ECOSUMMIT

December 5-6, 2023
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, FL

GREEN LIVING EXPO

December 2-3, 2023
Municipal Auditorium
Sarasota, FL

Eco
Summit
+Expo

 

To preserve quality of life, we must find a new balance with nature.

ECOSUMMIT

December 5-6, 2023
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, FL

GREEN LIVING EXPO

December 2-3, 2023
Municipal Auditorium
Sarasota, FL

Thank you to all our partners and sponsors for a successful event!

EcoSUMMIT

Dec. 5-6, 2023
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, Florida

Lead Sponsor

Two days of Big Ideas and Solutions. Experts will share insights and innovations for recharging our environment and reducing our impacts — crucial to sustaining our coastal community’s quality of life.  We’ll explore our environmental heritage as a touchstone for a resilient future. It’s a lively and entertaining solutions-oriented experience with lectures, panel discussions, storytelling, and music.

SPEAKERS     |     PROGRAM

Green Living Expo

Dec. 2-3, 2023
City of Sarasota Muni Auditorium
Sarasota, Florida

Lead Sponsor

Explore solutions to go green at the Green Living Expo. Demo and buy sustainable products and services from green businesses and non-profit organizations. Get involved and get hands on with opportunities to volunteer and help solve local environmental issues. It’s a two-day trade-show loaded with ideas and demos about how to reduce our impacts on the environment. Register for free tickets.

Ever-GREEN Days

Nov. 30 – Dec. 6, 2023
The Bay Park
Sarasota, Florida

Partner

Come to The Bay, Sarasota’s newest signature park and blue-and-green oasis along Sarasota Bay. Enjoy a wide range of interactive green and eco-friendly experiences including family-friendly activities, guided eco-tours, hands-on eco-education, and more! Check back as we add new activities. As always, all events at The Bay are free and open to everyone, so bring your family and friends and find your adventure!

Explore all there is to do!

The Summit explores the simple idea that to preserve quality of life, we must find a new balance with nature. We must counter the increasing impacts from development, population growth, and climate change with solutions that recharge our environment and reduce our footprint. Join us for two days of Big Ideas and Solutions. Find community and feel inspired through film, music, and storytelling.

Join our email list for discounts and insider news.

EcoSummit Program

December 4, 5-8 pm at The Bay Park Nest, Sarasota, Florida

Let’s kick it off with a drink and movie under the stars! Join us for a very special family-friendly screening of 2040 with the film’s creator, award-winning Australian documentary filmmaker and EcoSummit Keynoter Damon Gameau. It’s a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream. Film is free and open to the public.

December 5-6, 9am-5pm at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, Florida

Get inspired by two days of Big Ideas and Solutions as experts share insights and innovations for recharging our environment and reducing our impacts — crucial to sustaining our coastal community’s quality of life. Community storytellers will explore our environmental heritage as a touchstone for a resilient future. It’s a lively and entertaining two-day solutions-oriented experience with lectures, panel discussions, storytelling, and music.  Award-winning Americana songwriter Karen Jonas and her band will weave dazzling threads of their dreamy Alt-Country music through the tapestry of stories over two days. Networking coffee breaks, lunches, lunchtime wellness and guided walks, and professional continuing education credits all included.

Day 1

Growth and Balance

Over the past century, population growth and development patterns have increased pollution and decreased the environment’s capacity to process it. In the face of continued rapid population growth, loss of environmental function and connectivity, and climate stressors, how can we grow the environment as we grow communities? Can we find balance through more sensitive land development practices that contain and minimize impacts?

Land, Legacy and Special Places

The fate of our last remaining natural lands and wildlife will be decided in the next decade. Saving land protects wild places for wildlife, waterways, and people. What lands have we saved and what’s left to protect? What is the value of natural open spaces to community health and prosperity? We can restore and recharge natural systems on conservation and agricultural lands to support habitat connectivity, biodiversity, water flow,  soil health, and local food systems. It’s an insurance policy on our changing future.

Making a Place for Nature at Home

Where have all the birds gone? Has a generation lost touch with nature herself? Our urban and suburban environments are built for people not nature, but we can invite nature back. How could making space for nature in our urban and suburban places makes us healthier and more resilient to heat and floods? We can safely regenerate and recharge natural systems right in our own backyards, neighborhood parks, and regional recreation areas to bring back water quality and wildlife.

