills with organizations that focus on educating youth as well as those that work to create environmental solutions, like Sea Forward.
Jaden Gill
Communications Specialist
Jaden dove into the world of communications, marketing, and public relations in 2022, quickly discovering her true passion—storytelling for impact. From sun-soaked beach days growing up in California to rugged Oregon coast adventures in her new PNW home, Jaden's connection to the ocean runs deep. Always searching for new ways to spark meaningful change through words, she is excited to merge her writing and content development skills with her drive to protect our planet's most precious resources.
Shey Dorji
Ocean Impact Metrics and Reporting Intern
Shey has a background in marine biochemistry and brings direct experience in climate finance, aquaculture commercialization, and blue biotechnology. He's worked in this capacity across Hawai'i, California, and Bhutan. Shey is currently a Master's student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, specializing in Business Sustainability and Coastal Resource Management, with a focus on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. A lifelong freediver and fisherman, Shey is excited to bring his unique blend of skills to support Sea Forward with investment analysis, communications, and program design.
Past Interns
The next generation of ocean leaders
Sea Forward is proud to have mentored emerging ocean professionals through our internship program. These talented individuals have gone on to make their own waves in the field.
Mara Booth
UCSB Bren School
Mara joined us while working towards her Master's at UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science and Management with Specializations in Coastal Marine Resources and Business and Sustainability. With a rich background in academic research, project management, and outreach, Mara brings a genuine passion for the ocean, nurtured through her experiences as a dive instructor and sailing captain. She's enthusiastic about exploring ocean impact investing and looks forward to contributing her unique perspective to our team.
Virginia Pan
UCSB Bren School
Virginia worked as an intern with Sea Forward as she was earning a Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) at University of California Santa Barbara's Bren School. At Bren, Virginia specialized in Corporate Environmental Management and Coastal Marine Resource Management with a focus in Environmental Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Virginia received her B.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University and earned a certificate in Marine Science Conservation and Leadership. Virginia has a strong technical background in research, engineering, and marine science and has conducted research in marine technology development and deployment at Duke, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Georgia Institute of Technology, and UCSB. She is currently an associate with SWEN Capital Partner's Blue Ocean Fund.
Danielle Turner
UCSB Bren School
Danielle is a masters student at UCSB's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management specializing in Coastal Resource Management and Conservation Planning with a focus in Communications. Her love for the ocean began as a child with trips to the beach and visits to the aquarium, which grew into a passion for ocean conservation as she learned more about threats to marine life and coastal communities. As the Sea Forward Ocean Impact Metrics intern, Danielle applied her project management, partner engagement, and data analysis skills to help support the development of the 2024 Sea Forward Insights Report.
Our Partners
Working together for the ocean
Sea Forward collaborates with a network of leading organizations to accelerate ocean impact at scale.
Our fiscal sponsor and platform partner. ImpactAssets provides the Donor-Advised Fund infrastructure that powers the Everblue Model and makes collective ocean investing possible.
A collaborative DAF platform and strategic partner. DAF Commons helps align donor-advised fund capital with high-impact opportunities, including ocean-focused investments through Sea Forward.
Ocean Working Group
A global network of impact investors advancing ocean health through coordinated capital deployment. Sea Forward is an active participant shaping the field alongside Toniic members worldwide.
Sea Forward is a certified 1% for the Planet Environmental Partner — committing to science-grounded environmental impact and accountability as a core part of how we operate.
Sea Forward uses the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition's Ocean Impact Navigator as our primary KPI framework for publishing findings annually in our Insights Report.
A mission-driven investment and advisory platform pooling capital for impact. Sea Forward partners with CataCap to make impact investing accessible starting at just $250, connect with aligned investors, and accelerate ventures advancing a regenerative blue economy.
No single donor, investor, or organization is going to solve the ocean crisis alone. The magic happens when we bring the right people into the same room — scientists, philanthropists, investors, policymakers — and act as a coordinated force for greater impact.
— Laura Francis, Founder, Sea Forward Fund
Join Us
Let's make waves, together.
Your capital doesn't have to watch from the shore. Whether you're a first-time donor or a major foundation, there's a place for you here — and a community ready to welcome you into it.
© Shawn Heinrichs