National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
Leadership
The founders of Ocean Champions Voter Fund are longtime ocean advocates Jack K. Sterne, Esq., and David Wilmot, Ph.D., who are also the lead authors of a groundbreaking new foundation-sponsored report, Turning the Tide: Charting a Course to Improve the Effectiveness of Public Advocacy for the Oceans. Their in-depth effectiveness study reveals that the ocean conservation community has focused on policy rather than politics, and at a cost. Electoral politics is a fundamental aspect of our nation's political process and the keystone to policy success, yet the ocean conservation community is not a factor in the electoral arena. The report's primary conclusion is that the ocean conservation community needs to "participate fully in the political process" to be more effective. Full participation means working directly to elect good candidates and defeat bad ones.
Jack Sterne tuna fishing.
Jack K. Sterne, Co-Founder and
President
Mr. Sterne is a lawyer and activist with over fourteen years of experience in ocean conservation, public lands, fisheries, and other environmental issues. Both in solo practice and as a staff attorney at Trustees for Alaska, he represented a wide range of national, regional and local conservation organizations in federal environmental litigation for more than eight years, achieving an impressive winning record. Mr. Sterne was the primary oceans attorney at Trustees, where he co-counseled the precedent-setting Steller sea lion litigation, which many credit with producing the most significant changes in fishery management practices since passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1976. His expertise extends far beyond the courtroom, however, as he has significant experience lobbying and representing conservation organizations before public bodies like the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and in Congress, and has handled much of the media, policy, and political work associated with Alaska oceans issues. He has a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law in Portland, Oregon.
David Wilmot being recognized
for helping lead the fight to prohibit shark finning in US waters.
David Wilmot,
Co-Founder and
Executive Director
Dr. Wilmot has a proven history of management, fundraising and political success. In eight years as the Executive Director of the Ocean Wildlife Campaign, he built this coalition of six national and international organizations into the leading voice for the conservation of large ocean fishes and was instrumental in designing and running campaigns that led to important legislative and public policy victories. Successes during his tenure at OWC include the passage of a law banning shark-finning in all U.S. waters and the establishment of an international recovery plan for north Atlantic swordfish that has already brought the fish back from severely overfished status. While leading the OWC, Dr. Wilmot also served as Executive Director of National Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program for two years, where he managed a staff of twelve and an annual budget of $1 million. Prior to leading the OWC, Dr. Wilmot was with the National Academy of Science's National Research Council, where he worked on cutting edge ocean policy issues and served as study director for several ocean projects. He has a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Dr. Wilmot and Mr. Sterne are the lead authors of a groundbreaking new foundation-sponsored report, Turning the Tide: Charting a Course to Improve the Effectiveness of Public Advocacy for the Oceans (2003). The report identifies the "hallmarks of success" of noteworthy public advocacy organizations and uses these hallmarks to make important recommendations about improving the effectiveness of ocean conservation efforts in the United States.
Carol W. Davis, Board Chair
Ms. Davis is a philanthropist and activist with a tremendous interest in the future of the world's oceans. Her primary involvement has been with the World Wildlife Fund as an active member of the Marine Leadership Committee and with the Monterey Bay Aquarium as both a major donor and hands-on volunteer in a number of areas. Ms. Davis has worked in the industrial machinery sector in marketing and marketing communications, as well as with a computer software start-up. Ms. Davis is a graduate of the University of Chicago in political science and the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago in marketing and finance.
Beth Sullivan, Boardmember
As Executive Director of the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund for seven years, Ms. Sullivan managed its massive and rapid growth from an organization of 5 staff with a budget of $800,000 in 1996 to one of 40 staff with a $12 million budget by 2001. For the ten years preceding her tenure at LCV Education Fund, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Campaign Design Group, a Washington, D.C. political consulting firm that designed the winning campaigns for two long-shot candidates in 1992: Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Senator Patty Murray of Washington State. In addition to her work at the Campaign Design Group, Ms. Sullivan has staffed numerous campaigns, having helped elect 4 members of Congress, 75 state legislators, four mayors, and six city council members. She is currently an independent campaign consultant. Ms. Sullivan holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Dickinson College and a MURP from George Washington University.
