Our team

Claire Christian

Executive Director

Claire has worked for ASOC since 2009 and has substantial expertise on a full range of issues relevant to the Antarctic environment. Her aim is to educate and inspire people around the world to protect the Antarctic continent and its surrounding ocean, which are some of the world’s last great wilderness areas. She coordinates policy and strategy related to many issues that impact the Antarctic environment including tourism, fisheries, marine protected areas and climate change. As part of this work, she has developed relationships with Antarctic stakeholders, including government officials, scientists, and industry. Claire leads ASOC’s delegations to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCMs) and meetings of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). She has authored blogs, opinion pieces, and academic articles, and has been interviewed by a wide variety of international publications and media outlets. Claire has a special fondness for Antarctica’s fascinating but little-known invertebrate species, and aspires to make them as famous and beloved as penguins. She has an M.A. in International Affairs from the American University School of International Service.

Eli Webster

Director of Operations and Finance

Eli has worked for ASOC since 2015 where she spends her days working on grants, finances, fundraising, and the day-to-day operations that keep ASOC running smoothly. Before joining ASOC, she worked for a number of non-profits in the greater DC area with a focus on natural history and public education, including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Geographic Museum. Eli attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College as an undergraduate and The George Washington University for graduate school. Outside of work, Eli enjoys reading, going to museums, kickboxing, and playing the occasional game of rugby or Gaelic football.

Holly Curry

MPA Campaign Director

Holly joined the ASOC team in 2023 as MPA Campaign Director. Prior to joining ASOC, Holly practiced land use, local government, and environmental law. Holly has clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and served as a staffer for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. Additionally, Holly worked for the Surfrider Foundation and the Nature Conservancy in environmental policy, governmental affairs, and grassroots organizing. She is an Adjunct Professor of Community Organizing at FSU College of Social Sciences & Public Policy. Holly holds a BS in International Affairs, MS in Applied American Politics & Policy, and JD with a certificate in Land Use & Environmental Law. She is an outdoor enthusiast and nature nerd and can often be found on hikes with her husband, her children, and her dogs!

Mary Liesegang

Program Manager

Mary joined the ASOC team in 2023 as Project Coordinator. Having fallen in love with the white continent during a 2019 expedition, she maintains a deep admiration for its majestic walls of ice, diverse wildlife and, of course, playful penguins. She aims to share her passion for Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean, through strategic policy development, collaborative research, and articulating complex information in a manner that is accessible for all. Mary’s broad background includes coral reef research in the central Pacific, North Atlantic Right whale studies in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and blue carbon ecosystem conservation in San Diego. She received a B.A. in Biology from Boston University and an M.S. in Marine Science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego. In her free time, she stays active in marine conservation work, scientific scuba diving, tide pooling, and coaches synchronized swimming. If Mary is not physically in the water, she is usually thinking about it!

Nina Gallo

Communications Advisor

Nina joined ASOC in 2020 to lead a redesign of the ASOC website. Bringing a passion for Antarctic conservation and climate action, as well as a strong background in strategic digital communications and science writing to the team, Nina directed the redevelopment, writing and launch of ASOC’s new website in 2022. Today Nina’s primary focus is on advocating for improved wastewater management and shipping regulations in the Southern Ocean, although she continues to contribute to the maintenance of the website as well. 

Nina’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and she is currently completing a master’s degree in maritime policy at the Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong. She has also worked as a polar guide and shipboard lecturer in history and geopolitics. When she’s not driving boats or studying up on the law of the sea, Nina loves to be out in the mountains or gardening, reading, and rock climbing with friends.

Shivani Tanaka

Project Coordinator

Shivani joined the ASOC team in 2020. She manages ASOC’s website and social media needs. She earned her master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. Shivani enjoys rock climbing, hiking and reading.

Martin Binachon

Antarctica2030 Coordinator

Martin Binachon is the Antarctica2030 Coordinator and a specialist of polar and marine regions. Prior to his work with ASOC, Martin was already involved in the Southern Ocean by working as a policy analyst at Europe Jacques Delors to reinforce the global campaign calling for the establishment of marine protected areas around Antarctica.  Previously, Martin worked in the French Ministry of the Ecological Transition and actively participated in the negotiations for a treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), which was adopted in New York in March 2023. He also worked for the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission and conducted research in Greenland on the impacts of colonisation in the Avanersuaq region. Martin holds a Master degree in Polar Law from the University of Akureyri and a Bachelor degree in Political Sciences from Sciences Po Bordeaux. He is fluent in French and English, and speaks some Spanish and Danish.

