Leonard J.V. Compagno, Ph.D. – Director
Len is the world’s foremost expert on sharks. He earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, in 1979, and has authored more than 100 publications on sharks, including books, chapters in books, numerous scientific papers and a number of more popular works, mostly on cartilaginous fishes. His books include (Catalog of world sharks, Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations; Sharks of the Order Carcharhiniformes, Princeton University Press; Guide to sharks and rays of southern Africa, Struik). His Sharks of the World, published simultaneously in the UK and USA is the first ever field guide to sharks. He is also Director of Fishes at the South African Museum in Cape Town where he currently resides.

Captain Stephen D. Nagiewicz Chairman – Board of Trustees
Steve is a licensed professional ships Master and has 30 years experience scuba diving the world’s oceans searching for shipwrecks, and promoting shark and ocean conservation issues as a writer, photographer and field researcher. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and its former Executive Director, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. Steve also managed the Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ. He currently teaches high school Earth and Environmental Sciences.

D. W. Bennett – Board of Trustees
Dery joined the staff of the American Littoral Society (ALS) in 1968 as Conservation Director and became the Executive Director in 1972. ALS, a membership organization whose goal is to encourage the study and conservation of marine life and its habitat in the coastal zone, is headquartered at Sandy Hook, NJ, with branch offices in New York, Lambertville (New Jersey), Florida, and Washington State.

William L. Bunting, Jr., Esq. – Legal Counsel, Board of Trustees
Bill received his law degree from the University of Virginia and is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association. He is currently in private practice in Princeton, New Jersey.

Ben Fackler – Board of Trustees
Ben is an avid sportsman, traveler and conservationist. Having spent a significant portion of his childhood outdoors in the American South, he maintains a strong interest in understanding and protecting nature on land and under water. Educated at Pomona College (B.A., International Relations) and Harvard Law School (J.D.), Ben is an investment banker based in New York.

Baron Jupp Kerckerinck zur Borg – Board of Trustees
Born and raised in a castle in Germany, Jupp was educated in the USA and Germany. After selling his advertising agency, he became a race car driver for Fiat Abarth and Alfa Romeo. In 1977, he moved to upstate New York where he started the first commercial deer farm in North America: the Lucky Star Ranch. He hunted in Africa, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the US and Canada but lost interest in hunting when he began diving with sharks. Today he photographs sharks throughout the world, and his lectures and website www.sharkprotect.com continue to educate the public about the need for shark conservation.

Dianna Sansotta – Board of Trustees
Dianna is a NY/NJ-based business owner. Before opening her businesses she studied Marine Sciences at Nova Southeastern University and continues studies in Environmental Science. Dianna volunteers her time to educate visitors at Atlantic City Aquarium and Adventure Aquarium about the importance of Shark Conservation. A PADI Divemaster, she initiated the Dive and Dine Dive Shows at the Atlantic City aquarium, hand feeding sharks and stingrays while giving informative presentations.

John A. Scarlett, M.D. – Board of Trustees
John “Chip” Scarlett is an underwater still photographer whose work has appeared in Ocean Realm, Nature’s Best Magazine, Outside, Fathoms, Scuba Diver, Australasian Scuba Diver and has been featured in several compendia of underwater images. He has been exhibited at the British Underwater Image Festival in Birmingham, Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) in Singapore, the Environmental Photography Invitational gallery show in Seattle, and the Festival Mondial de l’Image Sous Marine in Antibes, and currently has several single artist exhibitions scheduled for 2007 – 2009. www.pbase.com/chipscar Chip is also Chief Executive Officer of Tercica, Inc. Chip and his wife and diving companion, Susan, have homes in Austin, TX and Burlingame, CA.

Rob Stewart – Board of Trustees
Born in Toronto, Canada, Rob is an award-winning wildlife photographer and the director of Sharkwater. Stewart began photographing underwater when he was 13, and became a certified scuba instructor trainer at age 18. He holds a BS degree in Biology from the University of Western Ontario, and has studied Marine Biology and Zoology at universities in Kenya and Jamaica. Rob spent four years traveling the world as chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation magazines, and has logged thousands of hours underwater, using the latest in rebreather and camera technologies. His work underwater and on land has appeared in nearly every media form worldwide from BBC, Wildlife, Asian Diver, Outpost and GEO magazines to the Discovery Channels, ABC, BBC, night clubs and feature films. www.sharkwater.com