Day 2

Billion Dollar Bays

Estuaries are engines for wildlife, fisheries, tourism, culture, real estate, and recreation. From Charlotte Harbor to Tampa Bay, our region has three of America’s 28 prestigious Estuaries of National Significance. Can conservation and restoration gains keep up with impacts from population growth and climate change? What’s our plan to reduce macroalgal blooms and red tide? What is the status of our dolphin, manatee, fish, and seabird populations?

It's All About Water

There is no new water on earth, only the same raindrops cycled over and over again. The water we drink and use to wash, flush, and irrigate is borrowed from the environment. In turn, whatever we put on land, or down the drain, eventually winds up back in our waters. How can we follow nature’s example for building efficient and resilient wastewater and stormwater systems that protect our water supply and prevent pollution? There are smart ways to  keep us and our waterways healthy, in an endless cycle.

When Pollution Is Personal

Our homes consume more than half of all Florida’s electricity, so homeowners play a big role in reducing carbon pollution. Improving home energy efficiency to reduce energy use and installing home rooftop solar for clean renewable energy is easier than you think. Home is also where we produce most of our trash – about three pounds per adult per day. How can we create less waste in the first place by refusing, reducing, reusing, repurposing and recycling — so we don’t let waste go to waste?

December 5, 7-9 pm at The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, Florida

Enjoy an unforgettable evening of Florida Stories with Carl Hiaasen and Craig Pittman, Florida’s most savagely funny, riotous, and cathartic storytellers  (who also happen to be serious award-winning investigative journalists), joined by local storyteller and dolphin expert Dr. Randy Wells and Karen Jonas and her band. Standalone tickets for this Session are available. Join the pre-show reception and secure preferred seating with the VIP upgrade.

Photo courtesy of The Bay.

EcoSummit Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Damon Gameau

Director, Writer, Producer

Damon’s first feature length film as a director (That Sugar Film) won Best Documentary at the Australian AACTA awards in 2016 and became the highest grossing Australian documentary of all time at the cinema. Damon’s second film, 2040, is an innovative feature documentary that explores what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet. It was released in April 2019 and now sits in the top 4 highest grossing documentaries of all time in Australia cinema. Gameau was nominated for New South Wales Australian of the Year in 2020 for his work in creating 'the Regeneration' movement which is associated with his film 2040. His short film Regenerate Australia 2030 was released in 2022 and is a vision for Australia in 2030 based on interviews with a variety of Australians from differing backgrounds.

Carl Hiaasen

Author and Journalist

A Florida native, Carl Hiaasen has been writing about the Sunshine State since his father gave him a typewriter at age six. From 1985 until 2021, Hiaasen wrote a column for The Miami Herald, covering everything from local issues like polluted rivers, the criminal justice system, and animal welfare, to national stories like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Trayvon Martin case, Bernie Madoff’s trial, and Florida’s presidential election woes. His sharp observations and eye-opening reporting have earned him three Pulitzer Prize nominations. Hiaasen turned to writing novels in the 1980s. To date, Carl Hiaasen has published 13 novels for adults, among them nine national bestsellers – Strip Tease, Stormy Weather, Lucky You, Sick Puppy, Basket Case, Skinny Dip, Nature Girl, Star Island, and Bad Monkey. Carl Hiaasen has also taken his humor and irreverence to the pages of kids’ books, publishing several popular novels for young readers, most recently Skink – No Surrender.

Craig Pittman

Author and Journalist

Craig Pittman is an award-winning investigative journalist with 30 years at Tampa Bay Times and now Florida Phoenix. A native Floridian, he's the author of six books documenting the wild and weird of Florida, most recently The State You're In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife.

Aliki Moncrief

Environmental Attorney

A Florida native and Harvard Law graduate, Aliki's passion is empowering communities to protect Florida’s environment. For 25 years, she has lead environmental protection and advocacy programs both in the nonprofit world and in state government.

Erica Gies

Author and Journalist

Erica Gies is a National Geographic Explorer and an award-winning independent journalist. Her new book, Water Always Wins explores what she calls “Slow Water” innovations that are helping us adapt to the increasing floods and droughts brought by climate change.

Mark Hostetler

Professor Wildlife & Conservation

Mark's work focuses on design and management of "green" communities, especially how biodiversity is affected by urban landscape design and management strategies. The Green Leap is his practical guide for conserving biodiversity in subdivision development.

