Expert Details
Environmental Risks, Endangered Species, Sea Level Rise, and Marine and Land Use
ID: 733833
District of Columbia, USA
Expert has experience in a wide range of natural resources and environment-based industries, areas including maritime (ports and oceans), forestry and fisheries, development, complex land-use management, and application of new and emerging technologies.
Expert has a Ph.D. in ecological science. She currently serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and university boards. She is Professor of Biology and Global Change in Virginia Tech University, and she has held positions and fellowships at Stanford University, University of California Davis, U. Washington, Lewis and Clark NW Law School, and Smithsonian Institution. She is the author of over 50 publications and a frequent speaker at conferences and meetings. She has given testimony at U.S. Senate and House hearings. She chaired a blue ribbon committee charged with designing and reviewing a code of scientific ethics for the Department of Interior. Prior to founding her eponymous firm, she was President of the SEI (1994-2011), an international non-profit science-policy group where she recruited 1,000 scientists to provide expert advice to advance the mission of solving regulatory environmental issues. Prior to this time, she was a Professor of Biology (1992-1994). She developed a transparent peer-review process for the SEI group. SEI, using her review-process were engaged by several US environmental agencies to solve environmental issues of national prominence affecting businesses and environment.
Expert has developed several IDIQ's with government and has instituted a government-private-NGO round-table that was featured in Science magazine for its innovative approach. Expert was inducted into the Irish100 Education for her services to education. She also received a Red Cross Hero award for rescuing passengers when a 747 plane she was flying on crashed and exploded during takeoff.
Expert's experience includes consulting for:
- several natural resource based companies in the US and internationally that were either facing, or already embroiled in, environmental controversy and helped them to resolve the problems and win trust of regulators and environmental groups.
- oil and gas company on ways to minimize environmental risks and engage community.
- development companies and private entities to identify environmental risks affecting their property and business operations (including coastal sea level rise and inundation as well as regulatory matters), designed ways to manage those risks cost-effectively, and identified methods to combine economically sound development and sustainability.
- private company and investor groups in order to identify emerging environmental issues (e.g. emissions) for potential opportunities and risks.
- investment groups seeking to make investment decisions, to help them understand the soundness of science and technology of emerging companies and the scope of the problem being solved; the environmental and regulatory opportunities and risks associated with their investments and that would also affect their RoI.
-US and international governments on environmental policy including advising.
- Multiple-parties including government, NGO and private sector on public-private partnerships.
- CEO's and private individuals seeking to assess environmental risks and evaluate options.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 1994 | Degree: Ph.D. | Subject: Marine Ecological Science | Institution: Oregon State University |
Year: 1982 | Degree: M.S. | Subject: Fisheries Science | Institution: NUIG (National University of Ireland Galway) |
Year: 1978 | Degree: B.S. (honors) | Subject: Hons Zoology and Botany | Institution: University College Galway |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 2014 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President | Department: |
Responsibilities:Current: Founder and President of Consulting group that delivers smart solutions to environmental risks for clients from all sectors, nationally and internationally. Serves primarily private sector, investors, secondary governments and NGOs'. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1994 to 2011 | Employer: Sustainable Ecosystems Institute | Title: Founder and CEO | Department: |
Responsibilities:Non-profit organization integrating science and conducted scientific research to address environmental problems. Grew the organization and recruited 1,000 affiliated scientists. Held Government IDIQ contracts, and managed organization. Primary Clients were U.S. and International Governments, as well as private natural resources companies. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2012 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Professor Adjunct | Department: Biological Sciences/Global Change |
Responsibilities:Current: Full Professor Adjunct in Global Change Institution and Dept Biological Sciences. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2011 to 2015 | Employer: University of California, Davis | Title: Professor | Department: Wildlife Health Center |
Responsibilities:Helped to integrate science and policy into School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Health Program. Conducted independent work and research on hazards (e.g. oil spills, tsunamis) on wildlife, endangered species, fisheries and ports for U.S. government and stakeholders. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2009 to 2010 | Employer: Stanford University | Title: Visiting Professor | Department: Biology |
Responsibilities:Visiting Scholar in 2009-2010 and also 2002-2003. Focused on ways that top-level science can participate in and influence decision-making. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 1994 to 2017 | Country / Region: Caribbean Island Nations (Caribbean/Latin America Region) | Summary: Expert has worked and consulted for private sector and governments throughout the Island Nations on all aspects of the environment, development, public policy and managing natural and human induced hazards (e.g. volcanic eruptions, oil spills). |
Years: 1995 to 2017 | Country / Region: Europe/France and its territories | Summary: Expert has worked on all aspects of environmental planning and design including design and implementation of marine reserves, responses to sea level rise and developing ecological-engineering solutions |
Years: 1995 to 2017 | Country / Region: S. Pacific/French Polynesia | Summary: Expert had advised and lectured through French Polynesia. |
Years: 1995 to 2017 | Country / Region: SE Asia | Summary: Expert has worked in several SE Asian countries including Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives on environmental hazards and planning including after the SE Asia tsunami. |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
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Chair, Board of Directors - Wild Geese Network of Irish Scientists (Association of Irish Diaspora scientists, engineers and technologists) 2015-Present Board of Directors- PADI Project AWARE . Global SCUBA diving conservation organization.2008-Present American Ornithological Society, Conservation Committee, 2014-Present American Society of Civil Engineers: Committee on Conservation 2016-Present. St Barthelemy International Association - Board of Directors, 2007-2014 (Chair 2009-2012) BBC- The World, Science Advisor 2006-2012. Member American Geophysical Union Member American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
Professional Appointments |
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Board of Directors, University of California Davis Wildlife Health/SeaDoc (former chair of the board, and member of executive committee) 2000-Present Board of Directors appointed by the State to Board for College of Forestry, Oregon 1997-2005 Chief Science Advisor. Environmental Agency, St Barthelemy France, 2014-Present Commissioner, IUCN (Intl Union for Conservation of Nature) for ecosystems and natural hazards. Commissioner Joint Governmental USA-Italy Commission on hazards and disasters 2015-present. Oregon Health and Science University, Board of Advisors for Coastal Oceans Monitoring Program 2005-2013 Board Member, National Science Foundation appointed to develop the National Ecological Observatory Network NEON and form it into a stand-alone national NGO consortium organization (1999-2001) |
Awards / Recognition |
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Red Cross Hero award for saving lives when the 747 plane, on which I was a passenger crashed and exploded on take off in a typhoon Inducted into Ireland 100 for services to US higher education and international learning Science-artist in residence Award Cill Rialig Senior Whitely Fellow University of Washington |
Publications and Patents Summary |
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Expert has over 50 publications including peer-reviewed articles in top scientific journals and books, white papers, special reports, and OpEds published in the Washington Post, New York Times, and Huffington Post. She is the co-author of two upcoming books on resilience and sustainability. She is a guest editor for Sustainability |
Language Skills
Language | Proficiency |
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English | Native Speaker |
French | Strong Proficiency |
Gaelic | Good Proficiency |