Hank Mitchel was born and raised in Los Angeles and has lived in Santa Barbara since 2008. He has been involved in non-profit work for many years, working for the Episcopal Church and various not-for-profit organizations. He is a volunteer Naturalist with the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary, a past board member (and president) of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, a volunteer with Channel Islands Restoration and the Nature Conservancy, a board member of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, and of CAMA. He is currently participating in the Docent program at the own Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.