Paul Owens

Growth Management Expert

Paul is President of 1000 Friends of Florida, a leading smart growth advocacy non-profit for building better communities and saving special places. A 20-year veteran editor for the Orlando Sentinal, he covered growth management and quality of life issues.

Susan Glickman

Energy Consultant

A Florida native, Susan has been a leader on climate and energy issues for 20 years with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and The Florida Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy, a coalition of business leaders working together to advance the clean energy economy.

Sarah Dearman

Chief Innovation Officer

As the CIO for The Recycling Partnership, Sarah builds public-private collaborations to accelerate the circular economy, such as the Circular Economy Accelerator, U.S. Plastics Pact, and Pathway to Circularity. Previously she led sustainable packaging initiatives at Coca-Cola Corp.

Jon Thaxton

Humanitarian, Conservationist, Politician

Jon is a leading advocate for protecting the natural environment. A fifth-generation Sarasotan, he served 12 years on the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners and is currently Vice-President of Community Investment at Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Craig Pittman

Author and Journalist

Craig Pittman is an award-winning investigative journalist with 30 years at Tampa Bay Times and now Florida Phoenix. A native Floridian, he's the author of six books documenting the wild and weird of Florida, most recently The State You're In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife.

Aliki Moncrief

Environmental Attorney

A Florida native and Harvard Law graduate, Aliki's passion is empowering communities to protect Florida’s environment. For 25 years, she has lead environmental protection and advocacy programs both in the nonprofit world and in state government.

Erica Gies

Author and Journalist

Erica Gies is a National Geographic Explorer and an award-winning independent journalist. Her new book, Water Always Wins explores what she calls “Slow Water” innovations that are helping us adapt to the increasing floods and droughts brought by climate change.

Mark Hostetler

Professor Wildlife & Conservation

Mark's work focuses on design and management of "green" communities, especially how biodiversity is affected by urban landscape design and management strategies. The Green Leap is his practical guide for conserving biodiversity in subdivision development.

Paul Owens

Growth Management Expert

Paul is President of 1000 Friends of Florida, a leading smart growth advocacy non-profit for building better communities and saving special places. A 20-year veteran editor for the Orlando Sentinal, he covered growth management and quality of life issues.

Susan Glickman

Energy Consultant

A Florida native, Susan has been a leader on climate and energy issues for 20 years with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and The Florida Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy, a coalition of business leaders working together to advance the clean energy economy.

Sarah Dearman

Chief Innovation Officer

As the CIO for The Recycling Partnership, Sarah builds public-private collaborations to accelerate the circular economy, such as the Circular Economy Accelerator, U.S. Plastics Pact, and Pathway to Circularity. Previously she led sustainable packaging initiatives at Coca-Cola Corp.

Jon Thaxton

Humanitarian, Conservationist, Politician

Jon is a leading advocate for protecting the natural environment. A fifth-generation Sarasotan, he served 12 years on the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners and is currently Vice-President of Community Investment at Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Invited Speakers and Storytellers

Explore environmental solutions to go green at the Green Living Expo. Demo and buy sustainable products and services from select vendors and non-profit organizations. Get involved and get hands on with opportunities to volunteer and help solve local environmental issues. It’s a two-day trade-show loaded with ideas and demonstrations about how to reduce our impacts on the environment. Don’t miss the give-aways, raffle prizes, and our curated Solutions Cinema!

Meet Our Exhibitors

December 2 – 3, Municipal Auditorium, Sarasota, Florida

 

Energy
Save energy, go solar
Waste
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Water
Save water, stop pollution
Food
Eat local, reduce waste
Nature
Explore, protect

Check back for more Exhibitor announcements!

        

                            

           

 

Be Our Hero, Be A Sponsor!

Showcase Your Commitment

Sponsorship provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase your organization’s leadership and commitment to the environmental health and prosperity of our community. Over the course of five days at multiple indoor and outdoor events, we expect more than 2,500 attendees from across the State representing nonprofits; agencies; academia; businesses; and the general public.

Choose Your Level

Don’t miss the opportunity to receive the recognition and perks of being a named sponsor for this event! Choose your sponsor level and get the VIP experience, greet the crowd with opening remarks from the stage, or feature your brand with a lobby exhibit.

