Our Team

Lance Tompkins

Lance has been teaching surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding for 28 years. He has been snowboarding for 36 years and skateboarding for 49 years. He is a Master Level Certified Surfing Instructor (NSSIA) and he has been surfing for 47 years!

He created Coastline Adventures Surfing School of New Jersey in 1995 because of his desire to share his love of surfing with others. Lance wanted to offer a safe and easy way for people to learn this challenging sport. His career in board sports has included many surfing and skateboarding contests, fundraisers, endorsements, and product testing. He has been photographed for various surfing and skateboarding magazines and local newspapers.

Glen Friedman of the ‘Dogtown’ movie has also photographed Lance skateboarding and included his picture in his best-selling autobiography. Lance was featured in the new surfing film, “Drawing Lines”. In 2006, he was featured in the TV show “Whata You Do”, shown on the USA Network and the Fox Network.

Lance grew up surfing on the jersey shore. He is grateful to be able to share his passion for surfing at Brick Beach 3 – the very same beach he learned how to surf on. Lance has traveled far and wide to surf the waves he loves and enjoys surfing along the East Coast and California.

Jennifer Steffener

Jennifer is a Master Level  Certified Surfing Instructor for the NSSIA and one of the first women to achieve this status in New Jersey. She is also a Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Meditation Instructor, and a Registered Yoga Teacher. She has been working and teaching in the health and fitness field for over 30 years. She owns a successful massage and wellness practice and has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles about surfing, massage, and Tai Chi.

Jennifer combines her passion for surfing, stand up paddleboarding, and her vast knowledge of the body and movement to create a unique teaching style that inspires and motivates. Her teaching experience, attention to detail, and ability to create a safe and enjoyable atmosphere has earned her the reputation for hosting New Jersey’s premier Women’s Surf Camp. Jennifer is an avid water woman and has over 40 years of ocean, bodyboarding, and surfing experience.

Traveling the globe to follow her passions has taken her through the Americas, across to Europe, and through many islands. Jennifer lived in Hawaii for 8 years where she fell in love with the islands and its people. During her time in Kauai she learned to sail, scuba dive, ocean kayak, and took her surfing and body boarding to the next level. Jennifer loves to travel, snowboard, study, and practice Tai Chi when she is not playing in the ocean.

Stephanie Tomasco

Stephanie started working with Coastline Adventures Surfing School in 2008 and has been with us ever since. She learned to surf in Atlantic Beach, NC with a lot of positive encouragement from her North Carolina “Surfing Family”. Stephanie moved to New Jersey during her senior year of high school.

She is a graduate from Monmouth University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy. She re-chartered the Monmouth University Surf Club and held the position of President for 2 years and was the Captain of the MU Surf Hawks – their Surf Club team.

She competes in the local Eastern Surfing Association contests in both the Women’s Shortboard and the Women’s Longboard Divisions. She considers herself very lucky to travel to various places to explore and surf. Her travels have taken her all over the east coast of the US as well as many countries including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, El Salvador, Gibraltar, and Costa Rica. She has been able to surf at amazing breaks in Puerto Rico, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Spain, and Portugal.

She won First Place in Central NJ ESA Women’s Longboard Division in 2013, 2014, and 2016 and is currently the east coast champion. In June 2015 Stephanie participated, trained, and passed the National Surf and Instructor Certification Course. She is now a Senior Level NSSIA Surf and Stand Up Paddleboard Instructor.

Other than surfing, Stephanie enjoys hanging at the beach, listening to music, dancing randomly, and spending time with her friends.

Lindsey Jones

Lindsey began her surfing journey as a student of Coastline Adventures 13 years ago. She enjoyed surfing so much that she continued on her own for a few years, typically at her local spot at Brick Beach. Four years ago we called on Lindsey to help out with camps. Due to her winning personality, strong communication skills, and professionalism, we invited Lindsey to officially join the Coastline team in 2016 and couldn’t be happier that she accepted.

Ray Nalewicki

Ray’s expansive water experience and knowledge spans 7 decades.  He began body surfing and mat riding waves in Belmar during the 50’s, to surfing in the 60’s and 70’s, boogie boarding the 80’s and 90’s all the way thru 2010. Ray’s newest passion is Stand Up Paddleboarding.

