ASOC Campaign Team

The ASOC Campaign Team includes people from various countries, who work as ASOC experts on a wide range of subjects, representing the members of the Coalition on Antarctic issues. All are experts in their fields, and many have extensive Antarctic experience to accompany their education and environmental advocacy credentials. The team is dedicated to the pursuit of the ideals of the preamble of the Antarctic Treaty: that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean should be reserved for peace, science and protection of the Antarctic environment.

The ASOC Secretariat in Washington, DC is the administrative and financial base of the organization, raising funds, providing administrative support to campaigners, responding to the public, and maintaining this website.

AFRICA: South Africa: Estelle van der Merwe
Advisor to Fisheries, Krill and Protocol Campaigns PO Box 23373, Claremont, 7735, asoc-safrica@mweb.co.za Estelle has been involved in various areas of conservation during the past decade. She acted as the Wildlife Rehabilitation Crisis Manager during the MV Treasure oil spill off Cape Town in 2000, when more than 20,000 African penguins were oiled. She is a board member of the International Alliance of Oiled Wildlife Responders (IAOWR), and has worked closely with a variety of national and international NGOs and IGOs, as well as government departments in South Africa. Estelle serves as the Southern African Coordinator for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), and directs a project with WWF-SA to assist the South African government (Marine and Coastal Management) in stopping IUU fishing.
ASIA: Japan: Ayako Sekine
Krill Campaign Country Organizer ayakos04@yahoo.co.jp Ayako has been involved in environmental campaign and research for Greenpeace in Japan and other Civil Society Organizations for 15 years, focusing on ocean pollution, toxic waste and climate change issues. With regard to marine environmental protection, she has worked on ocean dumping, pollution from land-based sources, and carried out on-board research on illegal trout fisheries in the Okhotsk Sea. She has a Bachelor of Education degree.
South Korea:
Yeyong Choi
Advisor to Protocol Campaign and Krill Campaign Country Coordinator 251 Nooha-dong Chongno-gu Seoul 110-806, choiyy@kfem.or.kr Yeyong is a longtime Environmental Campaigner for Korean Federation for Environment Movement (KFEM), the Friends of the Earth member group in Korea. He has worked on campaigns as varied as anti-nuclear, climate change, stopping toxic incinerators and wildlife protection. He comes to ASOC through his work on Patagonian Toothfish. Yeyong has a Bachelor and Master's degree from Seoul National University and is finishing his PhD at King's College, London.
Ji Hyun Park
Krill Campaigner 111-402, Mia Poong-Lim Apt. Mia 6 dong; Kangbuk gu, Seoul, South Korea, sophile@gmail.com Ji-Hyun is a Global Forum member of CIES in KFEM and has been studying with the Forum since 2006. She received a degree in French literature and language from Sook Myung Women University in Seoul in 1998 and a Masters in translation between Korean and French from the Graduate school of Interpretation and Translation at the University of Hankuk in 2001, She has done extensive translation work for a wide variety of publications and issues.
AUSTRALIASIA Australia:
Lyn Goldsworthy
ASOC Advisor and Krill Campaign Country Organizer 5 Pails Pl, Canberra ACT 2906, lyn.goldsworthy@ozemail.com.au Born in New Zealand, Lyn moved to Australia in the mid-1970s to undertake a Masters in Environmental Studies, and has devoted her working career to activism. She has worked on Antarctic issues on-and-off since 1983, and has attended many Antarctic Treaty and CCAMLR meetings as NGO advisor to the Australian delegation. In 1990 Lyn received the New Zealand Antarctic Society Award and in 1991 was awarded an Order of Australia for services to conservation and environment. She served 12 years on the Australian government Antarctic Science Advisory Committee and has been to Antarctica twice to review Australia’s environmental impact at their three continental bases. Lyn spent two years on the ASOC Board in 2005-2006. These days she focuses primarily on training and coaching within the Non Profit Sector across the Asia-Pacific.
New Zealand:
Barry Weeber PO Box 11-057, Wellington, New Zealand, Email: ecowatch@paradise.net.nz Barry is currently an ASOC board member and has been involved in Antarctic conservation for nearly 20 years going back to campaigns against the Antarctic Minerals Convention during the 1980s and the campaign for the Antarctic Environmental Protocol. Barry’s training is in science and environmental law. He has extensive international and national campaign experience in resource management and conservation law and fisheries management issues, and has served both as staff and as a board member of ENGOs. He has attended eleven CCAMLR meetings since 1990 as part of the New Zealand delegation, and has also attended two ATCMs. He works as a consultant working with environmental NGOs on deep-sea fisheries, marine management and conservation, and to a tertiary education organisation. For 15 years, Barry worked as the Royal Forest and Bird Society of New Zealand’s senior researcher. Barry is a member of the IUCN Antarctic Advisory Committee (since 1996) and also a member of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas. He serves as vice-Chair of the Environment and Conservation Organisations of NZ (ECO).
