Originally from Los Angeles, Bob Licht now lives with his wife Avis in Marin County. He studied sociology at Cal and after graduating in 1969, he obtained a teaching credential from NYU and taught in inner city schools in New York for a year, which was a profound experience for him. Bob returned to the Bay Area to teach, and has stayed here ever since. He was an instructor for the alternative outdoor adventure programs at Tamalpais High School from 1971 to 1978, and between 1973 and 1975 he started several commercial whitewater rafting and kayaking companies from the South Fork American River to the town of Loreto in Baja Sur.

Having seen the potential of the kayak as a conveyance for adventure, Bob began paddling in the San Francisco Bay. The ever changing wind and conditions were as much a challenge as any whitewater river and he didn’t need to drive hours on congested highways to get to the put-in. He sold his river company in 1982 and immediately opened Sea Trek at Schoonmaker Point in Sausalito. The rest, as they say, is history. Sea Trek is now run by Galen, Bob’s son.

Bob met Jacques Verduin in 2013 and in 2016 he was invited to a GRIP graduation at San Quentin.  When talking with the graduates after the ceremony it became clear to Bob that he wanted to spend time with these people who were so committed to their personal healing and transformation. Bob spent two years training to be a facilitator at the Correctional Training Facility and now co-facilitates weekly with Jacques at San Quentin. He has been the San Quentin Prison Coordinator since 2020. Bob is deeply committed to GRIP and its mission of providing this transformational work to all 35,000 lifers in California.