Staff

Keiko Bonk
Hawaii Programs Director (Honolulu HI) - Ms. Bonk has spent her life, as an artist, teacher, musician/singer, grassroots activist, and an elected official, working for environmental preservation, social justice, and a more mindful society. She earned a BFA from the University of Hawaii, Manoa and a MFA from Hunter College in NYC. As a young girl Keiko worked in local environmental movements such as Save Our Surf, and alongside her archeologist father mapping and preserving Hawaii’s archeological treasures. She volunteers her time and talents, working on community art, music, television and housing projects. As an elected official she passed innovative tax legislation to protect Hawaii’s native forests, while fighting for a more open democratic process, campaign finance reform, sustainable development and funding to preserve Hawaii’s ecological diversity. Most recently she organized and directed a grassroots campaign known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Network, which played a key role in the establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Email

William Chandler
Vice President for Government Affairs (Washington DC) - Mr. Chandler directs MCBI's DC office and policy program. Prior to joining MCBI, he managed the Department of Conservation Policy of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonprofit citizens' organization that protects America's National Park System. Before that, Bill was president of his own natural resources policy consulting firm, which conducted research and program evaluations for nonprofit and private clients, including the National Marine Fisheries Service. He founded and published "Land Letter," a newsletter for conservation professionals, and served as research director or editor for five editions of the National Audubon Society's Wildlife Report. Bill also has worked as a legislative assistant for members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, was the legislative representative for The Nature Conservancy, and served as a regional study director for the National Commission on Water Quality, which evaluated the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, and a Masters in Government from Johns Hopkins University. Email

Kassandra Cerveny
Congressional Relations Manager (Washington, DC)- Kassandra, or “Kc” as she is called, most recently was a Sea Grant Fellow in the office of Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida. She received her Masters of Marine Science with an emphasis in biological oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. Her major research focused on the distribution patterns of reef fishes in southwest Puerto Rico, relative to structural habitat, cross-shelf location, and ontogenetic stage. She concurrently earned a graduate certificate in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Florida. KC also worked with the National Park Service at Buck Island Reef National Monument, USGS in the Everglades National Park, and the Fish and Wildlife Service on marine management issues. Prior to graduate school, Ms. Cerveny was an environmental scientist in the submerged lands program of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection . She earned a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration in ecosystems from the University of Florida. Email

Emily Douce
Ocean Policy Analyst Intern (Washington, D.C.) – Ms. Douce graduated from Texas A&M University in Galveston, Texas with a B.S. in Marine Biology. Currently, she is a full-time student at George Washington University pursuing a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Resource Policy. Upon completion of her studies in Texas, Emily taught high school chemistry and environmental science for two years in a challenging, yet rewarding atmosphere. Since her arrival to Washington D.C., Emily has interned for a member of Congress as well as an environmental nonprofit dealing with issues concerned with the implementation and compliance of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Email

Caryl García
Vice President for Operations (Bellevue, WA) - Ms. García has more than 23 years of experience in non-profit management and economic development. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the United States Association for UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and prior to that Managing Director for the Leadership Development division at Winrock International, a non-governmental organization specializing in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. Ms. García has served on the boards of directors of numerous non-profit organizations, and is a program committee member for the Committee on the Advancement of Women for InterAction. Ms. Garcia holds a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service (with concentrations in economic development and international relations) from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Email

John Guinotte
Marine Biogeographer (Bellevue WA) - Dr. Guinotte received his Ph.D. from James Cook University (Townsville, Australia). His Ph.D. work focused on predicting coral reef habitat in the Coral and Timor Seas, climate change related threats to coral ecosystems, and modeling marine environmental gradients in the waters of New Guinea. Prior to joining MCBI, John worked for the University of Kansas (Kansas Geological Survey) on the NSF-funded "Biogeoinformatics of the Hexacorallia" project, where he was responsible for GIS modeling and database support. John spent two years as a postgraduate researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) investigating the effects of climate change on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef. He has been a consultant for The Nature Conservancy, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and was a graduate student intern at the USGS EROS Data Center. Email

