The SFMI Staff
Luke Tipple
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Luke Tipple is a marine biologist and the founder of the Shark-Free Marina Initiative. As a marine biologist he works with numerous species of sharks from top order predators such as the great white and tiger shark to more gentle species like the filter-feeding whale shark. His accomplishments include writing tourism guidelines for Honduras, based on his field research, and safely guiding hundreds of clients while diving the infamous Guadalupe Island in Mexico, and Tiger Shark Beach in the Bahamas. Currently he resides in California and is a consultant for film and television programming (with SharkDivers.com) and is the media representative and Managing Director of the Shark Free Marina Initiative. |
Patricia Ragan
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In her capacity as director of operations for the Shark Free Marinas Initiative, Patricia Ragan works closely with Luke Tipple to expand the SFMI program and encourage marinas all over the world to join this important effort. Patricia has worked for animal protection causes for most of her professional life. Most recently she was the director of special projects for the wildlife section of The Humane Society of the United States and she continues to consult to HSUS on sharks and seals. She also consults with other companies on animal protection projects, including faux fur marketing and social networking. She has served on the boards of the U.S. United Nations Environment Programme; and Monitor, International, a consortium of animal protection and environmental groups. In her spare time, she serves on the board of directors of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. |
Advisory Board Listed alphabetically
Barbara Birdsey
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Barbara Birdsey is the founder of the Pegasus Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to animal protection, environmental preservation and public education in various parts of the United States, the Caribbean and Kenya. Pegasus also owns and manages the Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary in Palm City, Florida. Previously she founded the Orenda Wildlife Land Trust in Massachusetts. Prior to that, she was a licensed Social Worker for the Department of Social Services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She graduated from Boston University (MA) with a BA in psychology and from Bridgewater State College with a Masters of Education in counseling. She has been visiting or living in the Treasure Coast area of Florida for many years and currently divides her time between Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida where she has interests in various environmental projects. |
Leslie Cauley
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Leslie Cauley is a vice president at TMG Strategies, part of the MS&L Global Consulting arm of Paris-based Publicis. Prior to her arrival at TMG in early 2010, Leslie was a business journalist -- she spent a decade at The Wall Street Journal, based in New York, covering telecom, technology and big media. Most recently, she was a senior business writer with USA Today in New York. Her work has also appeared in TIME Magazine, The New York Times and The Baltimore Sun. Leslie is also an author. Her second book ("End of the Line," published by Simon & Schuster) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, marking her fourth career nomination. |
Roger Craver
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A university development director who defected early in his career to the cause of citizen advocacy, Roger has been a fundraiser for 40 years and has helped found and build some of the household names in social justice and citizens movements - The American Civil Liberties Union, Greenpeace, Habitat for Humanity, Common Cause, the National Organization for Women, and Amnesty International, U.S. A pioneer in direct mail in the 1970s…telemarketing in the early '80s…online political information systems in the late '80…and the internet in the mid-90s, Roger is now at the forefront of interactive fundraising intelligence and trend analysis. Roger Craver is currently the Editor -in-Chief of The Agitator, DonorTrends' daily information service on fundraising and communications. |
Peter Fenn
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Fenn Communications Group is one of the nation's premier political and public affairs media firms. They have worked in over 300 campaigns, from President to Mayor, and represented a number of Fortune 500 companies. Prior to forming the firm, Peter was the first Executive Director of Democrats for the 80's, a political action committee founded by Pamela Harriman and then-Governor Bill Clinton. Peter also served on the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee and as Washington Chief of Staff for Senator Frank Church. In 1983, Peter founded and was the first Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics. |
Dr. John Grandy
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Dr. John Grandy has worked for The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) since 1981. Prior to working for The HSUS, John was the executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife and worked for the President's Council of Environmental Quality. During his tenure at The HSUS, John started the wildlife and habitat protection section, which has grown substantially over the years to include diverse programs such as the killing of animals for fur, living together with urban wildlife, zoo issues, marine mammal and shark protection, elimination of hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and a multitude of other wildlife and habitat protection issues. John also launched the Wildlife Land Trust which saves wildlife by protecting its habitat. |
Dr. Guy Harvey
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As an ardent conservationist, Guy has consistently supported "catch and release" fishing ethics for game fish around the world. He works closely with many conservation organizations to help protect global fishery resources. In 1986, he was selected as Jamaica's representative to the International Game Fish Association and in 1992 was appointed as a Trustee. Guy's support of the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo and its artificial reef program was highlighted by his sponsorship in 1997 of the sinking of a retired 185-foot ship to create the artificial "Guy Harvey Reef". In 1998, Guy was voted the IGFA's first ever "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the World Fishing Awards Committee. Guy was awarded the Craftsman Award in 2008 from the Construction Association of South Florida for his NSU Shark mural. In 2009, Guy was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame. |
Dr. Robert E. Hueter
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Dr. Bob Hueter has been studying sharks for 35 years and has been a strong advocate for shark conservation and responsible fisheries management. As Director of Mote Marine Laboratory's Center for Shark Research, Dr. Hueter oversees research ranging from biomedical studies of sharks in the laboratory to international collaborations in shark behavior, ecology and conservation biology. His current projects include studies of whale shark biology in Mexico and the status of shark populations in Cuba. |
Michael Kennedy