  • Share your organization’s brand and messaging with an engaged audience of influencers and decision-makers
  • Network with hundreds of regional leaders in the public, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors
  • Make real connections with leaders, clients, and customers who are shaping the future of our region

Sponsorship Opportunities

Green Living Expo Sponsor: $20,000
  • Print and digital media logo recognition
  • Premium Expo booth
  • Promo video in Expo program
  • Six invitations to Reception
  • Naming recognition (Expo sponsored by …)
  • Summit lobby exhibit
  • On-screen logo recognition in program slideshow
  • Lobby signage logo recognition
  • Program book logo recognition
  • Summit webpage ad
Champion: $10,000

First six Champions receive recognition as a Session Sponsor plus session opening welcome.

  • Four invitations to Reception
  • Lobby exhibit
  • On-screen logo recognition in program slideshow
  • Lobby signage logo recognition
  • Program book logo recognition
  • Summit webpage ad
Hero: $5,000
  • Two invitations to Reception
  • Lobby exhibit
  • On-screen logo recognition in program slideshow
  • Lobby signage logo recognition
  • Program book logo recognition
  • Summit webpage logo

*

Supporter: $1000
  • On-screen logo recognition in program slideshow
  • Lobby signage logo recognition
  • Program book logo recognition
  • Summit webpage logo
Contributor: $500
  • Lobby signage name listing
  • Program book name listing
  • Summit webpage logo
Friend (individual gifts)
  • Program book name listing
  • Summit webpage name listing

Sponsors

Presented by

Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation

Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation makes a meaningful difference in the areas of education, humanitarian causes, arts and culture, environment, and medical research in Sarasota and beyond.

EcoSummit

Elizabeth Moore

Sarasota's most important philanthropic conservationist. Hands-on owner and steward of Triangle Ranch.

Florida Stories with
Carl Hiaasen

Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Together with its donors, Gulf Coast Community Foundation has transformed the region through bold and proactive philanthropy for over 27 years.

Green Living Expo

Florida Power & Light

As America's largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light Company serves more customers and sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 12 million people.

Venue Host

City of Sarasota

Our mission is to provide high-quality services to our residents, businesses, and visitors, while safeguarding our natural resources and building a prosperous community.

Champions

SESSION 1: Growth and Balance

Live Wildly Foundation

Live Wildly helps raise awareness of the benefits of wildlife corridors. Our goal is to ensure nature is at the table for planning, development and investment decisions.

SESSION 2: Land, Legacy, and Special Places

Sponsor Opportunity!

SESSION 3: Making a Place for Nature at Home

Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension

Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability brings researched-based information to residents and businesses with classes, technical assistance, and programs spanning agriculture to wildlife and composting to solar.

SESSION 4: Billion Dollar Bays

Sponsor Opportunity!

SESSION 5: It’s All About Water

Sarasota County Stormwater

The Sarasota County Stormwater Environmental Utility works to reduce the threat of flooding, improve surface water quality, and encourage sound development practices in the region.

SESSION 6: Personal Pollution

Tervis

Since 1969, Tervis insulated tumblers have been Floridians' choice for on-the-go drinkware and a perfect alternative to single use cups. Tervis recycles its products and uses recycled consumer packaging.

Heros

Recycling Sponsor

Pauline Wamsler

Supporters

Contributors

Jean Blackburn

Robert A Richardson

Friends

Oyster River Ecology

Estuary Escapes LLC

Seagrape Wines

Venice Area Audubon Society

Innovative Dining

John & Susan Darovec

Media Sponsors

Contact Us

P.O. Box 2879
Sarasota, FL 34230

Media Kit

Everything you need to help promote the event!

Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida, Inc is a 501(c)3 not for-profit Florida corporation, registration number CH15639. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state or visiting ww.fdacs.gov. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state.

Susan Glickman

Energy Consultant

Named to Florida Trend’s Inaugural 500 Most Influential Business Leaders, Susan is a consultant to ReThink Energy Florida and Florida Clinicians for Climate Action - educating medical professionals on the health harms of climate change. She’s worked with Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Our Children’s Trust and the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

Susan’s on the board of Solar & Energy Loan Fund (SELF) which provides affordable financing for weatherization and solar for low and moderate income families. She’s on the Steering Committee of East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative and initiated the Tampa Bay Regional Resilience Coalition.
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Bill Johnson

President
Brilliant Harvest

Bill is the Owner and President of Brilliant Harvest, LLC. He grew up in Sarasota with solar hot water and solar pool systems on his roof. Bill has a B.S. in physics from Emory University, a Masters in Physics from the University of South Florida, and an MBA from the University of Florida. He founded Brilliant Harvest, a state certified solar contractor, in 2009, to serve residential and commercial clients on the west coast of Florida. Bill is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners as a Solar Photovoltaic installation professional and currently serves as Treasurer of the Florida Solar Energy Industry Association.
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Lee Hayes Byron