Katie Holmes
Assistant to the President (Bellevue WA) - Ms. Holmes graduated from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia with a Bachelor of Science degree in both marine biology and ecology and an Honours degree in marine physiology. Katie's particular interest in deep-sea biology was the focus of her Honours research which investigated the lateral line systems of deep-sea anglerfish. Upon graduation, Katie returned to her native Seattle, WA where she worked as a research assistant at NOAA in the National Marine Mammal Lab and at the University of Washington Fish Hatchery. Katie enjoys being an auntie, traveling worldwide, volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium and looks forward to returning to Australia in the future. Email

Joan Inge
Accountant (Bellevue WA) - Ms. Inge received her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from Thiel College in Greenville PA. She spent a semester in Liberia, West Africa, as an international student. As an undergraduate, Joan focused on the field of nonprofit accounting as her career choice. Upon graduation, Joan worked for Greenpeace, combining accounting and direct actions for the environment. Subsequently she worked for several non-profits, including NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Service) and two Seattle-based organizations serving the homeless. In joining MCBI, Joan has returned to her environmental roots and her interest in protecting our oceans. She enjoys her weekends spent hiking along Pacific Northwest beaches with her husband and dogs. Email

Lance Morgan
Vice President for Science (Glen Ellen CA) - Dr. Morgan received his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California-Davis, and did postdoctoral research at Bodega Marine Laboratory and NOAA Fisheries before joining MCBI in 2000. His Ph.D. research focused on the population dynamics of the red sea urchin and its fishery in Northern California, and his post-doctoral research examined designing networks of marine protected areas to manage fisheries. From 1991-1995 he worked at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA as Science Director and Marine Mammalogist. He holds a Masters Degree from San Francisco St. University in Marine Science and studied seal and sea lion behavior and evolution. Since joining MCBI Lance has led the effort to identify priority conservation areas from Baja California to the Bering Sea for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, and authored the influential Shifting Gears study which focused on collateral damage from commercial fishing. More recently he authored the first assessment of deep sea corals in US waters, and has published a number of papers on this topic. He has field experience from a wide diversity of sites in North America and conducted research on a number of marine species. He is currently the Conservation Chair of the Cordell Bank Sanctuary Advisory Council. Email

Elliott Norse
President (Bellevue WA) – Dr. Norse has worked at the conservation science-policy interface for his entire career. After earning his B.S. in Biology from Brooklyn College, he studied the ecology of blue crabs in the Caribbean for his Ph.D. at University of Southern California and his Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Iowa. Starting in 1978 he worked at the US Environmental Protection Agency, President’s Council on Environmental Quality (where he defined biological diversity as conservation’s overarching goal), Ecological Society of America, Wilderness Society and Ocean Conservancy before founding MCBI in 1996. Elliott’s 140+ publications include 4 books: Conserving Biological Diversity in Our National Forests (1986), Ancient Forests of the Pacific Northwest (1990), Global Marine Biological Diversity: A Strategy for Building Conservation into Decision Making (1993) and Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea’s Biodiversity (2005). He is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation and Adjunct Professor of Marine Conservation Science and Policy at Duke University Marine Laboratory, served as President of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Marine Section, received the Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation from the National Marine Fisheries Service and Brooklyn College named him its 2008 Distinguished Alumnus. Email

Aja Peters-Mason
Conservation Scientist (Bellevue, WA) - Ms. Peters-Mason graduated from Swarthmore College with a Bachelor's degree in Biology, spent a semester in the Turks and Caicos Islands learning about declining Caribbean fisheries, and recently earned a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. She first came to MCBI as a intern for the Sustainability of Deep Sea Fisheries project in 2006. Her Masters' project assess the conservation applications of global scale modeling by looking at climate change and marine benthic invertebrate distribution and abundance. Aja has also worked on geospatial analysis projects for the Bermuda Biodiversity Project, helped with field population restoration of the Bermuda petrel, and worked with Duke University's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines to create a manual detailing the political, economic, ecological and engineering considerations involved in beach nourishment and shoreline stabilization. Email

