HBOI | Press Relations | STATE APPOINTS FIFTEEN TO FLORIDA OCEANS AND COASTAL COUNCIL

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STATE APPOINTS FIFTEEN TO FLORIDA OCEANS AND COASTAL COUNCIL

Dr. Shirley Pomponi, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution's President and CEO, has been appointed to the new Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, which will play a key role in setting the course for future ocean-related funding and legislation.

TALLAHASSEE - The State of Florida today announced appointments to the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council. Established by House Bill 1855 in the last legislative session, the Council will develop priorities for ocean and coastal research and establish a statewide ocean research plan. The group will also coordinate public and private ocean research for more effective coastal management.

Co-chaired by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Colleen Castille and Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Ken Haddad, the council is made up of fifteen voting members and three non-voting members. DEP Secretary Castille, FWC Director Haddad and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

(DACS) Commissioner Charles Bronson each appoint five members to the council. Secretary Castille, Director Haddad and Commissioner Bronson are the non-voting members.

DEP Appointees:
- Dr. Karl Havens - Chair of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida.
- Dr. Thomas D. Waite - Dean of the College of Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology.
- Dr. John C. Ogden - Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and Professor of Biology, University of South Florida.
- Dr. Thomas N. Lee - Research Professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami.
- Dr. Lisa Robbins - Chief Scientist, United States Geological Survey Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies.

FWC Appointees
- Billy Causey - Superintendent, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
- Dr. James Cato - Director, Florida Sea Grant.
- Dr. Shirley Pomponi - President and Chief Executive Officer, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.
- Dr. Jerome Lorenz - Research Director, National Audubon Society's Tavernier Science Center.
- Dr. R. Grant Gilmore - Senior Aquatic Scientist, Dynamac Corporation.

DACS Appointees:
- Jane Davis - Aquarium Director, The Living Seas at Walt Disney World's Epcot.
- Dr. Ernest Estevez - Director, Mote Marine Laboratory's Center for Coastal Ecology.
- Rob Kramer - President, International Game Fish Association.
- Jerry Sansom - Executive Director, Organized Fishermen of Florida.
- Jody Thomas - Director, The Nature Conservatory's South Florida Region.

For more information please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu.

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HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.