Director
UF/IFAS Extension & Sustainability

Lee Hayes is the Director for Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability which is a partnership between the University of Florida and Sarasota County to bring researched-based information to our community. From agriculture to wildlife and composting to solar, Sarasota County Extension provides classes, speakers, technical assistance, and programs to help residents and businesses build a better future. Previously she was the Sustainability Manager for Sarasota County, overseeing sustainability improvements within government operations and the efforts to create a sustainable community across Sarasota County.
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Duanne Andrade

Executive Director
Solar & Energy Loan Fund (SELF)

Duanne is the Executive Director of the Solar and Energy Loan Fund, a CDFI/Green Bank based in Florida. Duanne is a passionate advocate for social, environmental, and economic equity and has spent the past 20+ years working on innovative financing models to unlock access to fair capital for populations in underserved communities in the United States and Latin America. She has worked extensively with nonprofit microfinance models focused on lifting vulnerable populations out of poverty as well as for-profit financing models to address financing gaps for small businesses and expanded energy efficiency and clean energy financing as a critical component of sustainable development.
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Amber Whittle

Executive Director
Southface Sarasota

Amber is a Sarasota local and currently is the Executive Director of Southface Sarasota, a resilience nonprofit focused on energy efficiency, climate change, and social equity and health. She is also the Director of the Pritzker Marine Lab at New College. She received her BA in English and her BS in Zoology from the University of Florida and her PhD in Zoology/Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her conservation efforts have spanned climate change mitigation, corals, larval fish, sea turtles, watershed restoration, water quality, habitat restoration, microplastics, endangered species, MPAs, and policy work.
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Sarah Dearman

CIO
The Recycling Partnership

From corporate to government and nonprofit sustainability initiatives, Sarah has spent her career collaborating for good. Sarah is the Chief Innovation Officer for The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit organization advancing a circular economy by building a better recycling system. Sarah specializes in creating action-oriented collaborations to accelerate the circular economy. Having spent time leading sustainable packaging at Coca-Cola as well as managing sustainability initiatives for Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, Sarah understands the power of public-private collaboration and is passionate about maximizing partnerships for positive change.
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 Donn Githens

President
Goodwill Manasota

Donn is the President & CEO of Goodwill Industries-Manasota, Inc. (GIMI), a nonprofit dedicated to closing the skills gap and addressing inequities. With 17 years experience in the Goodwill network, he led GIMI's DGR, operations, and oversaw marketing, real estate, and more before his current role. He also held key roles at Goodwill of North Georgia and Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers. Githens holds an MBA from Ashford University, a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University, and has completed leadership programs with Goodwill Industries International and the University of Georgia-Fanning Institute.
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Mike Kelcourse

CEO
Compost Jax

Mike is an experienced innovator in the waste management industry. He has intimate knowledge of how the waste industry works and over 20 years of formal recycling industry experience. In 2013, Michael started Kelco Recycling, a cardboard, paper and plastics recycler in the Jacksonville market. In 2019, he noticed a large opportunity in the industry for food waste and compost, which eventually led to him forming Sunshine Organics and Compost in 2020. The company collects food, agricultural, and forestry waste, processes it into organic compost and biochar, then returns it to the soil while making the environment and local communities healthier.
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Emily Grant

Florida Program Manager
MEANS Database

Emily is the Senior Program Manager for the MEANS (Matching Excess And Needs for Stability) Database, an online platform connecting those with excess food, like grocery stores, co-ops, and restaurants, with nearby emergency food providers. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in Urban Studies and Spanish. She has over 6 years of experience program planning and over 4 years of professional work in the Florida food system. When she’s not coordinating the donation of excess food, you can find her taking care of 40+ plants, playing with her dog Ziggy, or being a cookie monster.
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Zack Rasmussen

Manager
Gamble Creek Farms

Zack got his first taste of ecological farming in South India and has spent over 10 years studying permaculture design with an interest in Agroforestry, Korean natural farming,and syntropic farming systems. His journey with Chiles Hospitality began when he installed multiple self-sustaining gardens for its Sandbar restaurant. Now, as a farm manager at Gamble Creek Farms,Zack grows a unique variety of herbs, spices,vegetables, fruits and flowers through organic practices and permaculture principles that have become a staple for all ofChiles Hospitality’s restaurants.One of his current goals at the farm is to build cohesive plant relationships.
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​Abbey Tyrna, PhD

