John M. Fentis

John M. Fentis was born in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to San Pedro in 1962. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelor’s Degree in both Political Science and History. He attended Whittier College, School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor in 1976. He is currently a member of both the California and District of Columbia Bars.
John practiced law in the private sector for five years before joining the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office in 1981. In 1990, he established an environmental criminal prosecution unit for the office and directed its operations until 2005. During his tenure, the unit generated in excess of seven million dollars in fines and penalties resulting from the criminal prosecution of individuals and corporations who were in non-compliance with California’s environmental laws. He was designated by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as a special deputy to assist with felony prosecutions of environmental offenders. He retired from the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office in 2005 after twenty-four years of public service.
John was a co-founder of the Long Beach/Los Angeles County Natural Resources Trust, a unique entity that gave grants to environmental organizations to assist in wetland restoration projects as well as environmental education within the Southern California area. He was honored by the California Department of Fish and Game in 1998 in recognition of his aggressive enforcement efforts in the field of marine conservation. In 2002, the California District Attorneys Association presented John with an environmental prosecution award in recognition of his achievements of the previous twelve years.
On August 1, 2007 John became the President of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (http://www.algalita.org) is focused upon education and research relative to plastic and its impact upon the marine environment. As of September 1, 2008, John was named the Environmental Project Director for the California District Attorneys Association. He coordinates the training programs for the State’s environmental enforcement community, and provides training for California’s environmental prosecutors. John also provides consulting services for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and participates in community meetings designed to assist community activists in the identification and resolution of environmental issues in an effort to ensure compliance with California’s environmental laws.