Clean Up The Lake Staff & Key Volunteers

Colin West, Founder and Executive Director

Colin West, Founder & CEO

Colin West has 10 years of experience as a SCUBA diver and is a certified PADI Divemaster and Open Water SCUBA Instructor.. With a decade of experience as the Owner, Director and Executive Producer (EP) of a film & television production company, he has managed overseas operations, including project logistics, documentation, & personnel from 5 to 30 people on set at a time. His content has aired on networks such as Amazon Prime, ABC International, HULU, Virigin Media, In Flight Entertainment programs & more. Colin’s expertise in multi-faceted project management, campaign development & SCUBA help to guide our organization to success.

Klemen Robnik, Operations Manager

After relocating from Slovenia to Nevada, Klemen joined CUTL looking for safe diving opportunities and quickly found himself managing them instead. He brought 15+ years of experience in product, project, and operations roles – from leading a technology nonprofit to building enterprise software platforms. Today he runs year-round dive operations, coordinates weekly cleanup teams, oversees equipment, vessels, and assets, and builds the procedures that keep cleanups running safely and efficiently. His operations background combined with his love of being underwater helps CUTL execute its mission. When not coordinating dive ops, he’s usually freediving the California coast, exploring the Sierras, or out on Lake Tahoe.

Jenny Uvira, Programs Manager

Jenny is an environmental engineer, data-driven impact, and public service. A data nerd turned lake defender, she now spends more time in wetsuits and spreadsheets than boardrooms. She currently serves on multiple local boards, where she champions sustainable recreation and smarter land use. With a former life as an electrical engineering, Jenny brings systems thinking, a sharp eye for analytics, and just enough sass to keep things interesting. If there’s a task no one wants to do, she’s probably already convinced someone else to do it—and made them excited about it. When she’s not knee-deep in cleanup planning, you can find her on a hiking trail, a mountain bike, or a golf course—preferably with a little trash bag in tow.

Key Contractors

Steve Clark, Lead Instructor for the Environmental Dive Center

Steve Clark, Lead Instructor for the Environmental Dive Center at Clean Up The Lake, grew up in Incline Village and graduated from Incline High (Class of ’86) and the University of Southern California (B.A. in Public Relations, ’90). A retired Captain from the Reno Fire Department after a 30-year career, Steve has been diving since 1997 and is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, SSI Divemaster Instructor, and American Red Cross BLS Instructor. He has certified over 200 divers in basic, advanced, and specialty courses, bringing decades of experience to environmental diving and training.

Ludovic Fekete, Cinematographer and Photographer

Ludo has been a huge support to our organization both on and off the water. His dedication, strength and skills have greatly contributed to the success of our scuba clean up programs. Whether it is freediving for litter or capturing picturesque shots, we can always count on him to show up with a smile!

Current Board Members

Simon Hayes, Board Chair

A native of the UK who grew up in Switzerland, Simon Hayes came to the USA nearly 30 years ago to work in Silicon Valley. During his career, he held executive roles in corporate and business development at companies such as Cisco and Citrix before becoming part of the early leadership team at several software start-up companies. During his time in California, Simon and his family always loved Lake Tahoe and had their vacation home in Incline Village. As they transitioned into their “next phase,” Simon and his wife moved up to live in the Tahoe area full-time four years ago. A keen scuba diver and a certified divemaster, Simon became an avid volunteer with Clean Up the Lake and became one of the scuba diving leaders during the 72-mile clean-up of Lake Tahoe. Inspired by the mission and impact the organization was driving, Simon decided to leverage his business and organizational leadership experience to the Board of Clean Up the Lake and was elected Board Chair in 2024.

Mike Peron, Board Member

Aside from his jobs that pay the bills, Mike serves the community in a multitude of ways. He’s an active board member at Tahoe Chamber, Boys & Girls Club, and T.R.Y.P. He’s an associate board member for the League to Save Lake Tahoe and Tahoe South, as well as Emcee of non-profit events such as: Live Violence Free Gala, Soroptimist Fundraisers, Blue Ribbon Awards, etc. Mike is proud to call Lake Tahoe home for over 10 years and it holds a very special place in his heart that delivers world class recreation mixed with world class entertainment! His passion for people, music, sports, dancing, and the great outdoors can be felt by all in the community. #LivinItAndLovinIt

Jeff Cowen, Board Member

Jeff currently serves as Public Information Officer for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), where he has worked on the communications team from 2006 to 2014 and to which he returned in 2020. As a Tahoe sportfishing captain of eight years, Jeff marveled at the crystal-clear waters and took in a daily panorama of Lake Tahoe’s breathtaking environs. When the chance to work with Colin West and the team at Clean up the Lake emerged, Jeff saw a natural confluence of his skills and knowledge with a mission that was close to his heart. He came onboard with CUTL as an assistant to the fundraising team and has since been transitioned to the non-profit’s board of directors. Jeff understands complex policy, large- and small-scale budgets, public and private finance, and collaborative frameworks; and has proven experience in project management, organizational leadership, conflict resolution, public speaking, and strategic communications.

Marie Murphy, Board Member

Marie Murphy is the Founder and CEO of MJD Development where she oversees Investment Management and overall Operations. MJD’s focus is Value Add Commercial Real Estate Repositionings in California and Nevada. MJD owns and operates Boatworks at Tahoe, a mixed-use retail, office, and hospitality assemblage and is entitling the site as a catalyst redevelopment project in Tahoe City, CA. Marie has taken a keen interest on protecting the environment and has been a supporter for Clean Up The Lake since their first couple of years operating. After a few years as a key partner and donor, she has taken the next step to help as board member.

Clean Up the Lake Team