Executive Director

Taylor Viens brings a diverse and well-rounded range of skills to the role of Executive Director at the Santa Cruz Island Foundation. His strong grounding in the environmental and ranching history of the Channel Islands, gained from several years of intensive work on the islands and within their surrounding waters, educational background, and relevant professional experience in both marketing and development combine to make Taylor exceptionally placed to take the helm from longtime founder, Marla Daily. Equally importantly, Taylor has established a rapport with key agencies, educational institutions, and private entities whose missions are likewise intertwined with the Channel Islands.
Following his Bachelor of Arts from New York University, Taylor gained professional experience at the New York Botanical Garden by producing marketing campaigns, photoshoots, and public exhibitions. His subsequent graduate studies at the Royal College of Art in London, where he earned a Master of Arts in Design History as the Anthony Gardner Fellow, were complemented by archival and curatorial work at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Taylor has given academic lectures at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Art & Design, and his research has been featured in peer-reviewed journals.
Taylor continued his career at Assouline Publishing, writing and editing over 50 books, before co-founding a publishing house and releasing the memoirs of the Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi. Since 2019, Taylor has led marketing teams in tech and nonprofits in Santa Barbara, gaining invaluable experience in leadership and brand positioning, as well as nonprofit management and development.

Other relevant experience:

Channel Islands Live Dive: Taylor serves as a SCUBA diver for the National Park Service's "Channel Islands Live," an interactive, underwater live broadcast—from the towering kelp forests of Anacapa Island—that reaches hundreds of elementary-aged children and enables them to experience the underwater realm surrounding our Channel Islands (AAUS Scientific Diver, UCSB)
Islands Experience: Taylor has served extensively as a volunteer for several organizations dedicated to preserving and educating about the California Islands, including the National Park Service (Live Dive, in cooperation with NOAA), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Farallons), United States Navy (San Clemente Island), Channel Islands Restoration (Board Member), Sunflower Star Laboratory (Communications Committee), California Institute of Environmental Studies, Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, The Nature Conservancy, California State University Channel Islands, and more
Caring for Cambodia: Taylor's work in nonprofits began at 12 years old, completing multiple service trips to Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was then appointed as Representative to the United Nations by the international NGO

Taylor assisting with National Park Service's "Channel Islands Live Dive" broadcast.

SCIF Board Members & Advisory Council