Executive Director
Suncoast Waterkeeper
Case Study: PFAS in Water

Abbey joined Suncoast Waterkeeper as their Executive Director in 2022. Tyrna has a doctorate in geography from Pennsylvania State University, where her research examined the positional importance of wetland systems across watersheds. In 2015, she became an adjunct professor of Environmental Studies at State College of Florida and later the Water Resources Agent for UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability.  Tyrna is a founding member of the Healthy Pond Collaborative and a lead author of the Healthy Pond Guide.  At Suncoast Waterkeeper, Abbey works in pursuit of achieving the 1972 federal Clean Water Act goal of swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waters for all.
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Sandy Gilbert

Chair
Solutions To Avoid Red Tide
Case Study: Healthy Ponds Collaborative

Sandy is a retired publishing executive from TIME and Smithsonian Magazines who is the Chairman of START (Solution To Avoid Red Tide). In his fifteen-year tenure at START, he has overseen the Shuck ‘N Save Oyster Program in Manatee County that has restored local oyster reefs.  He also helped sponsor the clam seeding program with the Sarasota Bay Watch that has seeded over 2 million clams in the Bay and administered the Healthy Pond Collaborative’s stormwater pond enhancement program that has planted over 15 miles of new pond shoreline in Sarasota and Manatee Counties.
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Bob Bunting

CEO
Climate Adaptation Center
Case Study: Climate Driven Flooding

 Bob is a scientist, serial entrepreneur and educator, moving easily between private enterprise, government and academic spheres, making him a true “bridge” person and uniquely qualified to lead the CAC. He is the CEO of Waterstone Strategies, a consulting firm that assists its early stage high technology clients to “plan and execute” their business and funding strategies.
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Erica Gies

National Geographic Explorer
Author

Erica is the author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an age of drought and deluge, published in the U.S., the U.K., and China. An independent journalist and National Geographic Explorer, her reporting on water, climate change, plants and critters appears in Scientific American, Nature, The New York Times, bioGraphic, The Guardian, and other publications. Erica has received the Sierra Club’s Rachel Carson Award, Friends of the River’s California River Award, the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s Excellence in Journalism Award, and was a finalist for the Berlin-based Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year Award.

 

Maya Burke

Assistant Director
Tampa Bay Estuary Program

Maya is the Assistant Director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. She is responsible for strategic planning, and implementation reporting for the benefit of a healthy bay; she distills  research for a broader audience; and facilitates working groups including the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium and the Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel. Maya is a native Floridian and has spent 20 years working in water resource management and environmental land use planning. Prior to working at the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, she worked for the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

 

Amanda Boone, PE

Project Engineer
Woodard & Curran

Amanda is Project Manager with Woodard and Curran and a multi-disciplined engineer and project manager with over 20 years of experience influencing decision-makers and leading teams through end-to-end program execution. Amanda has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Biological Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. Her experience spans both private and public sectors in Florida and North Carolina. While her expertise is primarily focused on stormwater quantity and quality management, she also has experience with erosion control; stream and wetland restoration; and water and sewer utilities. She utilizes her diverse background to approach projects holistically and bring together the right team.

 

Jaclyn Lopez, JD

Assistant Professor
Stetson College of Law

Jaclyn is the director of the Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment at Stetson University, College of Law, where she also teaches professional responsibility and advanced legal research and writing. She previously worked at the Center for Biological Diversity, where she served as the nonprofit’s Florida Director and senior attorney for over a decade. She holds a master of laws in environmental and land-use law from the University of Florida, a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and a master’s of science in urban planning from the University of Arizona.

