Bruce E. Bekkar MD

Dr. Bruce Bekkar’s local environmental efforts began in 1991 when he helped found the first local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in San Diego. Since 2005, he has focused on the threats posed by climate change- specifically, risks to human health and our oceans. He left his medical practice in 2013 to work full-time on these issues and currently serves as the public health representative to San Diego’s Climate Action Plan Implementation Group and the Executive Committees of TAG Indivisible and the North San Diego Chapter of Climate Reality.

Recently, he was Vice-Chair of Del Mar’s Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee, the spokesperson for Surfrider’s S.T.O.P. climate change initiative, and he has traveled to the State Capitol with the American Lung Association to lobby with the Doctors for Climate Health. As a 2015 graduate of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps program, he co-leads their Health Issues community and mentors at U.S. training. Bruce speaks frequently to community groups, university students, local city councils, and anyone who wants to learn what they can do about our climate crisis.