Evan Bloom

MPA Policy Advisor

Based in

Evan Bloom is a lawyer and former U.S. diplomat who headed U.S. Antarctic diplomacy as head of the US delegations to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources from 2006 to 2020 during which time he served as the lead U.S. negotiator for the successful establishment of the Ross Sea region marine protected area. During his thirty-year career at the State Department he served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries and Director of the Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs at the Department of State.  He led the U.S. delegation to high seas treaty negotiations (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) at the UN from 2016-2020.  Mr. Bloom is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. He is editor of the Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Polar Law (2025).  

Randy Helten, Friends of the Earth, Japan

Japan Coordinator

Based in Canada

Through ASOC member organization Friends of the Earth Japan, for more than a decade Randy has been supporting the efforts of ASOC and other coalition members to create Antarctic MPAs. He is currently representative director (equiv. to chairman of the board) of FoE Japan and supports the organization and its campaigns. Since the 1990s he has been involved in their campaigns and activities on international financial institutions and the environment, forests, climate, energy, eco-tourism, and marine protection. Current major priorities for FoE Japan include promoting renewable energy, ending Japan’s support for coal-fired power (both domestic and overseas), pressing for accountability regarding the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and more. Among marine-related topics are Antarctic MPAs, ocean dumping of contaminated water from Fukushima, and preserving a coastal ecosystem from a military base construction in Okinawa. FoE Japan is part of the international FoE federation in 73 countries tackling today’s most urgent environmental and social issues. Randy has a commerce degree in marketing from the University of British Columbia. With ASOC, in recent years he has supported joint Japan/Korea MPA workshops in Seoul, ASOC/MPA advocacy meetings in Tokyo, and outreach in Japan, and most recently had the opportunity to observe CCAMLR and ATCM meetings to see how Japanese delegations participate and/or intervene. A current priority is fostering youth to get involved in Antarctic MPA efforts.

Eunhee Kim

South Korea Coordinator

Based in South Korea

Eunhee has been working on Antarctic marine protected areas (MPAs) and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing issues since she started working with ASOC in 2014. She earned her Ph.D. in environmental chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on trace metal biogeochemistry in estuarine/marine environments. While working on MPA issues, Eunhee Kim’s research interests expanded to the Antarctic. Currently, she is working on a research project to look at mercury biogeochemistry in Antarctica.

Dr. Jessica O’Reilly

Climate Coordinator

Based in the United States

Jessica O’Reilly, Associate Professor of International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, is an environmental anthropologist who conducts research on science/ policy interfaces in Antarctica and about global climate change. She has worked with ASOC since 2006, as a researcher, as an advisor, as a liaison with the US delegation to the ATCM, as well as representing ASOC at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties. Her research on science/ policy translations in Antarctica is published in The Technocratic Antarctic: an ethnography of scientific expertise and environmental governance (Cornell University Press, 2017). Her research on the history of scientific projections on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is published in Discerning Experts: the practices of scientific assessment for environmental policy (Chicago University Press, 2019). She currently is undertaking long term ethnographic research on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  

Sian Prior

Shipping Advisor

Based in the UK

Dr Sian Prior leads ASOC’s work on shipping in the Southern Ocean. The work focuses on the implementation and further development of the International Maritime Organization’s Polar Code, along with a range of environmental protection issues relevant to shipping in the polar regions, including atmospheric emissions, marine plastic litter, grey water and sewage discharges, underwater noise, invasive species, and ships’ routeing. Sian specializes in interpreting marine science to support conservation and management policy and advocacy. Priority areas of work include ocean governance and ecosystem-based management in relationship to shipping and offshore industries, marine protected areas and fisheries management. She has over 30 years of experience of contributing to a variety of international and regional marine management and conservation frameworks.