 

Joe Bonasia

Chair/SWFL Regional Director
Florida Rights of Nature Network
Story: Right to Clean Water

Joe is a Chair of Florida Rights of Nature Network and Communications Director of FloridaRightToCleanWater.org, the two organizations behind the campaign to amend our Florida Constitution with a fundamental “Right to Clean and Healthy Waters.” He also serves as Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s volunteer liaison to Senator Rick Scott’s office, is a founding board member of the SWFL RESET Center, and is co-leading efforts to prevent the destruction of critical wetlands in Cape Coral. He writes about the Right to Clean Water, Rights of Nature, and our climate crisis.
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Rabbi Ed Rosenthal

Executive Director
Repair the Sea
Story: Water is Godly

Ed is the Executive Director and Campus Rabbi of the Suncoast Hillels, and brings with him a passion for Jewish life and spirituality, Israel and the Jewish People. Before coming to work for Hillel, Ed was a congregational rabbi in Auckland, New Zealand and Brownsville, Texas. He loves working with college students and came to Suncoast Hillels after serving as the executive director of Hillel at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York for eight years. Before that, he was the campus rabbi at Emory University in Atlanta for two years.
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John McCarthy

Vice President for Regional History
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Story: I am the Estuary

John is the Vice President for Regional History for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and passionate about Florida ecology and history.   A skilled storyteller, John is well known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Sarasota area, which he shares through presentations, tours and publications.  John received his BS from Goshen College and worked with Sarasota County Government for 32 years as an Environmental Specialist, County Historian, and Director of Parks and Recreation.  An avid cyclist and kayaker, John enjoys exploring natural lands and waterways throughout the region.
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​Ronda Ryan

Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Watch
Case Study: Marine Debris

 As Executive Director of Sarasota Bay Watch, Ronda developed the marine debris program and partnered with other organizations, municipalities, scientific groups, and friends to assist in debris collection efforts and methods. She’s a member of NOAA’s Marine Debris Reduction and NOAA’s Derelict Fishing Gear workgroups. Ronda revels working with the community and mentors students in the SBW Youth Leadership Program. She’s made indelible friendships with hard working, purpose driven individuals who share her passion. She is a wife to one, a mother to two, and a critical care nurse to many.
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Howard Hochhalter

Director
Suncoast Stargazers
Case Study: Dark Skies

Howard is the Director of the Planetarium in Venice. He never anticipated becoming a self-taught man of science. As a young Marine proudly serving his country, he was more inclined to travel than ponder complex cosmological questions. However, a chance visit to a local planetarium changed the course of his life and led to a career working at the premier astronomy education facility on Florida's west coast. Howard’s engaging and entertaining style of teaching peels away the intimidating veil of science and makes astronomy accessible to all.
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Kylie Wilson

Shorebird Coordinator
Florida Audubon (seasonal)
Case Study: Beach Nesting Birds and Turtles

Kylie was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. From a young age, she was interested in the environment and wildlife and always knew she wanted to pursue a career as a biologist. She attended Pine View School for high school and Florida State University for her bachelor’s degree. After college, she interned for various wildlife organizations mainly involved in work with birds and sea turtles. In 2018, she started working as the local Shorebird Coordinator for Audubon Florida where her main duties were to protect beach-nesting birds and coordinate the stewardship program in Sarasota.
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Nate Brennan, PhD

Staff Scientist
Mote Marine Laboratory
Case Study: Fisheries Restoration

Nate is a Staff Scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in the Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. With a primary research focus on snook stock enhancement, he conducts release experiments to evaluate post-release growth, survival, diet, habitat use, and movement and dispersal in tidal creeks and estuaries. Dr. Brennan's foundational work began in Hawaii working on striped mullet aquaculture and stock enhancement.  Recently he is coupling his experience of integrated aquaculture systems and juvenile snook ecology towards fish habitat restoration and ecosystem conservation.

 

Damon Moore

President
Oyster Reef Ecology
Case Study: Oyster and Clam Restoration

Damon is a habitat restoration practitioner with 20 years of experience developing and implementing large-scale habitat restoration projects and is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) through the Society for Ecological Restoration.  He recently founded a project-implementation focused environmental nonprofit organization called Oyster River Ecology, Inc. (ORE) and serves as President of the Manatee Fish & Game Association.  In his free time, Damon enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, kayaking, hiking, uploading plant and insect observations in iNaturalist, leading nature tours, and volunteering on habitat restoration projects.

 

Katie McHugh, PhD

Staff Scientist
Sarasota Bay Dolphin Research Program
Case Study: Sarasota Bay Listening Network

 Katie is a Senior Scientist and Deputy Program Director at the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), based at Mote Marine Laboratory. Katie

first began studying wild dolphins with the SDRP as a Mote intern in 2000. She returned as a graduate student researcher focused on juvenile dolphin behavior and the effects of harmful algal blooms on dolphins. Katie’s current research focuses on understanding and mitigating adverse human-dolphin interactions, and she is also responsible for overseeing the Sarasota Bay Listening Network and the SDRP’s conservation training programs.