The Friends of the Thousand Islands is a 501c3 whose purpose is to preserve, protect, maintain and enhance as a unique sanctuary – the Thousand Islands Sanctuary, located in the Banana River Lagoon, in Brevard County, Florida.

  • Educate the public about the value, vulnerability and uniqueness of the sanctuary.
  • Encourage and facilitate private and public financial contributions to enhance the sanctuary through the donation of native plants, sponsorship of preservation activities, support for passive recreation programs, and support for educational activities.
  • Participate and cooperate with Brevard County Parks and Recreation’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program (EEL), the City of Cocoa Beach and other agencies and organizations protecting the Thousand Islands Sanctuary and to advise and assist in the development of plans for the Thousand Islands Sanctuary.
  • Provide assistance and input to any federal, state, county or city environmental, preservation, restoration and recreation programs for the long-range protection of the Thousand Islands Sanctuary.

The Board

Chris Edwards

Chair

Dr Chris Edwards is a retiring biological dentist in Viera. He is a sailor and kayaker, and enjoys both in the Thousand Islands. He is a board member of the BIRLC (Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition) and can be heard on WFIT's Lagoon Minutes.
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Jim Durocher

Vice Chair (Founding Member)

Canoeing the south Thousand Islands in 1983 was a fascinating experience for Jim Durocher. After many years of canoeing and kayaking there, and discovering the Islands were owned by two private property families, he joined others interested in preserving these special places. In 2004, they secured additional funding for Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands, then got the County, City, and State involved in buying and preserving the south Thousand Islands, which culminated in their purchase in 2007 and 2008. The result is a treasure for people, a nursery for wildlife, and a tourist mecca—a win, win, win. The group was founded by some of the original proponents. Jim is a retired Cocoa Beach Property Manager, Kayak Tour Company Owner and Guide, and Coastal Master Naturalist.
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Joanie Regan

Treasurer

Arrived on the Space Coast in 1980 to finish an oceanography degree at FIT and never left because of our great watery environment and abundant wildlife! Involved in the lagoon through non-profits and working at the city of Cocoa Beach for almost 3 decades managing the stormwater utility - building projects that reduce stormwater runoff to the lagoon, helping to maintain the city's extensive stormwater infrastructure and mitigating flood issues in low lying areas. Love paddling, sailing, surfing, hiking and just about anything outdoors in nature. Advocate for our native plants, coastal hammocks, oak trees, resident and migrating birds and our fragile butterflies and pollinators.
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John Cielukowski

Secretary

John Cielukowski is a local award-winning artist and a member of the Brevard Cultural Alliance. He is also a founding member of Earthsave Brevard/Healthy Planet of Brevard. Since 1995, the group has promoted a plant-based diet for human health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. He frequently kayaks the Thousand Islands and is concerned with the impact of uncontrolled development on the health of the Indian River Lagoon.
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Bob Day

Board Member (Founding Member)

Bob Day has been a resident of Cocoa Beach for more than 50 years and a member of the Friends of the Thousand Islands board of directors for more than ten years. Bob worked as an environmental specialist for both Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (now FDEP) and for Brevard County 15 years combined and as a Project Scientist for the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program/OneLagoon for 2 decades. Bob has been a member of the City of Cocoa Beach's Land Management Committee for over 2 decades.
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Ian Gibbs

Board Member

Ian Gibbs grew up in Wisconsin where he enjoyed kayaking and fishing the beautiful fresh water lakes and rivers. He moved to the Cocoa Beach area in 2021 and became a Kayak Tour Guide for Fin Expeditions, one of the top tour companies around. He has spent the last 4 years showing off the beauty and sharing his love of the Thousand Islands with locals and tourists alike on daytime and bioluminescent kayak tours.
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Tim Kozusko

Board Member

A Cocoa Beach native - born in the early days of the Space Center when it was pretty quiet here in town and on the water. As a child, the lagoon and islands were our backyard and we knew them well. The history of the lagoon, both ancient and recent, has always been a curiosity and study for me - and I enjoy sharing it with other waterway and history enthusiasts. Recently retired from NASA after years there as an ecologist.
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Tony Sasso

Director Emeritus (Founding Member)

Jaques DuBois

In Memorial (Founding Member)

Island Governmental Partners

Mike Knight

Environmentally Endangered Lands (EELs)