Katie Pettit

Board Member
Why do you volunteer with Coastkeeper? I learned about the Waterkeeper Alliance through my first legal internship with LA Waterkeeper. I absolutely fell in love with the mission, values, and model of the chapters within the alliance, including San Diego Coastkeeper. Coastkeeper positively impacts so many San Diegans and waterways through a brilliant combination of scientific testing, community engagement, litigation, and advocacy. Being born and raised in San Diego, I have a deep love for our beaches, bays, rivers, and habitat, and wish to preserve these spaces for generations to come. I am consistently in awe of the breadth of Coastkeeper’s work, and feel grateful to contribute as a volunteer.
What do you wish everyone knew about Coastkeeper? Each facet of Coastkeeper’s work builds off and informs one another. Coastkeeper continuously monitors and tests San Diego’s bodies of water and uses the data to alert the public of unsafe conditions, advocate for actions from our elected officials, form an evidentiary basis for litigation, and inform where it should focus its efforts. Coastkeeper further raises awareness through youth education and volunteer programming, engaging San Diegans who in turn support its efforts and will grow to be leaders in the field. This multi-faceted approach is incredibly unique and effective.
I want to see a world where: a clean environment and natural spaces are accessible to everyone, are adequately valued and protected, and are not treated as partisan issues.
San Diego Coastkeeper Board Member Katie Pettit

Katie Pettit is an attorney at Chatten-Brown Law Group, a petitioner-side environmental law
firm. She has worked on trial court and appellate litigation on behalf of several nonprofits and
community groups, including the Sierra Club, Endangered Habitats League, and Pixley
Residents for Environmental Justice, successfully challenging proposed developments
throughout California for their impacts to greenhouse gas emissions, environmentally sensitive
habitat, air quality, fire risk and evacuation, and safety from explosive and volatile chemicals.

One of the cases Katie has worked on resulted in permanent preservation of 1,300 acres in
Proctor Valley, an area vital to the endangered California gnatcatcher and Quino checkerspot
butterfly. She continues to litigate to preserve San Diego’s incredible biodiverse habitat.

Katie is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and the University of San Diego Law
School. She lives in Oceanside, where she enjoys biking the San Luis Rey river trail, playing
pickup soccer, and visiting Fallbrook Winery.