Dr. Ricardo Roura

Senior Advisor

Based in the Netherlands

Dr. Ricardo Roura is a conservation professional and independent scholar specialising in Antarctica and the Antarctic Treaty System. Initially a geologist/geomorphologist from the University of Buenos Aires, he migrated to social sciences with a Master of Philosophy from Massey University, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (NZ) and a PhD from the University of Groningen (NL). His broad research interest is human behaviour and human-environment interactions. 

Ricardo has represented ASOC at Antarctic Treaty System fora since 1997 and currently serves as ASOC’s representative to the Committee for Environmental Protection. His goal is to keep Antarctica natural and the Antarctic Treaty System doing the right thing.

He has so far spent fourteen seasons in Antarctica, including wintering-over, with Greenpeace, the Argentine Antarctic program, the University of Canterbury (NZ) and other organizations. He has served in a variety of roles including scientist, environmental manager, and field tutor.  

Ricardo has also conducted research in Svalbard with the Arctic Centre, University of Groningen; and has worked in the Solomon Islands, where he learnt Pijin, the common language. 

Besides his lifelong dedication to the protection of polar environments, Ricardo’s interests mostly involve dynamic balance, the ocean, languages and other cultures. 

Matt Spencer

Research Associate

Based in the UK

Matt Spencer is a Research Associate for ASOC, working towards the establishment of a network of MPAs in the Southern Ocean as well as ensuring human activity in the region, such as fishing, is highly precautionary and sustainable.

Based in the UK, and with a passion for marine conservation, Matt’s expertise is in ocean governance, marine spatial planning and fisheries. Within the role, he supports domestic and high seas MPA adoption as well as engaging with governments that are members of CCAMLR to support the implementation of global 30×30 ambitions.

Prior to working at ASOC, Matt has always operated in the eNGO space. From working on the UK Fisheries Act, delivering Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to, more recently, cycling across Eurasia to raise awareness for sturgeon conservation.

Outside of work, Matt is a huge chilli plant enthusiast, growing whatever varieties he can get his hands on. Away from all things green and marine Matt likes to disappear on his bike with his tent strapped to the back. The more remote and rougher the trail, the better.

Meike Schützek

Senior Campaigner

Based in Germany

Meike Schützek is a marketing and communications expert and strategic advisor in the German campaign team. She has a M.A. in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University of Passau (Germany) and studied politics at The Institut d’études politiques de Toulouse (France). She lived in the UK and US where she worked as a media correspondent and led teams in global performance marketing campaigns. A passionate surfer and climate protection volunteer, she changed her career to ocean protection. Learning about the significance of MPAs, she expanded her interest to the Antarctic. Her professional passion in the areas of policy making, science and creative storytelling drives her in campaigning for the conservation of the Southern Ocean. 

Barry Weeber

Senior Advisor

Based in New Zealand

Barry is an ASOC board member and has been involved in Antarctic conservation for more than 20 years going back to campaigns against the Antarctic Minerals Convention during the 1980s and the campaign for the Antarctic Environmental Protocol in the 1990s. 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 most CCAMLR meetings since 1990 as part of the New Zealand delegation, and has also attended several ATCMs. He works as a consultant 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).

Dr. Yurong Yu

Scientific Adviser

Dr. Yurong Yu is a specialist in biodiversity conservation policy, climate policy, and environmental risk assessment. She completed her PhD at Imperial College London, where her research tackled the complex balance between biodiversity conservation and infrastructure development, using computer-aided cultural value analysis to enhance community-led conservation approaches. With extensive conservation experience across China, the US, and the UK, Yurong brings a global perspective to her work. In 2023, her commitment to conservation led her on a field expedition to Antarctica, where she gained firsthand insight into the challenges facing fragile ecosystems.

Jim Barnes

Founding Chair

Jim received his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1970. In 1970 he joined on the legal team opposing the Alaska Pipeline case at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). That case was won in the Supreme Court in 1974. Jim served as a Public Defender in Washington, DC in 1972-73, and in Vanuatu in 1974. From 1977-82 Jim was an attorney with the CLASP’s International Project, serving as Co-Director in 1981-82. He co-founded the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) in 1978, serving for many years as General Counsel and as Executive Director from 2005-14. With Elliot Porter he wrote Let’s Save Antarctica in 1982 as a citizens’ handbook for Antarctica to be protected as a World Park. He directed ASOC campaigns for an ‘ecosystem-as-a-whole’ fisheries treaty from 1978-82; against the proposed Minerals Convention from 1982-89; and for an Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty that banned minerals activities from 1989-98. In 1994 he helped start the CEE Bankwatch Network (BWN) in Krakow, serving as an advisor for the next ten years. Jim helped develop the campaign to protect the Ross Sea starting in 2003. Today he serves ASOC as Board Chair, and is a Member of the BWN Review Committee in Prague. 