EUROPE: France:
Tina Tin
International Polar Year Coordinator and ASOC advisor 57 Rue de l'Archette, Olivet 45160, tinatintk@gmail.com Tina conducted her Ph.D. research on the thickness of Antarctic sea ice at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (US) and holds a Masters of Engineering from the University of Cambridge (UK). She participated in two research cruises in the Ross Sea and presented papers at a number of international scientific conferences. Her passion lies in the protection of wilderness areas -in the polar regions and worldwide. When she is not focused on Antarctica, she works with WWF and otherenvironmental organizations to promote climate change science and policy in Europe and elsewhere. Tina is a native of Hong Kong.
The Netherlands:
Ricardo Roura
Coordinator of ASOC's Protocol and Tourism Campaigns 44 II P v.d. Doesstraat 1056 VH Amsterdam, ricardo.roura@worldonline.nl Ricardo received his M.Sc. (Geology) from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1989 and his M.Phil. (Development Studies) from Massey University, New Zealand, in 2001. He has participated in ten Antarctic expeditions with national program operators or environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) since 1980 as researcher, environmental officer, campaigner and crewmember. He has also been the leader of two Antarctic expedition teams and the co-coordinator of another. In 1990 he wintered over with three others at Greenpeace’s World Park Base (Cape Evans, Ross Island - 77o 38’S, 166o 24’E), serving as the base scientist. He was the environmental officer for the removal of Greenpeace’s base (1992) and had a leading role on the monitoring of its environmental impact (1992-1996). Ricardo has conducted unofficial environmental inspections to most research stations on the Antarctic Peninsula and in the Ross Sea area. Ricardo has participated in scientific and technical fora of the Antarctic Treaty System as a scientist and NGO representative since 1992 and has been an ASOC representative to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings since 1997. Ricardo has conducted research and consultancy work in Antarctica, Europe, South America and the South Pacific.
Poland:
Gunnar Album
Krill Campaign Country Coordinator Trygg Mat Foundation and Friends of the Earth Norway, c/o Barents Sea Office, 8285 Leines album@online.no Gunnar received his degree from the Art and Craft University of Bergen Norway 1986-1989. Since 1991 he has worked for Friends of the Earth Norway as a fisheries campaigner on Norwegian Fisheries, has advised on fisheries management projects in India and Ghana, participated in negotiations on a Code of Conduct (FAO), Fish Stock Agreement (UN). He served as head of a tsunami rehabilitation project in Sri Lanka and India 2005-2006. He has been on the board of the Trygg Mat Foundation since 2000. He has contributed numerous articles on sustainable fisheries issues to professional and NGO journals, including the White Book on Norwegian Fisheries 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, which is published by FoE Norway.
Poland:
Ewa Milewska
Krill Campaign Country Coordinator Boglarczyków 24a, 02-793 Warsaw e.milewska@gcom.pl Ewa received a Master of Art degree from the University of Warsaw in 1983 and an International Baccalaureate from the University of Geneva in English literature and art history in 1978. She has 18 years of experience working on fisheries issues, and serves as an independent consultant providing political and technical advice relating to fisheries conservation and management to non-governmental organizations. She also is serving as project manager on Sustainable Fisheries for WWF- Poland. Ewa has been elected to the post of vice-chair of the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC). From 1992-2006 she was Deputy Secretary of the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission.
Spain:
Adriana Fabra
Krill and Fisheries Campaign Advisor c/Girona 85, 3er08009 Barcelona, afabra@yahoo.es Adriana holds a Degree in Law from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and an LL.M in International Law from the University of London. She has worked in the field of international and environmentallaw since 1990. She was a Research Fellow at the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) in London and an International Project Attorney at the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in San Francisco, where she worked on issues involving human rights and the environment, representing the Huaorani indigenous people of Ecuador before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and collaborating with the UN Commission on Human Rights. A co-founder and director of the International Institute for Law and the Environment in Spain, she has been a consultant for environmental NGOs and government agencies on various matters, including fisheries of endangered species, fishing cooperation agreements, and broader environmental governance issues. She also teaches international, EC and environmental law at the Universitat de Barcelona and in various postgraduate courses and seminars in Spain (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Universidad del País Vasco, among others). She is writing her PhD dissertation on international fisheries regimes.
