Marine Conservation Institute elects 3 eminent ocean conservationists as Directors

Marine Conservation Institute elects

3 eminent ocean conservationists as Directors

Amy Mathews-Amos, Les Watling and John Davis join Board

Sonoma County CA (August 17).  Today, in celebration of our oceans, Marine Conservation Institute President Lance Morgan announced the election of three new Directors.  They are:

John B. Davis, President of Marine Affairs Research and Education (MARE) and Editor of MPA News earned his Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington in 2001.  His experience in journalism and unmatched overview of marine protected areas (MPAs) makes him an invaluable asset in our mission to create the Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES) to serve as a lifeboat for marine species in the world’s warming, acidifying oceans.  He lives in Woodinville WA.

Amy Mathews-Amos, Principal of Turnstone Consulting, earned her Master of Public Affairs from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 1989 and is in the Science and Medical Writing graduate program of Johns Hopkins University.  An ocean expert with 25 years of experience in environmental policy analysis and scientific writing, she received NOAA’s Environmental Hero Award in 2000 for getting President Bill Clinton to issue Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas.  She lives in Shepherdstown WV.

Les Watling, Professor of Biology at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, is a world-renowned oceanographer, biogeographer and deep-sea coral biologist.  He earned his PhD in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware in 1974.  With Marine Conservation Institute Founder and Chief Scientist Elliott Norse, in 1998 Les authored the scientific analysis in the journal Conservation Biology that catalyzed the worldwide movement to restrict bottom trawling.  It’s the world’s most-cited paper on trawling impacts.  He lives in Honolulu HI and Damariscotta ME.

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and Marine Conservation Institute Board Member Sylvia A. Earle, PhD, said “Of the organizations working to save life in the sea, the Marine Conservation Institute is among the very best.  Adding ocean experts such as Les, John and Amy to the Board will make us even better.”

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About the Marine Conservation Institute

The Marine Conservation Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES), a resilient worldwide network of havens for marine life that safeguards the interests of the 7+ billion people who depend on healthy oceans.  We work with natural and social scientists, government officials, businesses and conservationists to secure strong, enduring protection for the oceans’ best places.

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