Al Vinjamur – Board of Trustees
Educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Al was the founder of a proprietary quantitative trading group, a Limited Partner and Quantitative Portfolio Manager at one of the biggest hedge funds in the world. Al has been attracted to elasmobranchs since he was a child and is a lover of nature, a diver, and a nature photographer. Al is passionate about the conservation of sharks and feels that conservation efforts have to be played out in the mainstream media to really take effect - the seminal first step focused on stopping "sensationalist" TV programming that portray sharks as dangerous creatures. www.alvinjamur.com

Jerry Beaty – Advisory Board
Jerry Beaty is the Associate Publisher of Dive Training Magazine http://www.dtmag.com/

Tom Campbell – Advisory Board
Tom began his diving career in the cold water lakes and rivers of Alberta and British Columbia. As a US Navy diver, Tom was part of a select Force Recon unit that was assigned to Seal Team. After discharge, he spent 20 years with the California Highway Patrol and received numerous commendations for his service, including one from President Reagan. And as a NAUI diving instructor, Tom introduced hundreds of people to the ocean realm. Throughout his professional years Tom was an avid photographer and filmmaker shooting wildlife, both underwater and topside His photographs have appeared in hundreds of popular publications worldwide, and he completed assignments for a wide range of corporations such as the BBC, Continental Airlines, National Geographic, Time Life Books, New York and LA Times magazine. He has written dozens of articles and won several photographic awards, including International Wildlife's Annual Competition and recognition in the BBC's Wildlife Photographer of the Year publication. Tom has been a featured speaker internationally including Antibe, France and Norway at the Antibe and Lofoton film festivals. His successful line of notecards and posters, titled "It's Our World Too", are marketed worldwide.. Recent assignments include shooting Discovery's High-Definition film documentary on White Sharks in South Africa, and Giant Mantas in Mexico. Tom's production company and crew hosts a complete line of High-Definition equipment Tom feels that the most important contribution any wildlife photographer or filmmaker can make is: "To create an awareness that will protect and preserve our environment for future generations." http://www.tomcampbell.com/

Richard Ellis – Advisory Board Recognized as one of America's foremost painters of marine natural history subjects, Richard is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. His published books include The Book of Sharks, The Book of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Men and Whales, Great White Shark (with John E. McCosker and Al Giddings), Physty: The True Story of a Young Whale's Rescue, Monsters of the Sea, and Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss. He has published more than 80 articles in such magazines as National Geographic, Audubon, and Geo, and he has led cruises in such places as Alaska and Antarctica for the American Museum of Natural History.

Amos Nachoum – Advisory Board
Amos has led National Geographic expedition teams with Dr. Eugenie Clark, Dr. Sylvia Earle, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Dr. Alex Antoniou, and has co-produced documentaries with Stan Waterman. His photos and essays have appeared in more than 500 publications in North America, Europe, and Japan, including National Geographic magazine, Ocean Realm, Island, Outside, Rodale’s Scuba Diving, Time, Life, The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Le Figaro, Terra Sauvage, Airone, and Mondo Somerso. Amos co-founded Israel’s Marine National Park on the Red Sea. His cutting-edge adventure-travel program BigAnimals.com provides divers with opportunities to observe, photograph, and interact with the most magnificent inhabitants of the sea: white sharks, orcas, dophins, sailfish and blue, sperm and humpback whales. Only through observation and interaction, Amos believes, can people learn to truly understand and respect some of the most impressive citizens of our water planet. http://www.biganimals.com

Marty Snyderman – Advisory Board
Marty is a still photographer, an Emmy-Award-winning cinematographer and film producer, author, and speaker specializing in the marine environment. His films have been shown on PBS, Discovery Channel and his cinematograph has been used by Warner Brothers, National Geographic Society, and the BBC. Marty's still photography and/or writing has appeared in National Geographic Magazine, Skin Diver Magazine, numerous National Wildlife Federation publications, Natural History, Dive Training, Sport Diver, Time, Newsweek, Time Life, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, New England Aquarium, Sea World and Seattle Aquarium. His books include Ocean Life: Discovering the World Beneath the Sea, Guide to Marine Life: Caribean-Bahamas-Florida; California Marine Life: An Identification and Field Guide to Common Marine Species; and Shark: Endangered Predator of the Sea. http://www.martysnyderman.com

