Mary Alice Cerrito Fettis is a lifelong Monterey resident and dedicated community leader, known for her unwavering commitment to civic engagement, cultural preservation, and ocean conservation. As Chair of Whalefest Monterey, she plays a central role in promoting marine education and public awareness through this widely celebrated event.

Born into a prominent local family, Mary Alice is the daughter of Sal and Alice Cerrito, early pioneers in Monterey’s restaurant industry. She later co-managed Cerrito’s Neptune Table, a beloved dining institution on Old Fisherman’s Wharf. Her academic journey took her to Santa Clara University, where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Teaching History. Following her studies, she traveled to over 45 countries as a charter flight attendant, gaining a global perspective that continues to influence her community work.

Over the years, Mary Alice has held influential leadership roles throughout the Monterey Peninsula. She has served as President of the Monterey Hotel & Restaurant Association and the North Fremont Business District, as well as a board member of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and the Hellenic Cultural Institute. With more than 25 years of experience in both real estate and international commodities, she currently manages her family’s real estate interests.

As President of the Fisherman’s Wharf Association, Mary Alice helped elevate the Wharf’s international profile by organizing major cultural and heritage events, including Whalefest Monterey, Art on the Wharf, All Things Italian, and Japanese-American Heritage Days. Her work has been recognized with prestigious honors such as the Sea Star Award from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Laure Bride Powers Award from the Monterey History & Art Association.

Mary Alice resides in Carmel Valley with her husband, Nicholas Fettis, a composer, pianist, business owner, and property manager. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, the arts, outdoor activities, and spending time with family and friends. Through all her endeavors, she remains deeply committed to Whalefest and the ongoing protection of our ocean environment.

Jen Petrovich brings over 35 years of experience in finance, accounting, and business analysis, working with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations across diverse industries. Her career spans roles as both an internal team member and an external consultant through her own financial advisory firms. Jen considers the pinnacle of her career her time at Bet Tzedek, a Los Angeles-based legal aid nonprofit, where she served as CFO and later COO, helping to provide free legal services to the city’s most vulnerable populations.

Earlier, as CFO of a start-up sports beverage company—one of its first ten employees—she played a key role in its growth and eventual sale to Coca-Cola in 2021, marking the company's largest brand acquisition to date. Jen also held executive roles in film and television marketing agencies, further broadening her leadership experience.

Beyond finance, Jen has consistently demonstrated a talent for fostering strong team culture, building trust and morale, and serving as a reliable bridge between senior leadership and departments such as legal, HR, IT, and accounting. Her advice is grounded in decades of hands-on experience and a practical, strategic mindset.

Antoinette Saylor, Executive Director of Whalefest Monterey.

Antoinette Saylor comes from a background in mass communications and radio, TV and stage productions. After several decades in the Silicon Valley startup business world where she specialized in all facets of marketing, including communications, market research and business analysis, and running a successful consulting business; she has come full circle in working with non-profits on producing public events in Monterey, CA.

All this experience has been applied to her work with Whalefest Monterey since 2012. She has been responsible for exhibits, the Symposium, and overall logistics; as well as overseeing team efforts in marketing, budgeting, fundraising, and running day to day operations in her role as President and Executive Director.

Antoinette holds a B.A. in Radio TV, M.A. in Theater Arts and M.B.A, all from San Jose State University, where she also taught courses in Public Relations for several years. She and her husband reside in Monterey, which has been her home since the early 1990s.

Peter Adame, Board Member of Whalefest Monterey.

🌍 https://monterey.surfrider.org/

Chair of the Monterey County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation

Peter has been volunteering as Chair of Surfrider Monterey since June 2021 where he’s supported by coordinating monthly social mixers, managing digital communications, and relaunching their Ocean Friendly Restaurant program. As chair, Peter leads the Monterey County chapter's executive committee and the chapter's activities such as monthly beach cleanups, policy initiatives, community outreach, fundraisers, and represents the chapter on the Monterey County Plastic Pollution Coalition. 

Outside of volunteering with Surfrider, Peter has built a career in seafood sustainability. He’s the former outreach manager of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program and is now the Director of Communications & Sustainability at Lusamerica Foods—a seafood wholesaler and processor distributing seafood across the West Coast to some of America’s largest grocery stores and food service companies. Pete’s free time is filled with beach volleyball, surfing, tennis, co-ed softball, traveling, and volunteering with Shoreline Community Church.

Learn more about Peter: https://www.surfrider.org/news/activist-spotlight-peter-adame-with-the-monterey-chapter

Learn more about Surfrider Foundation:

Mission: The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches, for all people, through a powerful activist network. https://monterey.surfrider.org/

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

John Ryan, P.h.D. is a biological oceanographer with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California. 

John received the B.S. degree in biology from the University of Massachusetts in 1988.  He worked in terrestrial wildlife biology and marine science before completing the Ph.D. degree in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island in 1998.  His graduate research focused on phytoplankton ecology in the northwestern Atlantic and was supported by a fellowship from the Office of Naval Research.  John began a postdoctoral fellowship at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in fall 1998, working across biological and chemical oceanography research labs.

Appreciating the strong science / engineering collaborations at MBARI, John has since remained there for more than a quarter century.  His research focuses on relationships between ecosystem processes and marine life — from plankton to whales.

Over the course of more than three decades spent working in education, Dan Albert Jr. was a teacher, coach and activities director before becoming a district administrator. In June 2016, he retired as the associate superintendent of business services with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. A native of Monterey, he attended local public schools. Dan also volunteered for various community organizations, such as the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, the Committee to Restore Monterey Peninsula Schools, the Educational Foundation of Monterey Peninsula, the Rotary Club of Monterey, and the Lyceum of Monterey.

Dan's leadership approach is to be collaborative, equitable, strategic, and accountable. He says he strives to build consensus around common goals and to employ strategies that produce measurable results. Dan had a real-life role model to look to. His father, Dan Albert Sr., served 10 terms as mayor from 1986 to 2006 and two terms before that on the City Council from 1979 to 1986. “My father has obviously been an influence,” says Albert Jr. “I’m proud of him and his accomplishments.” (Source: Monterey County Weekly)

Alma mater: San Jose State University (bachelor’s degree, industrial arts; master’s degree, educational leadership).