Our Team

Our Team

Geoff Gunn - Executive Chef

After 8 years, as the Executive Chef and General Manager, at the highly successful and regionally acclaimed Bridgewater Bistro in Astoria, Oregon; Geoff has joined SBYC as the Executive Chef.

Geoff Gunn began his culinary career in Hawaii where he fell in love with Pan-Asian cuisine. As a former Island resident, he worked at one of the most highly-acclaimed restaurants in Waikiki for six years. Gunn defines the Japanese term “umami,” as being “a fullness of flavor in the mouth, where all of your senses are excited.”

After working in California, Gunn returned to the Northwest where he was born. He graduated magna cum laude from the Western Culinary Institute of Portland, where he was classically trained as a Le Cordon Bleu Chef.

Passionate about building community, his volunteer work with up-and-coming chefs has earned him the Partner in Education Award, Outstanding Community Service Recognition, and nominations for Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award and the Oregon State Mentor of the Year Award. He has also been honored as a contributing chef by the James Beard foundation. He has been involved for fifteen years with local nonprofits and has helped create and has been emcee for Iron Chef competitions as well as a competitor, helping raise money for the coastal community.

After working at renowned restaurants in Portland, Cannon Beach, Astoria , Seaview Washington and now Gearhart over the course of 20 years, Chef Gunn has now joined the Pacific Way Cafe and Bakery as Executive chef  and General manager. Working with local farmers, he uses as many local, organic, sustainable and wild foraged products as possible. Poultry, beef and pork come from nearby farms, and local organic produce is delivered daily. Seafood is brought in from boats docking a mere 20 miles away and local foragers are bringing the bounty of the Northwest directly to the back door of the restaurant which in turn he brings to your table nightly.

Nick Steffen

Nick is our Director of Food & Beverage  

Nick grew up in Salt Lake City where he received a BS in Economics from the University of Utah (Go Utes!).

He has significant F&B experience having worked behind the line at some of the finest restaurants in Salt Lake.  He worked in Park City during the Sundance festival for a number of years and, most recently, he was the sous chef at Flanker, a Sports Club and Bar of some note.

Richard Barran

Richard is the Farm Director for Willapa Wild.  He operates the 300 acres of beds, team, facilities and equipment required to keep it humming.  He is an openly and outspoken environmentalist who has introduced an approach to farming that is one of the most environmentally aware in the industry. 

Richard studied at the highly respected Culinary Arts Program at Santa Barbara City College.  He then worked at a number of well-known and respected restaurants in the Santa Barbara area before moving up to run the farm.

Richard is an active outdoors enthusiast.  At 13 he did his first long, offshore sailboat race across the Eastern Pacific from San Francisco to Hawaii (Pacific Cup).  At 18 he won his age group in his first ultra-marathon.  He is an active rock climber and loves to just hang at the beach with his Black Lab Luna.

Jon Biggs

Jon is our Director of Marketing.

He is a respected marketing expert having worked on the direct to consumer, ecommerce and marketplace strategies for numerous leading brands.  He is a natural quant who’s specialty is paid media planning and placement.

Jon grew up on the Long Beach Peninsula and went to Ilwaco High School.  His family has been on the peninsula for more than four generations.  In fact, Jon is not the first member of his family to have worked at Oysterville Sea Farms, his great-great-great grandfather was the first. 

In addition, Jon is an experience mixologist and many of the drinks you might enjoy at the club are his creations.  He has curated much of what you would drink.

Most days you can find Jon on the beach hanging out with his dog Teddy.  He is thrilled to learn how to sail where he grew up on the bay he knows so well.

Maggie Barran

Maggie is the CFO for their companies. She also works actively in the luxury brand space within their ecommerce and brand consultancy.

Maggie is a marketplaces expert having worked with numerous clients as she grew their Amazon sales and also on the start-up team for the Bal Harbour Shops luxury marketplace.  While she spends most of her time in Miami supporting Bal Harbour Shops Commerce Group; she is often in Ocean Park.  Maggie is an active member in the Young Presidents Organization’s YNG.

Maggie has a BS in Finance from Creighton University with a studio art minor.  She was a walk-on to their Division 1 Womens Rowing Team and by her senior year was its Captain. She is an active sailor. She is also a long distance runner having done races like the Miami Marathon. 

When she is not working, running or working out she is with her English Springer Spaniel: Ace.

Antony & Cora Barran

Antony and Cora are husband and wife, serial entrepreneurs and the co-founders.

They are ad people.  She from the client side and he from the agency side.  In 2008 they left their cushy corporate gigs (she was the Head of Advertising for Farmers Insurance and he was a VP at the InterPublic Group of Companies) and started their own agency.  They thrived on their own, built an $80mm agency in LA in 5 years and sold it in 8.  They then moved to Ocean Park without every really having been there or knowing anyone and started their next chapter.  They co-founded Willapa Wild (that owns Oysterville Sea Farms); a bespoke brand and ecommerce strategy agency that works with Brands as large as Honeywell and many of the world’s leading luxury maison; and a health and wellness company called stresscenter.com.  In the midst of all that, they decided to start a yacht club focused on building a community gathering place and developing youth and family sailing programs.

They are high school sweethearts with two Children – Richard & Maggie.  On occasion, you might see Cora at the club with one of her two dogs: Scupper (a Golden Retriever) or Daisy (a Pointador – GSP-Chocolate Lab mix).

And yes, they sail.  Antony has raced around the world and Cora has happily followed him to many exotic sailing destinations over the past 40 years together.

Antony is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and Cora is a member of the Chief Executives Organization.  They are also members of the California Yacht Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Astoria Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Charleston Yacht Club.