Scott Hajost

Vice-chair (United States)

Scott is an international environment and conservation policy and law expert and manager with 39 plus years’ experience working with the US Government, NGOs, multilateral institutions and leading global environment and development projects. He is currently Senior Wildlife Policy and Climate Advisor to the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) and a Senior Fellow for Environmental and Wildlife Protection at the Whistleblower Network News and a Contributing Editor; having previously served as the Managing Director of the Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program.  He has also been a Senior Strategic Adviser to the National Heritage Insitute which works internationally on alternatives to large scale dams. Prior to NWC, he was the Chief of Party for the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, a global initiative of USAID in partnership with National Geographic, the Smithsonian and TRAFFIC. Before that he was the Chief of Party for the global USAID funded Forest Carbon, Markets and Communities – FCMC Program.

Scott started his career at the US State Department Legal Adviser’s Office lawyer where he worked on international environmental and oceans issues. He subsequently served at the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, a former IUCN member) as Deputy and then Acting Associate Administrator for International Activities and as the first Associate General Counsel for International Activities before leaving the government to become the International Counsel at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF an IUCN member). After EDF, he served almost 15years as the Executive Director of the IUCN USA Multilateral Office including overseeing the IUCN UN mission in New York. (EPA was an IUCN member during this time.)  After IUCN he was senior Counsel at the Center for International Environmental Law before taking over as head of FCMC.

Among other things, Scott is Chairman of the Board of Thinking Animals United, Vice Chair of the Board of ASOC (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition), a member of the CIEL International Advisory Board (all IUCN members), a senior adviser to Earth Day Network, Senior IUCN Advisor and Authorized Vote Holder for Earth League International and Senior Policy Counsel to SPECIES (all IUCN members) and senior advisor to the Global Island Partnership.   He is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the IUCN US National Committee and is a past member of the IUCN US board. Scott is a very long-time member of WCEL and is also a member of WCPA, CEM and CEC.

Courtney Perry

Treasurer (United States)

Courtney Erin Perry is an accomplished finance professional with more than 12 years of non-profit experience working in higher education as well as 501(c)3 and 501(c)6 organizations in Washington, DC. She’s a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as well as a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and holds and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The George Washington University.  Courtney has focused her career on financial reporting, financial statement analysis and investments and is an audit management expert. As the Accounting Deputy Vice President for PhRMA, she is responsible for both domestic and international compliance, including payroll, as well as all aspects of financial statement compilation and analysis. Outside of finance, Courtney is passionate about gender equality issues, in addition to environmental conservation, and serves on the leadership committee of PhRMA’s female-focused Employee Resource Group. 

Prior to working in the non-profit world, Courtney spent many years working in real estate with a focus on financial reporting and regulatory compliance for publicly-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Originally from Boston, she’s an avid Red Sox fan and enjoys frequent trips to Fenway park and Cape Cod. 

Angelique Ahlström

Canada

Angelique Ahlström is a Canadian entrepreneur and advocate focused on space exploration and polar conservation. In 2019, she co-founded Canada’s first and largest climate-tech company, pioneering autonomous UAV-based reforestation technologies to accelerate ecosystem recovery and monitoring. Angelique previously served the Canadian Space Agency in Strategic Space Utilization Policy, helping shape national initiatives in commercial space, Earth observation, and planetary protection. She graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology and the International Space University’s inaugural Commercial Space program, following her master’s degree at the University of Victoria, and is also a member of the International Institute for Astronautical Science. Angelique is passionate about advancing exploration, diplomacy, and science communication. Her work sits at the intersection of planetary protection, environmental stewardship, and human resilience—from Earth’s most extreme environments and beyond. In 2021, Angelique was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 List and as an Editor’s Pick in Energy. She is a Member of The Explorers Club and an alumna of its Blue Generation Program. Angelique currently lives in British Columbia.

