the foundation
Conserving Nature's Beauty
Foundation History
March 3rd, 1990
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation formed
June 12th, 2000
Caulerpa taxifolia first confirmed identification in the lagoon
September 11th 2002
Confirmed eradication of Caulerpa taxifolia in the lagoon
2003-2005
Land donated by the Kelly Family; Discovery Center Building donated from the Aviara Planned Community Sales Office, operations begin at the Discovery Campus
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Members of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation are welcome to nominate individuals to the Board of Directors. Nominees should submit a resume and contact details to the Discovery Campus.
In accordance with the October 2008 bylaws, these nominees will be vetted by the Board Development Committee before going to the Board for election. New Board members shall be ratified during the Annual Meeting of the Members in October of each year.
AHLF TEAM
Lisa Cannon-Rodman, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa is, a member of the board at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, Oceanside-Carlsbad Soroptimist, a Past President of Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary & President of the Quarter 2020-2021, and a current member of Carlsbad Rotary holding the position of social chair, Past Co-Chair for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee, Immediate Past Chair of Hospice of the North Coast Board of Directors, Past Carlsbad Planning Commissioner, and served 12 years as Carlsbad Unified School District School Board Trustee. She was named Woman of the Year 2019 in Senate District 36. In 2021 Lisa was awarded Citizen of the Year by Carlsbad City Council. She has been married to her amazing husband Terrell Rodman for 43 years and both sons Spencer and Preston graduated from UC Berkeley(2010; 2015).
Samantha Richter, Chief Operations Officer
Samantha has been with the AHLF team since September of 2013, graduating from the University of Alabama earlier in 2013 with a B.S. degree in Biology and Marine Science. Samantha has previous experience in research, operations, and tutoring, and currently oversees operational functions at the Lagoon Foundation. Growing up in Vista, she developed a passion for the ocean and the natural environment and continues to advocate and educate people about this natural resource near her home town. Samantha completed her certificate degree in non-profit management through the University of San Diego, is a previous secretary of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee, and currently sits on the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce's Business Ready Committee. She is also a member of the Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club, awarded Rookie of the Year in the 2019-2020 year, and the current programs chair. Samantha is a member of the 2022 class of Leadership North County through California State University at San Marcos.
Emily Bonds, Director of Education
Emily grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and her love for the great outdoors developed at a young age. The warm weather and ocean drew Emily to Southern California, where she attended Chapman University. She received her B.A. in Integrated Education Studies with an emphasis in Leadership Studies and a Minor in Environmental Science. She also studied abroad in Turks and Caicos Island, where she studied marine science and tourism. Her passion for outdoor education and marine science drew her to the AHLF Discovery Center for their Academy of Environmental Stewardship. Emily is excited to continue her work with both the field trip and daily school programs!
Al Cerda Jr., Facilities & Trails Manager
While renovating a native plant garden in his hometown of Vista, Al heard about a new beautiful native plant garden at the Discovery Center. That was in 2006 and Al has been a supporter and volunteer since then, helping in the garden or sharing information with the many visitors at the Discovery Center. Al was elected to the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Board of Directors from 2006 – 2011 and served as Vice Chairman and Master Plan Committee Chair.
Al is a Luiseno Native American, a member of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, along with his mother Nellie Foussat Romero. Al currently serves on the Tribal Council and Powwow committee. Al also served on the Old Mission San Luis Rey Historical Enhancement Committee from 1997 to 2002 and Board of Board of Directors from 2002 to 2008.
Al has 40 years of Automotive Service background which has given him the hands on experience to serve as Facility and Maintenance manager at the Discovery Center.
Al was a member of Boy Scouts of America from 1993 to 2003 serving as Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leader. Al has enjoyed many BSA summer camps and traveling vacation with his family. Albert is a graduate of Vista High School and thankful for the support of his wife Kathy, son Nathaniel (Army Military Police) and son Andrew (Cal Berkeley 2008 graduate).
Erin Hardin, Director of Community Relations
Erin was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada until her family decided to move to Southern California in 2011 for its beauty and endless opportunities. Erin has always loved the outdoors and takes any chance she could to go to the beach, camping, or on a hike. She also has a passion for nonprofits and held internships with various organizations during her time in college. Erin graduated from California State University San Marcos with a B.A. in Business Administration. Combining her love for nature and nonprofits she found her place at Agua Hedionda. Erin is looking forward to connecting with local businesses and families to show them the magic AHLF offers everyday!
