Life and Work with Becky Mendoza

In 2014, I began taking water filters with me on surf trips and helping communities that lacked access to clean water. In 2016, along with five of my closest girlfriends, we launched the Changing Tides Foundation, a 501(c)3 that began collaborating with other non-profits globally on projects focusing on clean water, disaster relief and environmental initiatives. As CTF has evolved, we have now shifted our mission to empowering women to protect the planet. That is our central message, but how we do that is through mentorship programs, environmental education, media, clean water and the ocean. Our goal is to activate individuals and communities to empower women and girls to participate in global solutions to benefit the future of our planet.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think whether or not the road has been smooth is a matter of perspective. Was everything easy? Certainly not, but I view every roadblock as an opportunity to learn how best to get around or through it. Every bump in the road has its lessons and those are the building blocks of success. With Action Sports Law Group, some of my struggles, like most small businesses, had to do with finances and figuring out how to stay afloat and bring in new clients. I launched during an economic recession and worked from my kitchen table. I met my first three professional surf clients at a bar. I had to make a name for myself in the action sports world, which is generally male-dominated and pretty exclusive and hard to penetrate, but I never doubted myself.

There was no template I could follow or anyone that could mentor me because, at that time, there was no one working exclusively in action sports law. I wanted that to be the focus of my work. I went to lots of events and competitions, got myself in front of the right people and athletes, had amazing friends that made important introductions and I did my best to just be genuine and honest and show people who I am and what I could do for them. I never introduced myself as an attorney, I would just mingle and start up a conversation and then, oftentimes, someone else would come up and say, “I see you’ve met my lawyer.” It was important to me that people would see me for me, not for my profession.

For this reason, lots of my clients have become my friends. Some of them even became roommates and travel/surf buddies. My advice to anyone starting their journey is to be genuine and be yourself. People want to know you, so it’s important that YOU know who YOU are. I would highly suggest investing significant time and energy in your own personal growth and confidence building so that people will be attracted to your energy and be interested in what you have to say. That way you’ll never have to “sell” anyone, they’ll come to you.

Please tell us about Changing Tides Foundation & Action Sports Law Group.
I’m an Action Sports Attorney, owner and founder of Action Sports Law Group based in Encinitas, which helps top athletes, filmmakers and photographers get specialized work visas to the US and we also work on endorsement contracts and other matters. We are the only exclusively action sports athlete-focused and the only action sports athlete-focused immigration law firm in the country, maybe even in the world. I am also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Changing Tides Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers women to protect the planet. I used to be more known as an Action Sports Lawyer but more and more, I’m speaking publicly about my role with Changing Tides Foundation and what we do as an organization.

Both tie in together for me, because my charitable causes were born from my time on surf trips and wanting to learn more about ways I could help the people in the places I traveled to. I have been fortunate to be able to activate my contacts and clients from the action sports world to raise awareness about Changing Tides Foundation. With Changing Tides Foundation we have been able to really leverage our abilities and contacts in the surf world to combine our passion for surfing and the environment and integrate the empowerment of women to create solutions for the betterment of their communities, whether it be clean water, cleanups, social enterprises and mentorship programs. Our team is made up of professional athletes, photographers, storytellers, environmental and social activists and health and wellness advocates and we welcome everyone to help empower women!

Who have you been inspired by?
It’s funny, I grew up with an older brother and mostly older male cousins. I was kind of a tomboy. I played sports and wasn’t afraid to get dirty. I always had girlfriends as well but there was something about being with the guys that made me feel comfortable. It wasn’t really until I met my co-founders of CTF that I felt incredibly inspired to spread the love I was feeling from being surrounded by women. My biggest inspirations came from spending a month with Leah Dawson, Rochelle Ballard and Aura Boulton on the North Shore of Oahu. That was really the first time I felt the power of community with women, and we went on to grow that community when the founders of Changing Tides Foundation came together, also on the North Shore.

Shaney Jo Darden, founder of Keep A Breast Foundation, has been a huge inspiration for me in the non-profit world and she helped me out when we were first getting started. She has supported our mission at CTF since day 1. There is another unspoken hero who worked at Waves for Water for a very long time. Her name is Catherine Murphy. I consider her my charity mama. She mentored me on my first clean water missions to Nicaragua and Mexico, and the Mexico project thereafter became a difficult disaster-relief mission. Catherine took me under her wing and taught me so much. She was the first person I brought the idea of CTF to. There are so many more incredible women that I have had the honor to learn from and work with but currently, my biggest female inspiration is my mom, who is currently battling ALS.

Contact Info:

• Website: changingtidesfoundation.org www.actionsportslawgroup.com
• Email: info@actionsportslawgroup.com
• Instagram: @actionsportslaw @changingtidesfoundation
• Facebook: Changing Tides Foundation; Action Sports Law Group