Wyland – Advisory Board
Marine Life Artist Wyland has earned the distinction as one of America’s most unique creative influences, and a leading advocate for marine resource conservation. An accomplished painter, sculptor, photographer, writer, and SCUBA diver, he has traveled the farthest reaches of the globe for more than 25 years, capturing the raw power and beauty of the undersea universe. http://www.wyland.com

Stan Waterman – President
Stan has been President of the Shark Research Institute since 1993. A pioneer underwater film producer and photographer, he is the winner of five Emmy Awards. Stan has been at the forefront of scuba diving since its inception, and was named as Legend of the Sea in 2007. He hosts dive tours to exotic destinations, to which he brings a legacy of almost a half century of diving and film making. In addition, he continues his work in film and television productions and speaks to dive groups throughout the world about the critical role of sharks in the marine ecosystem and necessity for their protection.
www.stanwaterman.com

Marie Levine – Executive Director
Marie is Founder and Executive Director of SRI. Under her stewardship the organization expanded its membership to more than 8,000, and has research / conservation projects in Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Mexico, Mozambique, The Philippines, Seychelles, South Africa, Taiwan, Tanzania, the UK and the USA. In addition to papers for scientific journals and chapters in books, she has authored two childrens’ books on sharks: Sharks: Q&A (New Holland), and Great White Sharks (Weigl, reprinted by Raintree Steck-Vaughn).

Kathy Rothschild -- CFO
Kathy learned to dive in 1987, saw her first shark shortly afterwards, has been hooked ever since. In response to the tremendous growth of the dive industry, she created Rothschild Dive Safaris and developed dive travel programs to exotic destinations worldwide. Kathy has dived all over the world and logged more than 1,000 dives. She was instrumental in opening up the Philippines, South Africa, Malawi, and Jordan as dive destinations for the US market. Kathy is strongly committed to the environment, and is a member of the Women Divers’ Hall of Fame.

Alex Antoniou, Ph.D. – Director of Field Operations
Alex has led SRI field expeditions and filmed whale sharks in the Bay Islands (Honduras), Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), LaPaz (Mexico) and Cocos Island (Costa Rica), and Thailand, conducting both visual ID and satellite tagging of whale sharks. In October 1999, his presentation of SRI’s work in Honduras and quantifying the value of the species to the local economy directly resulted in protection of whale sharks in Honduran waters. Alex is currently engaged in a radio-telemetry study of hammerhead sharks in Costa Rica, a joint project with PRETOMA.

Dean Fessler – Director of Education
Dean joined SRI in 1991, and began studying bull and Caribbean reef sharks off the Bahamas, and sandtiger sharks off North Carolina. In 1992, he relocated to San Diego to work with blue and mako sharks, and studied hammerhead sharks and whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. In 1998, he moved to South Africa to study white sharks where he worked with other scientists, underwater photographers and documentary filmmakers. Dean is also a NAUI Divemaster and a member of the Explorers Club.

Joel Shilliday, Online Development
Joel was drawn to sharks via John Williams. At age 5 the tv commercial for Jaws, with the familiar theme drew him to the world of sharks. In 2nd grade he got in trouble for continuely checking out (hording) the same "shark books" from the elementary library. This fascination, has led Joel to advanced diving certifications, and numerous SRI dive trips. Ellis, McCosker, and Cousteau were heros and authors whos books Joel deveoured while gaining advanced degrees in multimedia development and education. Joel's goal is ultimately build sharks.org into THE online resource for sharks.

Lewis Levine, M.D. – Global Shark Attack File
As a teen, Lewis worked in a local dive shop, dived New Jersey shipwrecks, and led dive expeditions to the Caribbean. An orthopedic surgeon, his office is located in New Jersey. In 1990, Lewis and four of his colleagues formed the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF) for medical professionals. The GSAF, currently maintained by SRI, provides the media with accurate data and is a conservation tool to counteract the negative hype about shark accidents. www.sharkattackfile.net

Matthew Potenski – Field Researcher
Matt Potenski is currently completing his masters degree at Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). He has worked with southern stingray, Dasyatis Americana, populations in Grand Cayman, BW, and studied lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris, in both the Bahamas at the Bimini Biological Field Station-Sharklab and the Marquesas Keys, FL As an SRI field researcher, Matt has studied whale sharks in the Bay Islands (Honduras), Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Cocos Island (Costa Rica), and Mafia Island (Tanzania) - a joint project with the World Wildlife Fund. He also has led SRI field expeditions and conducted both visual ID and satellite transmitter tagging of whale sharks. An avid photographer, Matt recently formed MDP Productions, Inc. as he begins his career as a professional photographer. His work can be seen in several publications, most recently in SRI patron Sylvia Earle’s new book Defying Ocean’s End.