Samantha Passovoy, Director of the Discovery Center
Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Samantha developed a passion for nature at a young age. She grew up visiting zoos, aquariums, and nature centers and eventually decided to pursue a career in animal care. Samantha moved to California to attend the Exotic Animal Training & Management (EATM) Program at Moorpark College in 2008 and there developed an interest in both animal behavior and conservation education. After graduating from the EATM Program and subsequently completing a BA at California State University, Northridge, she worked professionally in the animal care field for 14 years. During this time, she trained animals for movies and television, visited schools, libraries and television studios with live animals to do educational presentations, worked as a wildlife care specialist and behaviorist at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and even returned to the EATM Program as an adjunct professor. She is also a current board member for the San Diego Herpetological Society. Samantha is excited to continue to pursue her passion for conservation education by working closely with both staff and guests to inspire the next generation to care for the natural world. As conservationist Baba Dioum said, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught."
Harini Natarajan, Data Entry Specialist
Harini was born and raised in Chennai, India. She moved to the US in 2012 and has been a San Diego local ever since. She has a degree in biotechnology and worked with ERP Systems. She loves nature and has a love for data analysis and process automation and improvements. Harini's favorite hobby and other profession is photography, and she enjoys sharing it with the team at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation. Harini looks forward to optimizing the CRM operations that could actively help in identifying and exploring the avenues to make the AHLF's goals easy to attain.
Grant Thompson, Educational Coordinator
Grant spent his childhood summers exploring the Sierra Nevada mountains with his family - in fact, he’s named after Grant Lake in the Yosemite National Park! His younger years of bug-collecting and aquarium-keeping would pay off at the University of California Santa Cruz where he graduated with a combined degree in Environmental Studies and Biology. Throughout his educational career, Grant volunteered his time at aquariums and nature centers, sharing his love for the natural world with visitors of all ages. Following his undergrad, Grant pursued a career in classroom science education, eventually moving across the Pacific to Tokyo, Japan where he taught at a small international school from 2018-2023. While living in the biggest city in the world, he also completed a Masters in International Innovative Agriculture Science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Grant has now returned to his roots to continue inspiring fascination in the amazing world we all share. (He also collects banana stuff.)
Larissa Fullmer, Director of Trails & Conservation
Larissa is a southern California native who developed a passion for recreational trails and nature after spending a summer working in the wilderness of Yosemite National Park on a backcountry trail crew. She spent the next 14 years leading and mentoring youth corps in various National and State parks in California managing a variety of projects. In addition to Larissa’s passion for the outdoors, she has gathered achievements in the field of professional scuba diving assisting with guiding underwater excursions and marine conservation projects in South Africa and La Jolla, CA. Larissa serves as a board member for Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps, which provides transformative wilderness experiences to priority populations and is based out of Mammoth Lakes, CA. Larissa is grateful her path has led her to the Foundation to combine her passions with managing trails that lead to the sea. She is excited to serve the community through education and outreach performing trail restoration and conservation projects. As famous world-renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once said, “People protect what they love.” Larissa hopes to provide quality outdoor recreational access while protecting our natural resources. She is excited to watch the community fall in love with the lagoon and create meaningful connections to nature.
Brooklynn Deal, Discovery Center Assistant Manager
Brooklynn was born and raised right here in Carlsbad, California. Growing up appreciating its natural scenery and wildlife she was drawn to the Discovery Center when she first heard of it in high school, and became a volunteer focused on critter care. She went on to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara and received a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Professional Writing. Her participation in Phi Alpha Delta, a pre-law professional fraternity, and her days working on Stearns Wharf further fueled her passion for protecting the natural environment. After graduation, she found her way back to Carlsbad and the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation. She’s honored to be a part of this family and have a hand in protecting our local waters!
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation
Animal Ambassadors
Awards
2007
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Award of Excellence – Science Program Winner, Outstanding Educational Program Awards
2013
- San Diego Gas & Electric Earth and Eco Ambassadors Award for Academy of Environmental Stewardship School Program
2017
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards – Community Impact Award
2018
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards - MVP In the Workplace (Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Team)
- Harrah’s All-in 4 Change Popular Vote Winner
2019
- Senator Patricia Bates Honors AHLF CEO Lisa Rodman, as 36th Senate District Woman of the Year
2020
- Voted #1 Nature Center in California by Best Things California
2021
- Kids Out and About Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around San Diego – Voted #7
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce 40 under 40 dynamic young leaders – COO, Samantha Richter
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement and Distinction Awards – Non-Profit of the Year
- North County Economic Development Council – Non-Profit of the Year dual award with CSUSM Senior Experience Program
- CSUSM Senior Experience Program / Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Project – A recipient of the Burnham Leadership Grant for non-profits, the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation utilized a CSUSM Senior Experience team to deliver a detailed market analysis of Agua Hedionda's virtual offerings and provided recommendations for the non-profit to increase revenue and expand its community programs.
- December 4th, is officially Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Day, recognized by County Supervisor Jim Desmond as a Community Hero Award
2022
- California State Senate's Non-profit Of The Year recognized by the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation
2023
- Kids Out and About Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around San Diego – Voted #7
- Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce 40 under 40 dynamic young leaders – Director of Education, Emily Bonds