Russia:
Vassily Spiridonov
Krill Country Coordinator WWF-Russia, 19 Nikoloyamskaya Street, bd.3 Moscow 109240, vspiridonov@wwf.ru Between 1980 and 1998 Vassily worked at the All-Union Institute of Marine Fisheries and VNIRO, Moscow), the Zoological Museum of the Moscow University, and the Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research (Bremerhaven, Germany), and he participated in several marine expeditions in the Atlantic, Antarctic, White Sea and Sea of Japan. He defended his PhD dissertation on Antarctic krill distribution and biology and published several papers on the Antarctic pelagic ecosystem. In 1999-2004 he organized and coordinated the marine program for WWF-Russia and was one of the initiators of WWF’s work on the environmental and social issues of the Sakhalin offshore oil and gas development. Currently Vassily is the marine adviser to WWF Russia and senior researcher in the Laboratory of Coastal Ecosystems of the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Besides research in marine ecology and conservationactivity he is involved in several interdisciplinary projects focused on environmental and social aspects of interactions in the coastal zone.
Ukraine:
Gennadi Milinevsky
Krill Country Campaign Co-Coordinator 48, Artema St, apt 28, 04053 Kiev, gennadim@gmail.com Gennadi received his MS from Kiev State Universityin 1974 and his PhD from Tarasa Shevchenka University in 2001. He is Head of the Space Physics Department, National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev and Principal Scientist at the National Antarctic Scientific Centre of Ukraine; Deputy Chief Editor of scientific "Ukrainian Antarctic Journal", and a delegate to SCAR. He served as Base Commander in the First Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition winter-over at Vernadsky Station,Antarctic Peninsula (from 6 February 1996 till 18 March 1997), as well as a member of the 5th, 6th, 7^th and 10th Ukrainian Antarctic Expeditions. Gennadi has published more than 100 papers in scientific journals, and served as an NGO advisor to the Ukraine’s CCAMLR delegation in 2006.
Irina Mikityuk
Krill Campaign Country Co-Coordinator 19, Yanvarskogo Vosstaniya 18/29, Kiev 01010, mikityuk@ukr.net Irina holds a B.S. and M.S. in Microbiology from Kiev State University and undertook her undergraduate Studies in Public Relations at the Kiev Institute of Business and Technology. In 2004 she completed a Psychology Programme at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Working as a scientist in microbiology, Irina has been involved in conservation activities since 1995. She served as Executive Director of Ukrainian UNEP and then at Ukrainian Society of Bird Conservation as a PR expert in development and implementation of public outreach campaigns. Irina also has participated in some Greenpeace campaigns as a volunteer. From 2000 to 2003 Irina was an ASOC Protocol Implementation Coordinator in Ukraine and was a member of the ASOC delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings in 2000-2003. Besides her work for ASOC, she is working as a PR consultant at the Institute for Community Development.
UNITED KINGDOM:
Sian Prior
IMO Coordinator and ASOC advisor 1 Helston Drive, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7TP, United Kingdom, sianprior9@hotmail.com Sian is a marine scientist and policy specialist with a B.Sc. Marine Biology- Oceanography joint honours degree from the University of Wales and a Ph.D. in Marine Ecotoxicology from theUniversity of London. Sian first worked on a range of coastal and marine management policy issues for the port and shipping industry. She then spent 15 years heading WWF’s UK marine programme and later WWF’s European marine programme. Her work has focused on marine governance and coastal management issues, including ecosystem-based management, marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, fisheries management, shipping, and oil and gas development. During this time Sian participated in a variety of international and regional policy frameworks, including heading WWF’s delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for 10 years, concentrating on issues such as prevention of shipping accidents, designation of particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSAs), ships’ routing, MARPOL Special Area Status, and antifouling systems. Sian has recently moved to the UK from New Zealand, where she worked as an independent adviser on marine policy development and coordination for the High Seas, Southern Ocean, Baltic Sea, EU waters, and New Zealand’s EEZ.
