JUDGES

Greg Bertish (Chairman)

Greg Bertish is a South African waterman, adventurer, businessman, social activist and philanthropist. Greg was brought up in and on the water in Cape Town, South Africa, with his two brothers, Conn and Chris (who won the 2010 Mavericks competition and recently completed a solo SUP crossing of the Atlantic), sailing, water-skiing, surfing, windsurfing and kayaking from the ages of 5 years old. After traveling the world surfing, Greg founded True Blue Surf Travel in 1998, Africa’s first surf travel company. After becoming the first person to surfski at Dungeons in huge surf, Greg began stand-up paddle surfing in 2008. He represented South Africa at the 2012 World SUP Champs and has competed in and won numerous SUP events in multiple disciplines. He is also a South African champion lifesaver and a former nominee for the Raw Courage Big Wave award.

Following a series of life-threatening heart surgeries precipitated by a heart valve infection contracted in the tropics, Greg started All-Heart to assist persons dealing with trauma and medical hardship resulting from heart and other related health problems. In 2016, he sailed an 8-foot dinghy 200km around the Cape of Storms, wrote a children’s book about the experience, and started a non-profit organization, The Little Optimist, to raise money for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and to inspire children and survivors of serious medical conditions to never give up. In 2004, Greg founded (and remains the chairman of) Sharkspotters, a non-profit organization dedicated to the sustainable coexistence of sharks and people that developed and runs the first and only shark detection, protection, and warning system of its kind in the world.

Chris Dennis

Chris Dennis is an accomplished surfer and free diver from Trinidad & Tobago. He comes from a very humble background, being born and raised in the coastal fishing village of Balandra, where he developed a deep affinity for the ocean and ventured into surfing. Surfing was his way out of poverty and opened up many opportunities for him. In addition to representing Trinidad & Tobago at surfing's World Qualifying Series for a few years, he has also focused his efforts on helping to improve the sport locally by coaching and mentoring young and upcoming talent. It is through the intervention of sport that Chris sees the possibility of positively affecting the lives of young people and dissuading them from a life of failure and frustration. 

In 2018, Chris teamed up with the Positive Vibe Warriors Foundation from California/USA to do a surfboard drive and get surfing equipment for the purpose of introducing more youth to the sport of surfing, a successful effort that was profiled in the film, “Breaking Boundaries”.

In June 2019, Chris co-founded the non-profit organization Waves for Hope, offering youth & community development programs. The surf therapy program for at-risk youths in underserved communities of Trinidad uses a safe space, caring mentors, the fun activity of surfing, and evidence-based exercises to build healthy relationships and develop skills to cope with stress. The beach functions as a safe space where the participants are mentored by caring coaches and are given the opportunity to learn new skills to cope with their difficult situations and build positive relationships.

Jesse Richman

Hailing from Haiku, Hawaii, Jesse Richman is a big-wave kitesurfer and a big air kiteboarder. He is a two-time World Champion and the first kitesurfer to get barreled at Jaws. He is also known for his world record 790’ tow-up and 170’ jump over land. He began kiteboarding when he was nine years old with his brother, Shawn, and in 2003 they both signed endorsement deals with Naish Kiteboarding. In 2008, he became the Kiteboard Pro World Tour (KPWT) World Champion, and the following year earned the title of International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) Overall Kitesurfing World Champion. After being crowned back-to-back World Champion, Richman joined the Naish International Kiteboarding Team in 2011. He stopped competing full-time the same year, to turn his focus to big wave riding at Jaws. Despite the change in focus, he went on to win back-to-back AWSI Kiteboarder of the Year awards from 2012 to 2013, as well as the 2013 Red Bull King of the Air competition.

Richman then got involved with MaiTai, a non-profit organization comprising entrepreneurs, innovators, and athletes focused on giving back to the environment, where he has fulfilled roles as a kiteboarding instructor as well as a speaker. He has also participated in the Ocean Gala, a collaborative fundraising event between MaiTai and the Ocean Elders to raise money to expand protected ocean areas. In August 2015, Richman and a team of 6 other kiteboarders attempted a world record run for the longest kiteboarding journey along the northern section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The goal was to raise funds and awareness for motor neuron disease, as well as highlight the importance of the reef’s conservation. The team completed the run in 8 days on August 21, after kiting 1237 km from Vlasoff Reef to Cape York and raising over $125,000 for MND Research Centre at Macquarie University.

Jesse is sponsored by Naish Kiteboarding.

Kris Primacio

Kris, who is Hawaiian but grew up in Seattle, Washington, has been obsessed with surfing since she first got pushed into a wave at San Onofre in 2011. Her passion for surfing, combined with the solace she found in the water after her father was diagnosed with cancer, led her to begin volunteering for surf therapy programs, which eventually led to her current position as the executive director of the International Surf Therapy Organization (ISTO), a non-profit organization she helped found in 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.

ISTO, the fiscal sponsor and partner to the Aloha Award, is a collective of the world’s leading surf therapy practitioners, clinicians, researchers, and influencers. As the #1 resource for the surf therapy sector, ISTO sponsors, develops and disseminates research, evaluation, and training tools, programming, and conferences on surf therapy for the benefit of its 135 surf therapy member organizations and the general public.

Kris utilizes her psychology degree as a highly-skilled, compassionate, empathetic, and solutions-oriented professional dedicated to providing exceptional care for children, adolescents, and adults. She has provided care and support to patients and family members in healthcare environments, Seattle Children's Hospital, Group Health Hospital, the Special Olympics, and Northwestern Hospital, to name a few. Kris uses her branding and fundraising background to help bring exposure and identity to ISTO. She applies her genuine love for the sport of surfing and proven knowledge of the therapeutic powers of the ocean to help advance the exposure and research on surfing as a health intervention through ISTO.

Brisa Hennessey

Brisa grew up in the jungle of Costa Rica with her parents before moving to Oahu’s North Shore, while also spending chunks of time in Fiji. Brisa grew up immersed in nature with access to some of the world’s best waves, where she has nurtured a deep connection to the ocean and surfing.

Brisa is a professional surfer, a two-time ISA gold medalist, gold medal winner of the 2019 Pan American Games, represented Costa Rica at the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, and is now sending it on the WSL championship tour, where she won first place in the Hurley Pro at Sunset Beach.

Brisa's heart of gold, love of sharing the sport of surfing with people in and out of the ocean and promoting the Aloha spirit makes Brisa an exceptional global ambassador of surfing and the Aloha Award.