One of the first 8^th Ave Belmar surfers to dream about surfing in Oahu, Ray first discovered surf all over the states from New Jersey to Virginia to Florida to California and finally made his journey to Hawaii to realize his dream. Ray believes there is no place better to be than in the water and enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer us.  College-educated and a Veteran of active duty during the Vietnam War, Ray now lives in Brick, is married and has two sons. Ray is CPR and First-Aid Certified, a Karate Black Belt, and an avid fisherman. This is Ray’s fifth year with Coastline Adventures as a SUP instructor and he looks forward to meeting and sharing his SUPer knowledge with you!

Cecelia Kelly

Cecelia began her surfing journey with Coastline Adventures when she was 11 years old. She spends every summer at the Jersey Shore and now shares her outgoing personality and love and knowledge of the ocean with Coastline Adventures. We’re delighted to have Cecelia join our team as a Beach Caddy. She is doing such a great job, she is now progressing to the Water Assistant position.

In addition to surfing and stand up paddleboarding, Cecelia is very active in sailing, field hockey, tennis, basketball, and lacrosse. She looks forward to a lifetime of traveling around the world to surf, paddleboard, and sail all while ultimately ending up in Hawaii.

Anthony Mastromonaco

Anthony is 21 years old and from Brick, NJ. He grew up near the beach and developed his love for the ocean at a young age. His mother introduced him to boogie boarding as a child, which eventually evolved into surfing. He got his first surfboard as a freshman at Brick Memorial High School and has not stopped surfing since. Anthony enjoys surfing at local spots such as Brick Beach, Manasquan, Bayhead, and Mantoloking. We asked Anthony to join our team as an Assistant Surf Instructor after watching him grow as a surfer over the years at Brick Beach.

Anthony is grateful to Lance, Co-Owner of Coastline Adventures, for helping him become a better surfer and teaching him about the sport. He also thanks Baja East Surf Shop for giving him the knowledge, tips, and pointers he needed to improve his surfing skills. Anthony attends Ocean County College and is studying to become a police officer. He looks forward to traveling and surfing different spots around the world.

Caroline Schwester

A Jersey Shore local, Caroline started surfing around 10 years ago with Lance and Jen! She is now in her second year with Coastline Adventures as an administrative assistant and water assistant with our surf and bodyboard camps.

Caroline is a sophomore at Georgian Court University, majoring in biochemistry with a double minor in biology and math, and is a goalie on the GCU women’s lacrosse team. She is also currently pursuing her EMT certification! She hopes to go to medical school after college.

In her very limited spare time, Caroline enjoys being at the beach, reading, napping, and spending time with her family and her dog.

Tom Cioppa

Tom started working with Coastline Adventures in the Summer of 2019, where he taught Kids Camps in stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) and bodyboarding. While Tom is a recent edition to the Coastline team, he has known Jennifer and Lance for many years through their mutual work with the Best Day Foundation. The Best Day Foundation is a volunteer organization that takes kids with disabilities surfing and is, truly, the “best day” that a surfing instructor can have!

Speaking of surfing, Tom has been at it for almost 20 years, with the last four of those years devoted mostly to SUP surfing and flat-water paddling. Tom learned to surf in his mid-30s and brings a unique perspective to teaching the sport, especially to adult learners, as he has been there himself. He understands the unique physical and emotional needs of the beginner adult surfer and the challenges that learning the sport can bring. On the flip side, Tom is equally comfortable teaching kids how to surf thanks to his many years of service with the Best Day Foundation; and, his current tenure with Coastline Adventures. Safety, patience, a positive attitude, and lots of encouraging hoots in the water are all part of Tom’s teaching style. Regarding safety, Tom is CPR and BLS (basic life support) certified by the American Heart Association.

Teaching has always been in Tom’s blood. For the past 21 years he has been a professor at Brookdale Community College; and, for the past 10 years, an adjunct professor at Rutgers University. An accomplished guitar player, he also spent time teaching private guitar lessons while in high school and college to earn some extra cash and spread the gospel of rock n’ roll. Let’s go surfing!