Jennifer V. Schmidt, Ph.D. – DNA study
As a Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, Dr. Schmidt, along with Robert Phillips, Ph.D., Robin Ernst and Greg O’Mullan, Ph.D. initiated SRI’s DNA study. Jennifer, currently Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, now heads this study and has isolated genetic markers of whale sharks.

Brad Norman – Australia
Brad, Marie and Alex successfully lobbied for the Appendix II listing of the whale shark at CITES in 2002. Shortly afterwards, Brad, a marine biologist, together with SRI member Jason Holmberg and NASA scientist Zaven Arzoumanian developed a photo-identification program for whale sharks: Ecocean ( www.ecocean.org) for which he won the Rolex Award of Enterprise. "I consider the whale shark an icon species, a flagship for the marine environment in general. Although vulnerable to extinction right now, as we begin to identify and protect its critical habitats I believe we can win the battle and ensure the future conservation of the largest fish in the sea."

Commander Arun Patil – India
Arun earned a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Aeronautics, and retired from the Indian Naval Aviation after 21 years of service. He was the founder director of the National Institute of Watersports from 1990 to 2003 and consultant to the various state tourism departments of the Indian Union. In this capacity, he developed the safety framework for watersports for India.

Since 2000, Arun has directed SRI operations in India and conducted a fact-finding survey of the then flourishing whale shark industry off the Veraval coast in the state of Gujrat. After the ban on whale shark hunting by the Indian Government, he undertook another study evaluating the effectiveness of the ban and exploring alternate livelihoods for those who had been previously engaged in the whale shark fishing industry. Later, along with Suzy Quasnichka of SRI-UK, he conducted a study off the Diu coast south of Veraval to explore the possibility of establishing whale shark tourism. He also organizes diving and logistic support for conservation projects in and around India. Commander Patil’s administrative expertise is available for any SRI conservation project anywhere in the world.

Suzy Quasnichka – South Africa, Western Cape Province
Former Director of SRI UK (until she relocated to South Africa), Suzy, a marine biologist, has worked with sharks in Australia, Djibouti, India, Honduras, South Africa and Tanzania. While working for SRI in Australia, she compiled a video catalogue of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef spanning 5 years, led field expeditions onboard the Kairos to the northern Mozambique Channel, and contributed images of more than 150 whale sharks to the Ecocean catalogue. A world-class underwater filmmaker, Suzy is currently working in Gansbaai, South Africa where she is conducting behavioral research with white sharks along with Michael Rutzen. http://www.sharkdivingunlimited.com/index.htm

Debbie Smith – South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal
A PADI MSDT Instructor, Debbie has been instrumental in the complete setting up of top dive centers at upmarket resorts — from mapping and naming sites to full operational status — winning top international awards. Founder of an ecotourism company “Diving with sharks”, Debbie worked in the Seychelles in conjunction with David Rowat, and is currently based at Aliwal Shoal, South Africa, where she is co-running Africa Dive Expeditions, another ecotourism company operating in conjunction with “Diving with Sharks”. Both companies are involved in diving & shark research along the east coast of South Africa. In 2007, Debbie was inducted into Women Divers Hall of Fame for her contributions to diving, education & shark field research.

David Rowat – Seychelles
David is also chairman of the Marine Conservation Society, Seychelles, and initiated the Seychelles whale shark monitoring programme in 1996 with the assistance of SRI South Africa. Since then, he has collected data on hundreds of whale shark interactions, deployed both passive ID and satellite various tags on whale sharks, and submitted ID photographs of more than 50 whale sharks to the Ecocean catalogue.

Scott Stevens – Taiwan
Scott received his MSc in Marine Resource Management from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, and has been working in fisheries management in the South China Sea. He is currently studying migrations of hammerhead sharks along the coast of China, and heads up SRI in Taipei.

Connecticut — Guy Perrotta
Guy coordinates efforts for media outreach strategies and campaigns, participates in SRI field research, and makes presentations on shark conservation at various colleges and universities in New England including Brown University, