Speaker Biographies
Kristalina Georgieva, Director, Strategy and Operations, Sustainable Development, the World Bank
Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian national, assumed responsibilities for strategy and operations in the World Bank Sustainable Development Network on April 9, 2007. With the World Bank since 1993, Kristalina has held a number of technical and managerial positions in Bank operations and on issues of environment and sustainable development.
Serving as Environmental Economist from 1993-1997, she managed a large number of environment projects and was in charge of World Bank support of the Environment Action Program for Central and Eastern Europe. During the East Asia crisis, as Director for Environment and Social Development in the East Asia and Pacific Region, Ms. Georgieva oversaw the design and implementation of key social safety net programs, and led Bank response to concerns in the region about environmental risks. As Director for Environment from 2000-2004, she led the preparation of the first World Bank environmental strategy and oversaw a portfolio of over $11 billion in environmental lending. From 2004-2006, as Director and Resident Representative for the Russian Federation in the Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region, she was responsible for all World Bank activities in Russia, including a $2.2 billion project portfolio in public management, health, education, municipal development and environment and a growing program of subnational lending and direct advisory services to regions of the Russian Federation.
Prior to joining the World Bank in 1993, she held a range of academic and consulting positions in Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, and the US, and has lectured on development topics in a large number of universities around the world.
Kristalina Georgieva received her Ph.D in Economics and her M. A. in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. She also did post-graduate research and studies in natural resource economics and environmental policy in the London School of Economics School and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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William M. Eichbaum
In November 1989, Bill Eichbaum joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a Senior Fellow. In January 1990, he became Vice President of the Environmental Quality Program of WWF, and in January 1991, Vice President of International Environmental Quality with responsibilities that included climate change, coastal environmental, Central and Eastern European and the former Soviet Union, and global industrial policy. From April 1995 to September 1997, Bill Eichbaum served as Vice President of U.S. Program of WWF, with responsibilities for WWF's domestic conservation programs, including congressional relations. From October 1997 to April 2000, Bill Eichbaum served as Vice President for U.S. Conservation and Global Threats. From May 2000 to January 2006, he served as Vice President for the Endangered Spaces Program. He has been Vice President and Managing Director for WWF’s Marine Portfolio since February 2006.
Before joining WWF in 1989, Bill Eichbaum was Undersecretary, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was also Assistant Secretary of Environmental Programs, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for the State of Maryland, as well as serving in senior environmental management positions in Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Interior. He was instrumental in the creation of the Chesapeake Bay Program, including Maryland’s Critical Area Commission.
Mr. Eichbaum has been an active participant in a number of activities of the National Academy of Sciences, including serving as a member of the Water Sciences and Technology Board and the Marine Board. He is currently Chairman of the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission and is a member of the Board of the Environmental Law Institute and the Montgomery Sycamore Island Canoe Club. He has recently been on the Board of the Natural Resources Council of America, and the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES). He has served as an adjunct faculty member of the Marine Sciences Research Center of the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He has also taught at the Law School of the University of Maryland.
Mr. Eichbaum is a CoFounder and a member of the Board of the Moscow Center for Energy Efficiency (CENEf), and was instrumental in the establishment of energy efficiency centers in China, Poland, and the Ukraine. He established the Russia Biodiversity Project located in Moscow, which has evolved into the Russian Programme Office of WWFInternational. He was a key participant in the Second and Third International Conferences on Environmental Enforcement held in Hungary and Mexico, respectively.
He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.
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Christian Estrosi, Secretary of State for Overseas Territories
Political Career
Minister for Regional Development, 2005-2007.
Member of Parliament (National Assembly), 1988-1993 and 1997-2005.
President of the Alpes-Maritimes Sub-regional Federation of the UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) since 2002.
Secretary General of the UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) Federations, 2004-2005.President of the Alpes-Maritimes General Council, since 2003 (Deputy, 2001-2003).
Member of the Alpes-Côtes d'Azur Regional Council, 1992-2002 (Deputy President, 1992-98).
General Councilor of the Alpes-Maritimes General Council, 1985-1992 and again since 2001.
Municipal Councilor of the city of Nice, 1983-1990.Professional Career
Judge at the Haute Cour de Justice (High Court of Justice), 2002-2005. Member of the Conseil Economique et Social (National Economic and Social Council), 1994-1997.
Sports Career
French Motorcycle Champion,1975, 1976, 1977, 1979.
Born : July 1st, 1955 (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes)
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Dr. Drew Richardson, President and Chief Operating Officer, PADI Worldwide
Drew Richardson has been involved in water safety, scuba diving and dive education for 35 years and his contributions have had an enormous effect on the dive community worldwide.
As an educator, Richardson has directly trained and certified more than 3000 divers from entry-level through instructor trainer and his dive experience includes over 4500 dives in a wide variety of environmental conditions throughout the world.
Richardson was honored as the 1992 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year, received the 2000 UHMS Craig Hoffman Award for contributions to Diving Safety, was the 2004 DEMA Reaching Out Award recipient, and was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame in 2007.
With undergraduate degrees in Oceanographic Technology and Environmental Science (with an emphasis on marine sciences), a graduate degree in Business Administration and a doctorate in Education, Richardson is dedicated to advancing the dive industry, dive safety, dive education and environmental conservation and preservation.
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Dr. Marea Hatziolos, Senior Coastal and Marine Resource Specialist, Environment Department, The World Bank
Marea Hatziolos is a marine ecologist and a senior specialist in coastal and marine management in the Environment Department of the World Bank. She leads the Blue Team, an interdisciplinary group of water experts focusing on environmental aspects of water resources management. A major objective of the group is to highlight the linkages between freshwater, coastal and marine systems in the development of Bank strategies and policies related to water and in the design of Bank projects. In addition to policy and review in the areas of integrated coastal management, marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable financing, she is involved in the design and management of Bank operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, where she is currently managing a Global Environment Facility/World Bank Regional Project for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (involving Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras). She is also the Team Leader for a new global GEF project for Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Coral Reef Conservation, currently in preparation.
Marea Hatziolos serves as the World Bank's focal point for International Waters programs supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and also serves as the Bank's representative to the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), and to the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development Sub-Committee on Oceans and Coastal Areas. In addition to serving on the Pew Fellows Marine Program Advisory Committee, she often serves on the selection panel for the AAAS Science, Engineering and Diplomacy Fellows Program, as a former fellow. Hatziolos received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and her PhD in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley. She did postdoctoral work at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico, and at Yale University, and has lived and worked extensively in West Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean on marine conservation and management.
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Noah Idechong, Vice Speaker of the Palau House of Delegates
Noah is an environmental leader from Palau and currently serves as Vice Speaker of the Palau House of Delegates for the Seventh Olbiil Era Kelulau. Idechong was formerly the director of the Palau Conservation Society and chief of Palau's Division of Marine Resources. He has shown extraordinary leadership and dedication to conservation of coastal and marine resources now and for future generations, and has been one of the most powerful and effective influences for coral reef protection in the Pacific for decades. Idechong is the recipient of the Goldman Prize for Environmental Achievement, a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, and was one of the "8 Heroes of the Earth" in Time Magazines 2000 Earthweek Issue. Hallmarks of his career include bringing together scientists together to focus on key data gaps, managers to address how people interact with their resources; regional leaders, both traditional and elected, to address policy needs; and the broader community to accept their responsibilities in wise stewardship. He also created a model for marine conservation in the region that combines traditional and modern knowledge.
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Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), NOAA Administrator
A native of Philadelphia, Pa., retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., is serving as the undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. He was appointed Dec. 19, 2001. Along with this title comes the added distinction of serving as the eighth administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in applied mathematics.
Lautenbacher oversees the day-to-day functions of NOAA, as well as laying out its strategic and operational future. The agency manages an annual budget of $4 billion. The agency includes, and is comprised of, the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Services; National Marine Fisheries Service; National Ocean Service; National Weather Service; Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Marine and Aviation Operations; and the NOAA Corps, the nation’s seventh uniformed service. He directed an extensive review and reorganization of the NOAA corporate structure to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Lautenbacher is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1964), and has won accolades for his performance in a broad range of operational, command and staff positions both ashore and afloat. He retired after 40 years of service in the Navy. His military career was marked by skilled fiscal management and significant improvements in operations through performance-based evaluations of processes.
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Claudia A. McMurray, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Claudia A. McMurray was sworn as Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment and Science on February 21, 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. McMurray served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment. In that position, her portfolio included all international environmental issues, including those related to free trade agreements, as well as wildlife and natural resource conservation issues.
Prior to her appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Ms. McMurray served as Associate Deputy Administrator and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from August of 2001 to 2003.
From 1998 to 2000, Ms. McMurray served as a Vice President at Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. (VSA), a leading government relations firm in Washington, D.C., where she provided legislative and regulatory counseling concerning environmental and energy policy to a number of corporate and private foundation clients. Immediately prior to joining VSA, she ran McMurray & Associates, a strategic counseling firm providing strategic legislative and regulatory counseling to corporations, foundations, and business groups.
Ms. McMurray came to VSA, after more than eight years in several key staff positions in the United States Senate. Until 1996, she served as a senior policy advisor and counsel to three senators, all of whom served as Chairmen of major committees.
As General Counsel to Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN), Ms. McMurray provided counsel on legislative issues before the 104th Congress, including regulatory reform, the line-item veto, budget and tax reform, as well as environmental and natural resource matters. She also advised the Senator, first concerning his responsibilities as a subcommittee chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, and later, concerning his transition to Chairman of the Committee.
From 1991 through 1995, Ms. McMurray held the position of Republican Counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. In that position, she advised Chairman John Chafee (R-RI) and the other Republican members of the Committee concerning environmental issues, including the Clean Air Act, Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substances and Control Act, the Oil Pollution Act, as well as proposed brownfields legislation. She also assisted the Committee in overseeing the United States military's compliance with federal environmental laws.
Before joining the Committee staff, Ms. McMurray served for 2 years as Legislative Counsel to Senator John Warner (R-VA). She advised Senator Warner during the development of the landmark 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and Oil Pollution Act. During her tenure with Senator Warner, Ms. McMurray developed widely regarded expertise concerning the environmental implications of the United States military's activities and realignment.
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Ms. McMurray practiced law with the law firms of Patton Boggs, L.L.P., and Kirkland & Ellis. During law school, she served in the Office of the Counsel to President Ronald Reagan. Ms. McMurray received her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, where she served as an Associate Editor of the law review The Tax Lawyer. She received an A.B. degree with honors in government from Smith College.
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Mark Patterson, Expedition Leader, Associate Professor of Marine Science, Director, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary
Mark received his A.B. magna cum laude, A.M., and Ph.D. degrees in Biology from Harvard. His research interests include developing Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and new ways to use them, how organisms like corals and their allies respond to water motion, and how size affects the biology of aquatic invertebrates and plants. He was the software, sensor, and computer architect behind the Fetch- (US Patent 5,995,822) and NNemo-class AUVs (Northrop Grumman). From 1996-2005, Mark served as co-founder, CTO, and VP of Sias Patterson, Inc, the first commercial maker of small AUV technology (now owned by Fetch LLC). He is lead inventor on US Patent 7,221,621, a method for recognizing targets from side scan sonar using neural networks. His field work with AUVs has taken him to the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, Caribbean, California, and Antarctica. A veteran of a dozen research cruises, he also has logged 79 days as a saturation diver in the world's only underwater laboratory, NOAA's Aquarius, where he recently taught live underwater classrooms as part of Project SeaCAMEL, an outreach effort of the Living
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Elsmarie Beukenboom, Director, STINAPA Bonaire
Elsmarie Beukenboom, is the director of Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire), a non-governmental non- profit foundation that manages the protected areas for the government. She oversees the management of the Washington Slagbaai National Park (6,000 hectares of land) and also the Bonaire National Marine Park (2,700 hectares of coral reefs and sea-grass beds and mangrove-lined bays), which cover the area from the high water mark to a 60m depth around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. Ms. Beukenboom is born and raised on Bonaire. After attending local schools, she graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a bachelor’s degree in science.
For almost a decade Ms. Beukenboom has been an active advocate and member of different environmental organizations on Bonaire. She is a volunteer in different activities of nature NGO’s and civic organizations.
She has been an active SCUBA diver for the past 35 years. The mother of two grown children, Ms. Beukenboom is one of the driving forces behind the concept of sustainable growth for Bonaire has been a featured speaker on the subject in many international venues.
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Dr. Clive Wilkinson, Coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network
Clive is an internationally recognised coral reef scientist responsible for coordinating the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network active in more than 80 countries, and supported by United Nations agencies, and governments of USA, Australia, France, UK etc. One task is to publish the 'Status of Coral Reefs of the World' reports every 2 years. Prior to this he was the Chief Technical Advisor for a coastal resource research program in 5 ASEAN countries and an active field scientist on the ecology of the Great Barrier Reef from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. His original training as a BSc is in microbiology and ecology from the University of Queensland where he obtained his PhD in Marine Ecology. He has an interest in international affairs and was once a Vice President of the Australian Institute for International Affairs. He was appointed as a CRISP Senior Scientist Advisor in 2004 and is based at the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre in Townsville Australia.
(C) 2007 International Coral Reef Initiative