Deb Castellana

United States

Deb Castellana brings more than four decades of ocean conservation, maritime communications, and strategic partnership experience to the ASOC Board. She spent 14 years at Mission Blue (Sylvia Earle Alliance), serving as Director of Communications, Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Board Secretary — work that deepened her commitment to protecting the world’s most remote and vulnerable marine ecosystems, including the Southern Ocean.

Her career spans an unusually wide arc: from dive master and yacht captain, to co-owning a sailing yacht company with operations in Sweden and the United States, to serving as US translator for French sailors competing in the Vendée Globe. That life on and around the water has shaped a conservation philosophy grounded in direct experience with the sea. Deb now channels that background into board service and advocacy through her work with ASOC, Ocean Conservation Research, and Third Act, Bill McKibben’s climate organization for older Americans committed to protecting the planet.

Melissa Dann

United States

With thirty years’ experience in the philanthropic, non-profit and government sector, Melissa is a thought leader on issues such as ESG, commodity certification, climate change, impact investing and raising the profile of using capital markets to drive environmental and social change. As Executive Director of the Wallace Global Fund, she was responsible for all areas of foundation’s management– from financial to programmatic. She spearheaded the Fund’s first program related investment, raising the profile of using capital markets to drive social and environmental change. For the past decade, she has advised foundations, corporations, and non-profit organizations to position them on a range of issues such as climate change, sustainable business, impact investing and overall strategic direction. Most recently she worked for an energy start-up with a disruptive subscription model for commercial building HVAC and lighting systems. Prior positions include directing two programs for the US-Asia Environmental Partnership, a USAID-funded Presidential Initiative, and the World Wildlife Fund. Melissa has extensive experience serving on a variety of non-profit boards, and has deep experience on effective governance, revenue diversification, organizational evaluations, and strategic planning. In addition to ASOC, she currently chairs the board of Nature for Justice, a start-up organization. Formerly Melissa chaired the boards of Fauna & Flora International (US) and the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity. Other board tenures include Winrock International, Root Capital, Island Press and RARE. She is a graduate of Columbia University (Masters, Political Economy), Denison University (French and Political Science) and she attended the Institute d’Etudes Politiques.  Melissa is a Fellow with the Royal Geographic Society. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband, Tom, and has four grown children and a wonderful golden retriever named Samson.

Giulia Foscari

Germany

Giulia Foscari W. R. is an architect, researcher and activist who has been practising in Europe, Asia and the Americas. She is the founder UNLESS, a non-profit agency for change devoted to interdisciplinary research on extreme environments threatened by the planetary crisis, and of its alter ego UNA, an architecture studio focussed on cultural projects.

Giulia’s past work experience includes an extensive collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, which began in Hong Kong and led her to run OMA’s South American platform, and with Zaha Hadid Architects. She taught at Hong Kong University and at the Architectural Association, where she ran a Diploma Unit and founded the transnational platform of the Polar Lab.

The work of UNA and UNLESS was exhibited in multiple editions of the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia and other international venues, including the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid.

Giulia authored Elements of Venice (Lars Müller Publishers, 2014) and is the editor of Antarctic Resolution (Lars Müller Publishers, 2022); both are award-winning publications.

Giulia is a Board Member of the Antarctic Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), a Board Member of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, and a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Darren Kindleysides

Australia

Darren Kindleysides has in-depth experience, knowledge and expertise in marine conservation having worked in this field for 25 years both in Australia and overseas. He has overseen the development and implementation of marine conservation programs, projects and campaigns in Oceania and Europe, leading initiatives to safeguard Antarctic whales, Coral Sea reefs, Pacific turtles and Atlantic seabirds.

He is currently the CEO of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, where he works on a variety of issues including marine protected area establishment, threatened species conservation, sustainable fisheries management and mitigating the environmental impacts of marine industries, coastal development and shipping.

Carol LeBlanc

United States

Carol LeBlanc is the president of Smithsonian Enterprises where she oversees the commercial activities of the Institution with four primary business divisions: Media, Retail, E-Commerce, and Travel.