NORTH AMERICA: United States: Jim Barnes

Protocol Implementation-Antarctic Tourism Regulation-Marine Protection-Administration ASOC Secretariat 1630 Connecticut Ave, NW 3rd Floor Washington, DC 20009 jimbo0628@mac.com Jim is a US citizen and international environmental lawyer who has worked on Antarctic issues since 1977, including serving on numerous US Antarctic delegations as an NGO advisor as well as on ASOC teams to Antarctic Treaty and CCAMLR meetings. From 1979 to 1992 he was a member of the US State Department’s Public Advisory Committee on Antarctica, and is a member of IUCN’s Antarctic Advisory Committee. In 1983 he published a book about protecting Antarctica as a World Park – Let’s Save Antarctica – and has contributed articles about the Antarctic to numerous professional journals.
SOUTH AMERICA:
Argentina:
Virginia Gascón
Policy Advisor – Antarctic Krill Conservation Project Los Arrayanes 244 – 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Patagonia, Argentina. virginiagascon@infovia.com.ar Virginia is a specialist on krill and Antarctic toothfish issues as well as a wide range of other marine policy topics. She holds a Degree in Law from Universidad Autonoma (Madrid) and two Masters in International Law from the Free University (Brussels) and Georgetown University (Washington, DC). From 1997 to 2002, she consulted for the World Wildlife Fund International and US, as well as other environmental groups, on various environmental policy and fisheries issues. She also has experience as a lawyer and University teacher. Currently, she is the Policy Advisor for the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project.
Rodolfo Werner
Science Advisor – Antarctic Krill Conservation Project Los Arrayanes 244 – 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Patagonia, Argentina, rodolfo.antarctica@gmail.com Rodolfo was born in Argentina and devoted many years of his career as a biologist to the study and conservation of Patagonian marine wildlife. He graduated as a biologist from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), obtained a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Munich (Germany) and conducted postdoctoral work in marine zoology at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). From 1997 to 2004, he consulted for World Wildlife Fund International, WWF-US, and other international organizations on marine conservation issues including marine protected areas, fisheries, marine policy, and protection of marine mammals. He has been on several trips to Antarctica as a staff naturalist. Currently, he is the Science Advisor for the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project.
Mariano Aguas
South American Protocol and Tourism Campaigner Wineberg 2790, 5th Floor “A” – 1636, Olivos Pcia de Buenos Aires, maguas@fibertel.com.ar Mariano holds a B.S. and M.S. in Political Science from the University of Salvador, Argentina (1981-1987) and undertook his undergraduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (1979-1981). He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate seminars in international and political science at several Argentine universities, and is the senior editor of the academic publication on social sciences: Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Palermo. In recent years he has done consulting work on democracy and development with the Argentine Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Intelligence Bicameral Commission, National Congress, the Public Policy Implementation Center for Equity and Development (CIPPEC) and the Odiseo Foundation.
Brazil:
Ulisses Bremer
Krill Campaign Country Coordinator R. Carlos Trein Filho, 7, 90450-120 Porto Alegre, RS antartica@natbrasil.org.style=""> Ulisses is a geographer and agronomist. He holds a teaching position in the Geosciences Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), in southern Brazil, and has devoted much of his career to Antarctic geographical and environmental research. Regularly participating in Antarctic scientific expeditions since 1993, he has also contributed to the monitoring efforts conducted by the Brazilian Antarctic Programme (Proantar) to assess human impacts on the Admiralty Bay ASMA environment. Since 1992, he has taken part in many sustainability related activities. Ulisses is an active member for Friends of the Earth Brazil (NAT Brasil), conducting unofficial environmental inspections at many of the South Shetland Islandsstations and tourism attraction places since 1996 as NAT Antarctic campaign coordinator.
Ricardo Burgo Braga
Krill Campaign Country Assistant Coordinator R. Carlos Trein Filho, 7, 90450-120 Porto Alegre, RS, burgobraga@gmail.com Ricardo is a Geographer, currently finishing his Master's degree in southern Brazil at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). His work focuses on Admiralty Bay temperature variability and penguin biogeography. He is an associated researcher at NOTOS – Climatology Laboratory and the SIG Polar Laboratory/UFRGS, which have been collaborating for some 10 years on the King George Island GIS Project. He is also an independent environmental analyst and foreign language consultant, with a particular liking for field logistics and sustainability related issues and activities. He is a junior member of Friends of the Earth Brasil (NAT Brasil).
Chile:
Elsa Cabrera
Krill Campaign Country Co-Coordinator Centro de Conservacion Cetacea (CCC), Santiago, yayais@ccc-chile.org Elsa is the founder and now Executive Director of the CCC, and has served as an NGO advisor to Chilean delegations to the IWC and CCAMLR. She is a specialist in the photo identification of cetaceans and has participated in many concrete projects to protect whales, and also is an expert on noise pollution issues in the ocean. She has published numerous academic articles on these subjects.