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Michael Kennedy is a Founding and Campaign Director of Humane Society International (HSI) Australia. HSI has been at the forefront of shark protection programs in Australia since 1994, and a leader at global forums such as CITES and CMS, successfully gaining the very first protective shark listings. |
John Land Le Coq
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As the co-founder and creative director of Fishpond, Inc, one of the world's leading outdoor and fishing products companies, John Land Le Coq is working hard to use the power of his brand to spread the message about the fragility of our planet and to ensure that all species are respected and protected. As an advocate for our water resources, he has joined The Humane Society of the United States, Shark-Free Marinas, and other environmental groups to promote responsible fishery ethics and sustainable practices. Through its Troubled Waters campaign, Fishpond is encouraging their consumers to engage in a cause that directly impacts their heart. In conservation, as in every aspect of life, none of us can do everything, but each of us can do something to help conserve and protect water resources and the ecosystems within them. |
Sean Paxton
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As an adventurer, explorer and performer, Sean's been the focus of television programs and articles highlighting his role as expedition leader of historically significant documentary projects and catch, tag and release shark fishing expertise. By integrating a passion for adventure and wildlife with skills as a writer, filmmaker and communicator, he's currently collaborating to develop the sustainable tournament shark fishing model of the future. His advocacy for cooperative and effective natural resource management policies inspired his launch of the first organization to certify world records for released sharks, promotion of strategic alliances between recreational shark fishing and scientific research, and publishing of a field guide for anglers volunteering in global shark data gathering and tagging programs. Headquartered in Florida, he works closely on these and related projects with brother and partner, Brooks Paxton II. |
Dr David P. Phillipp
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Dr. Dave Philipp knows all there is to know about bass and is working on becoming a bonefish expert as well. As a geneticist for the Illinois Natural History Survey, he has been studying fish or fishing for most of his life. When not working on bass or bonefish, Dr. Philipp helps direct the efforts of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, a non-profit education and outreach organization connected with the American Fisheries Society. |
Michael Sutton
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Michael Sutton is Vice President of the Monterey Bay Aquarium where he directs the Center for the Future of the Oceans. In 2007 and again in 2009, he was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as a Member of the California Fish and Game Commission. Sutton also serves as summer faculty at the Vermont Law School, where he teaches ocean & coastal law. He recently co-authored a book, "Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy," published by the American Bar Association. He has lectured at graduate seminars on ocean conservation at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Tufts, George Washington University, and the University of Rhode Island. |
James J. Thomas II
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Jim is a partner in the law firm of Ichter Thomas, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia specializing in complex business litigation. In 1991, Jim began representing Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Evander Holyfield, and his sports law practice began to grow as he represented other sports organizations. He was the first Commissioner of the Women's Senior Golf Tour and served as a consultant and advisor to American Champion Entertainment, Inc. in presenting the first professional boxing event to be televised in the United States from China. He also served as general counsel and advisor to the Professional Karate Association, which is one of the leading promoters of karate events in the United States. Jim is the author of The Holyfield Way: What I Learned About Courage, Perseverance, and the Bizarre World of Boxing, published by Sports Publishing, Inc. |
Andrew Weinstein
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Andrew Weinstein is founder and president of Ridgeback Communications, a media relations and strategic communications firm in Washington, DC. Prior to his current firm, Weinstein served as vice president for corporate communications and chief spokesperson for AOL, managing the company's public image over a decade of dramatic change. Before that, Weinstein was deputy press secretary and spokesman for House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and earlier he served as director of media relations for Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign. Weinstein is a member of the the board of directors for the Humane Society of the United States and serves as chair of the Investment and Pension Trust Committee. He is also a director of the Washington Humane Society. |
Ted Williams
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In April 1997 Williams was presented with the Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation at its annual convention in Tucson. In March 1999 he received the Federal Wildlife Officers Association award for his conservation writing. And in August 2003 the Federation of Fly Fishers presented him with its Aldo Leopold Award for "outstanding contributions to fisheries and land ecology." Williams has been named to the Jade of Chiefs--the highest conservation award given by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. And for his reporting on federal forest-fire policy the American Society of Magazine Editors voted *Audubon* one of five finalists in the National Magazine Awards. |
Regional Advisers
Edd Brooks
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Originally from the south coast of England, Edd has worked all over the world in areas as diverse as Central America, Africa, Australia, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean. Since 2005 he has worked full time for the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) based in the Bahamas, initially as a research associate and since 2007 as the full time manager of the Shark Research and Conservation Program. Concurrent to his work at CEI, he is completing his doctorate through the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. The focus of his research is on the spatial ecology and stress physiology of sharks with a particular focus on the duration and magnitude of behavioral changes associated with longline capture. |
Jillian Morris
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Jillian has traveled, filmed and photographed extensively across the globe, from the Outback wildlife of Western Australia to the prolific coral reefs of Indonesia. After graduating from the University of New England with a bachelor's degree in Animal Behavior, Jillian worked on projects with Mote Marine Lab, National Geographic Critter Cam, Dr Samuel Gruber and the Bimini Biological Field Station (Sharklab) and Dr Sylvia Earle. She was instrumental in implementing the Shark-Free Marina Initiative in the Bahamas and was responsible for registering the very first marina to the cause. |