Elizabeth Rauer
Conservation Scientist (Bellevue WA) - Ms. Rauer graduated from Brown University with a B.S. in Marine Biology, participated in the Duke University’s Beaufort to Bermuda marine science and policy semester, and recently received her Master of Marine Affairs and Policy degree from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) at the University of Miami. Her masters thesis examined sea lion predation on salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. She has also conducted research on red tides and interned in the Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium’s Right Bite sustainable seafood program, the Midwest adaptation of Seafood Watch. Liz is an accomplished artist and photographer whose photographs and paintings have been featured in numerous gallery showings and publications. Email

Larissa Sano
Senior Scientist (Glen Ellen, CA) – Dr. Sano received her Ph.D. in Resource Ecology and Management from the University of Michigan. For her doctoral work, she developed a risk tradeoff framework to evaluate options for reducing the release of nonindigenous species into the Great Lakes. Before joining MCBI, she was the Associate Director of the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research at the University of Michigan, where she focused on effects of nutrients and contaminants on freshwater ecosystems. Her postdoctoral training used ecological models to assess impacts of low oxygen in Lake Erie. Dr. Sano also has extensive experience in marine systems. She did her master’s work at Oregon State University, where she evaluated the application of scientific information to marine resource management, including the use of ecological information for placement of marine protected areas. In addition, she has spent considerable time studying tidal and sub-tidal communities of the West Coast of the USA and Chile, including helping with a biogeographic assessment of Pacific intertidal communities. Email

Barbara Simms
Accounting Assistant (Bellevue, WA) - Ms. Simms received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California – Davis. Barbara joins MCBI with a new interest in the non-profit sector, and a desire to support ocean conservation efforts. She brings with her over two decades of experience in accounting, corporate cash flow, budget preparation, risk and cost/benefit analysis. She spent thirteen years cultivating a successful financial services training company, ultimately serving as the Chief Financial Officer, overseeing an operating budget of $1.7 million. Barbara currently volunteers her time with the Puget Consumers Cooperative (PCC) Food Bank Program. She has also served as an assistant swim coach with the Special Olympics and has participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60 mile walk benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Email

Fan Tsao
Conservation Scientist (Bellevue WA) - Fan has experience researching marine conservation issues of various scales. In San Juan County WA she studied grassroots environmental education programs for her master’s thesis, and in the Northwest Straits she examined how state agencies and marine resources committees perceived marine protected areas. At the national level, she co-authored the first status assessment of deep-sea corals in the US, and she also participated in an international collaboration to identify priority conservation areas from Baja California to the Bering Sea. Fan serves on the advisory council of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, representing conservation interests. She has a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington, where she is currently receiving formal training in project management. Email

Samantha Campbell (Secretary)
Samantha Campbell is the Program Director of the Pacific Grants Office of The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, which was founded by her father in 1999 and is headquartered in Annapolis, MD. Her grants portfolio centers around marine conservation issues, although she strives to find projects with innovative approaches to a variety of environmental challenges, and she has a passion for effective communication. Stimulating interest and involvement in ocean conservation and approaching problems with a practical and straightforward style are some of Samantha’s commitments to her work as a grantmaker. Ms. Campbell has a BFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University.

Philippe Cousteau
Philippe Cousteau is the CEO of EarthEcho International, a non-profit organization he co-founded with his sister Alexandra in memory of their father. Philippe is the Chief Ocean Correspondent for Animal Planet and is currently a host for “Oceans,” a Discovery Channel/BBC co-production premiering in the fall of 2008. He has been featured in television and radio programs across the country; has authored articles for numerous publications; and was, along with his sister, guest editor of the November 2007 issue of Women’s Health, the first magazine to ever feature a “Blue Issue.” Philippe serves on the Board of Directors of The Ocean Conservancy, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, and the National Environmental Education Foundation, as well as the Advisory Board of Discovery Communications Planet Green and Oceana's Ocean Council. He is also a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Initiative Council. Philippe is co-founder of Azure Worldwide a strategic consulting and development company. He holds a Master's degree in history from the University of St. Andrews.