The media division includes Smithsonian magazine, which reaches more than 6.5 million monthly readers, the online platform smithsonianmag.com, with more than 130 million annual visitors, and the award-winning Smithsonian Channel, which is available as part of the Paramount Global portfolio on all cable, satellite, and telecom providers as well as streaming platforms, nationally and internationally. The Channel has received 200 awards, including News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards and a Television Academy Honors Award.

The Retail division includes 39 retail venues including the museum stores, two IMAX theaters, food concessions, visitor parking, Smithsonian Books, and a licensing program with more than 80 licensees in categories such as toys, publishing, collectibles, jewelry, home, student travel and classroom materials.

The E-Commerce division includes smithsonianstore.com, which features products from each Smithsonian museum and the National Zoo as well as limited-edition merchandise drops associated with key events at the Smithsonian.

The Travel division includes Smithsonian Journeys, the Institution’s 50-year old cultural travel program with more than 300 annual departures and Smithsonian Student Travel.

Prior to her appointment as president, LeBlanc served as director, vice president and senior vice president within Smithsonian Enterprises consumer and education products division. During this time, LeBlanc grew the business by negotiating many first-time agreements including a direct-to-retail deal with QVC; promotional programs with Kraft and Subway; strategic partnerships with The Great Courses, Harvard Extension School, and Carnegie Learning; and travel programs with MT Sobek and WorldStrides.

Before joining the Smithsonian, from 1999 to 2008, LeBlanc held two vice president positions in the consumer products area at Discovery Communications. In these roles, she led the merchandise, retail development, publishing, and home entertainment businesses in North America and managed licensing programs for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery Kids networks as well as programs built around hit series including Trading Spaces, American Chopper and Miami Ink.

From 1988 to 1998, LeBlanc worked for National Public Radio, initially in a business affairs role and then as manager of the Business Initiatives Group where she directed the daily operations of the audio, print and consumer products business.

A resident of Washington D.C., LeBlanc earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Huntley Penniman

United States

Huntley Penniman is the founder of Katuvi and a social media and science communications expert. From diving to conservation and communications, her passion lies in learning more about wildlife, understanding the natural world, and inspiring others. Huntley holds a B.S. in Biology from Boston College and a Master’s in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Currently residing in Southern California, Huntley enjoys spending time underwater, horseback riding, and enjoying nature.  She is constantly striving to learn more about marine fishes, ocean conservation, and business management, and is working her way down an ever-increasing list of must-reads.

José Truda Palazzo, Jr.

Brazil

José Palazzo has been working on marine conservation and public policy in Brazil for almost 50 years, including campaigning for the establishment of several Marine Protected Areas and setting up the Brazilian Right Whale Research and Conservation Project. He served as Coordinator of the National Secretariat of the Environment of Brazil, as interim National Biodiversity Secretary, and as government delegate to several international treaties and agreements, and also helped create and manage several marine conservation NGOs in Brazil and other Latin American countries. A recipient of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s 2023 Animal Activist Award, the National Marine Conservation Prize and the National Parks Medal of Brazil,  José has authored or co-authored 15 books and currently serves as an elected member of the Brazilian National Environmental Council, as a Board Member of the Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute, and on the IUCN Task Force on Marine Mammals and Protected Areas and Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group,  and as the Senior Conservation Officer for the Brazilian Institute for Nature Conservation.

Barry Weeber

New Zealand

Barry is an ASOC board member and has been involved in Antarctic conservation for more than 20 years going back to campaigns against the Antarctic Minerals Convention during the 1980s and the campaign for the Antarctic Environmental Protocol in the 1990s. 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 most CCAMLR meetings since 1990 as part of the New Zealand delegation, and has also attended several ATCMs. He works as a consultant 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).

Zhou Wei

China

Zhou Wei got her master’s degree in Environmental Planning and Management from Nanjing University. She has been working with Greenpeace East Asia since 2012. That was also the year she started advocating for Antarctic marine protected areas. Wei has ten years of experience working on fisheries and marine protected areas. She coordinated research on the overfishing of “trash fish” and contributed to the transition towards sustainability of China’s domestic fisheries. She wrote recommendations on China’s distant water fisheries management and authored articles on oceans issues. Wei also works on promoting the adoption of a strong treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). She also has extensive experience in organizing activities to increase public understanding of the ocean and participation in ocean protection.