Ocean Institute in Dana Point named Dan Pingaro president and chief executive, effective April 24.
He replaces Dori Dennis Moorehead, who left in January and had been the institute’s chief executive for about 18 months.
He was most recently executive director of Laguna Beach Community Foundation, which he helmed for three years, and for five years was chief executive and Newport, R.I.-based Sailors for the Sea, an ocean conservation nonprofit that worked with the sailing and boating community and was founded by David Rockefeller, Jr.
Pingaro led Sailors for the Sea from “a nascent New England nonprofit to a global organization with international affiliates,” according to the Ocean Institute.
Pingaro also worked for 10 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Water Division and founded a technical sailing gear and apparel firm, which grew to include chandleries across the U.S. Chandleries are stores that sell nautical parts, gear, and other commodities.
Pingaro received his bachelor of science in recreation resource management from Colorado State University and studied natural resource planning and interpretation at Humboldt State University in its master’s program.
The Ocean Institute was founded in 1977 as the Orange County Marine Institute. It’s an ocean education center with programs that include marine science, maritime history, and outdoor education.