Larry B. Crowder
Dr. Crowder is the Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology and directs the Duke Center for Marine Conservation at Duke University Marine Laboratory. His work on population modeling, food web interactions and fishery bycatch mitigation has earned him a title as one of today's top conservation biologists. He currently serves on the Ocean Studies Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences and on the scientific steering committees for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Global Oceanic Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) Program. He is a member of the IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialists Group and head of bycatch subgroup. His vision and insights into the current trends and future of marine conservation biology help to guide MCBI.

Sylvia A. Earle
Dr. Earle, Explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, is the world's most famous marine biologist and undersea explorer. She is the author of more than 125 scientific and popular publications, including a 1995 book Sea Change, has led more than 50 expeditions totaling more than 6,000 hours underwater, and holds the world depth record for solo diving. Born in New Jersey, she received her bachelor's from Florida State University, and her master's and doctorate degrees from Duke University. She served as the Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992, has been awarded 12 honorary doctorates, and was named by Time magazine as its first "hero for the planet" in 1998.

James C. Greenwood
Mr. Greenwood is President of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington DC. He represented Pennsylvania's Eighth District in the US House of Representatives from 1993 through 2005. Before his election to Congress, Mr. Greenwood earned a B.A. in Sociology from Dickinson College and served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Senate. In 2000, he co-founded the bipartisan House Oceans Caucus to encourage efforts to explore and protect the oceans. He introduced the Deep Sea Coral Protection Act to protect vulnerable seafloor ecosystems against bottom trawling, and the OCEANS 21 Act to strengthen ocean and research and management in keeping with recommendations from the US Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Oceans Commission. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation awarded Congressman Greenwood the 2004 Leadership Award in recognition of his work to conserve and explore the oceans.

David Johns (Treasurer)
Mr. Johns is Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Portland State University, Portland OR. He specializes in place-based ecosystem conservation on a continental scale and in assuring the accountability and financial health of small nonprofits. In addition to teaching law and political science, he serves as Treasurer of the Society for Conservation Biology, co-founded and remains a Board Member of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and co-founded and was the first executive director of The Wildlands Project. David has published and spoken widely on the relationship of politics, science and advocacy, and brings MCBI crucial insights on ecosystem-based management and nonprofit management. David received the 2007 Denver Zoological Foundation Conservation Award for his contributions to large-scale conservation efforts and his writing.

G. Robert Kerr (Chair)
Mr. Kerr is President of Bob Kerr & Associates. He was the founding Director of the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Bob received his education at George Washington University and Georgia State University. Prior to joining state government, he served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Conservancy. He served as President and CEO of the Southern Appalachian Man and Biosphere Program and former Policy Committee Chairman of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative, and is currently a member of the Georgia Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) and a National Council member and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Bob's expertise in ecosystem-based management of watersheds and in conflict mediation and facilitation reinforce and complement the talents of MCBI's other Board Members.

Elliott A. Norse
See staff above

John R. Twiss, Jr.
Mr. Twiss worked at the forefront of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic and International Decade of Ocean Exploration programs during the 1960s and '70s. As Executive Director of the US Marine Mammal Commission from 1974 through 2000, he was instrumental in shaping US policy on marine mammals and habitat protection. The recipient of many prestigious awards, he has served on councils and boards of numerous organizations, including the Center for Marine Conservation, Student Conservation Association, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Adirondack Mountain Club. He is co-editor (with R. R. Reeves) of Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals (1999). The Board on Geographic Names designated an Antarctic mountain, Mount Twiss, in his honor.