2026-04-23T11:15:14-07:00 2025-12-31 472626541 Cook & Company A Prof Actcy Corporation One Sansome St Ste 3500 San Francisco CA 94104 990 2025-01-01 821309235 Upwell Turtles UPWE 8312009989 99 Pacific Street 375E Monterey CA 93940 George L Shillinger Executive Director 2026-04-23 true Douglas Cook PhDMPACPA P01521705 4156211112 2025 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z George L Shillinger 1980565 false X www.upwell.org X 2017 CA To protect and recover endangered populations of turtles by reducing threats at sea. 4 3 15 8 0 1154013 1955072 0 0 46871 25493 1200884 1980565 42904 0 0 635804 702173 0 96370 590796 777231 1269504 1479404 -68620 501161 1191513 1638503 131795 77624 1059718 1560879 To protect and recover endangered populations of turtles by reducing threats at sea. false false 1295286 Launched the first-ever dedicated aerial surveys for critically endangered West Pacific leatherback sea turtles in New Zealand watersa region where leatherback bycatch risk is high and information has been historically limited. Collaborating with the Government of New Zealand and regional partners, Upwell designed and implemented aerial surveys to establish the scientific foundation needed to inform future management and conservation actions. (Continued at Schedule O.) 1295286 true true false true false false false false false false true false false false false false true false false true true false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 8 0 true 15 true false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false X 4 3 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true true false CA X X Kristin Reed 8312915123 99 Pacific Street 375-E Monterey CA 93940 George Shillinger Pres Executive Dir. 40.00 0.00 X X 220560 0 1744 Kristin Reed Operations Director 24.00 0.00 X 112486 0 3937 William Sullivan Chair Director 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Ann Morris Director Treasurer 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Rodney Berens Director Secretary 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 333046 5681 2 false true false 0 536502 1418570 1955072 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Miscellaneous 900099 25493 25493 25493 1980565 25493 X 0 0 0 0 338729 306658 24132 7939 0 263292 188329 12020 62943 5447 3875 318 1254 50284 33078 4571 12635 44421 36098 2813 5510 0 0 12822 12822 0 0 0 206788 193579 12920 289 0 11677 5461 4430 1786 4794 781 1987 2026 0 17159 12374 4049 736 83112 82813 299 0 64339 64280 59 0 0 10463 10463 7437 4675 2602 160 Res. Aircraft & Vessel 234653 234653 Field supplies 119503 117909 860 734 Other expenses 3518 158 3360 Taxes & licenses 766 102 664 200 200 1479404 1295286 87748 96370 323380 218178 206263 575786 359118 555000 22502 7283 0 0 0 219599 204232 50063 77899 59638 59513 10588 125 0 0 0 0 0 1191513 1638503 57956 77624 73839 131795 77624 X 647936 794923 411782 765956 1059718 1560879 1191513 1638503 501161 X false true X true false X 1318190 1159788 1397134 1154013 1955072 6984197 0 0 1318190 1159788 1397134 1154013 1955072 6984197 147269 6836928 0 0 13853 34333 31824 46871 25493 152374 7136571 14131 0.95800 0.93560 X Support Schedule: Other Income Explanation From time to time, miscellaneous amounts are received during the course of performing the organization's tax-exempt function. RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED false false false true false false false false true 78 false false 78 false false Part II-B, Line 1i - Other Activities Description Kayla Sargent spent 1 hour drafting and posting a comment to oppose the effort to rescind the regulatory definition of harm in the Endangered Species Act. Kristin Reed spent 0.25 hours reviewing Kayla's comment. George Shillinger spent 0.25 hours reviewing Kayla's comment. Part IV - Additional Information 59638 59513 125 125 1984841 4276 4276 1980565 1980565 1483680 4276 4276 1479404 1479404 East Asia/Pacific 0 2 Program services Fieldwork support 4814 Europe/Iceland/Greenland 0 2 Program Services Modeling and Mapping 30365 Europe/Iceland/Greenland 0 2 Program services Education & Communication 2386 East Asia/Pacific 0 2 Program services Videography 1014 8 8 38579 38579 false false false false false false Part I, Line 3f - Method of Accounting All amounts are presented on the accrual method of accounting. X X X X false false false false false false false false false George Shillinger Pres Executive Dir. 220560 1744 222304 Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b The Operations Director reviews the Form 990 with the Executive Director via teleconference. She then emails a complete copy of the organization's Form 990 and schedules to the Board of Directors for their review in advance of filing. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c All Directors and Key Employees are required to review the Conflict of Interest Policy and to sign a Conflict of Interest statement on an annual basis, making any disclosures as needed. Board or committee members with the exclusion of the involved person shall decide if a conflict of interest exists and vote on the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest. Persons considered to have a conflict of interest will be prohibited from participating in deliberations or decisions regarding related party transactions. To this end, the Executive Director does not participate in deliberations or decisions by the Compensation Committee regarding the Executive Director's salary. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15a The organization purchased a copy of Fair Pay for Northern California Nonprofits: The 2023 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report produced by Nonprofit Compensation Associates, Inc. to inform a benchmarking report based on comparable data for similarly qualified persons at similar organizations. The organization purchases the compensation report in odd-numbered years to inform a new benchmarking report every 2 years. In intervening years, the salary range is informed by the last available benchmarking report with adjustments based on merit and cost of living in line with organizational budgetary capacity. The Operations Director worked with the Board Chair and Treasurer to update the 2024 salary for the Executive Director based upon the most recent benchmarking report, cost of living adjustments and merit increases, as appropriate. A memo was signed by the board members involved and filed as a record of the proceedings. The compensation review process was completed prior to the start of 2024 to enable review and approval of the following year's budget, inclusive of the compensation changes. This process occurred last in 2023. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15b The organization purchased a copy of Fair Pay for Northern California Nonprofits: The 2023 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report produced by Nonprofit Compensation Associates, Inc. to inform a benchmarking report based on comparable data for similarly qualified persons at similar organizations. The organization purchases the compensation report in odd-numbered years to inform a new benchmarking report every 2 years. In intervening years, the salary range is informed by the last available benchmarking report with adjustments based on merit and cost of living in line with organizational budgetary capacity. The Executive Director worked with the Operations Director to set the compensation for key employees in 2024 based upon the benchmarking report, cost of living adjustments and merit increases, as appropriate. This process occurred last in 2023. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 All governing documents, public filings, financial statements and conflict of interest policy are available for public inspection at Upwell's office in Monterey, California. Upwell's Form 990 and audited financial statements are also posted to Guidestar.org. Form 990, Part III, 4a - Program Service Accomplishments Cont'd from page 2: Initiated a new partnership with ProTECTOR, Inc. and local conservation partners on Roatn, Honduras to track ten of the smallest captive-reared juvenile hawksbills ever outfitted with Lotek micro-satellite tags. Although hawksbill sea turtles are best known as coral reef dwellers, the research revealed just how far and fast young hawksbills can move from their natal reefs, navigating complex oceanographic features and varied ecosystems. Analyzed finer-scale data from acoustic tags to highlight West Atlantic leatherbacks movements in high-human use coastal areas based on a five-year study with Florida Atlantic University and the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The research demonstrated that a majority of acoustic-tagged leatherbacks demonstrated strong forage site fidelity while expanding their range northward, consistent with changing environmental conditions and prey availability.