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Dr. Sylvia A. Earle

Founder and President

National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine, is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for corporate and non-profit organizations including the Kerr McGee Corporation, Dresser Industries, Oryx Energy, the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, Mote Marine Laboratory, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Rutgers Institute for Marine Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and Ocean Futures.

Formerly Chief Scientist of NOAA, Dr. Earle is the Founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Inc. (DOER), Founder of the Sylvia Earle Alliance (S.E.A.) / Mission Blue, Chair of the Advisory Council of the Harte Research Institute, inspiration for the ocean in Google Earth, leader of the NGS Sustainable Seas Expeditions, and the subject of the 2014 Netflix film, Mission Blue. She has a B.S. degree from Florida State University, M.S. and PhD. from Duke University, 27 honorary degrees and has authored more than 200 scientific, technical and popular publications including 13 books (most recently Blue Hope in 2014), lectured in more than 90 countries, and appeared in hundreds of radio and television productions.

She has led more than 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater including leading the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970, participating in ten saturation dives, most recently in July 2012, and setting a record for solo diving in 1,000 meters depth. Her research concerns marine ecosystems with special reference to exploration, conservation and the development and use of new technologies for access and effective operations in the deep sea and other remote environments.

Prof. Dan Laffoley

Chair

Dan is Emeritus Marine Vice Chair of WCPA, having retired from that position in 2022. During his near two decades of work for WCPA he led the increase of MPA coverage from around 1.3% of the global ocean to the c8% seen today, the creation of the original global 20 – 30% MPA target in the Durban Accord, and the ‘at least 30%’ MPA target at Sydney World Park Congress. The latter, resoundingly supported by IUCN members at Hawaii World Conservation Congress, and adopted for land and freshwater, has now become the central focus for negotiations in the CBD’s post-2020 biodiversity framework. During his tenure, among many significant achievements, he was instrumental in forming the High Seas Alliance, in laying the basis for UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage Programme, and creating such influential phrases as ‘marine and coastal carbon sinks’, ‘ocean risk’, and ‘natural solutions’. Working with his co-editor Professor John Baxter, together they created some of the most downloaded publications for IUCN in recent decades, focused on elevating topics such as ‘ocean warming’ and ‘ocean deoxygenation’ into the global public domain. He also led Commission members in the development of specific marine WCPA guidance on the IUCN Management Categories and created and led the development of IUCN’s MPA Standards.

Sandra Bessudo

Executive Director

Malpelo Foundation

Marine Biologist from the EcolePratique de Hautes Etudes (EPHE) in Paris, with a Masters in Life and Earth Sciences Studies in Perpignan (France). Professional diver, with over 5,000 immersions in open waters. Sandra Bessudo is a professional strongly committed with the conservation of marine biodiversity and the protection of the environment. She was High Presidential Counselor for Environmental Management, Biodiversity, Water and Climate Changeto the President of Colombia until January 2012, when she took on the General Direction of the Colombian Presidential Agency of International Cooperation, APC-Colombia, government entity in charge of managing and technically coordinating all public and private non – refundable international cooperation received and granted by the country.

Since November 2014 Sandra Bessudo is the Director of the Malpelo and Other Marine Ecosystems Foundation, she is an active promoter in the establishment of the Malpelo Island Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, positioning the Sanctuary as an international model for marine conservation, recognized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a “Particular Sensitive Sea Area” and also declared a World Heritage Site under UNESCO. She has led several research projects on sharks using acoustic and satellite telemetry, and worked in the National Natural Parks Unit of the Ministry of Environment of Colombia. Hostess of the The Razor´s Edge, a cultural programme in National Television, she also collaborated with Ocensarecording underwater footage and serving as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Expolisboa 98. Having served as Coordinator of the Workshops and Conference Cycles in Colombia for the International Year of the Oceans, she has also worked as a Diving instructor and Master Diver. Sandra Bessudo has independently produced dozens of publications, videos and specialized documentaries. Among her awards, she was recognized with the Medal for Distinguished Services rendered to the General Maritime Direction, a distinction awarded by the Colombian Navy, the 2011 Biosphere Awareness Award granted by the Mayors of Cadiz (Spain) and Mariquita (Colombia) and the Environmental Civil Order Merit “Thomas van der Hammen” Grand Gold Cross Degree, awarded in the Colombian Congress by the Council of Environmental NGOs, along with many other recognitions that she has received in Colombia and abroad.

Rili Djohani

Executive Director

Coral Triangle Center

Rili has worked for over 25 years to improve the management and financial sustainability of marine protected areas and reduce the use of unsustainable fishing practices in Southeast Asia. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Coral Triangle Center (CTC), a learning center of excellence on coastal and marine resources management based in Bali. The programs focus on strengthening local leadership and capacity through an integrated portfolio of Marine Protected Areas learning sites, customized training programs and learning networks, and facilitation of public private partnerships in the Coral Triangle region.

Rili worked for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) from 1995-2011 collaborating closely with communities, governments, NGOs, private sector, bi-and multilateral agencies. Rili led an innovative financing and collaborative management initiative in Komodo National Park with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. She established TNC’s Coral Triangle Center program in Bali in 2000 and served as TNC’s Country Director for Indonesia from 2004-2008. She was a member of the core team that facilitated the roadmap towards the launch of the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI- CFF). Rili was appointed the TNC Coral Triangle Program Director in 2009 and focused on government and partner relations in the Asia Pacific region. She worked closely with the Conservancy to launch the CTC as an independent regionally-based nonprofit in 2011. CTC is an official partner to CTI-CFF providing training and connecting local stakeholders across the Coral Triangle region. Rili holds a Master of Science degree in tropical marine ecology from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands and a Master of Science in tropical coastal zone management from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in United Kingdom. She has extensive diving experience in the Netherlands, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asia Pacific.

Kathy Walls

Deputy Vice Chair

Oceania - New Zealand; Coordinator - Polynesia Marine Subregion

Kathy is a marine biologist and currently works for New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries, responding to incursions of invasive alien marine species. Previously, she lead the MPA program with the New Zealand Department of Conservation for nearly twenty years before taking up a two-year position in 2006 with the Wildlife Conservation Society, where she lead a large ecosystem-based management and MPA project in Fiji.

Kathy is one of IUCN’s ocean experts and has contributed to numerous global marine conservation initiatives, including World Heritage nominations. She has been the Deputy Vice-Chair (NZ) for WCPA’s Oceania Region since 2011 and contributes regularly to the region’s newsletters.

She is a member of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Council and leads the MPA Portfolio, established to advise the Council on current and emerging MPA issues.

The ocean is in her blood. She is a keen yachtswoman, racing regularly in the Wellington Harbour and has made several open water sailing trips, including to Minerva Reef and the Vava’u Islands, Tonga. Snorkelling and SCUBA diving are her other favourite water sports.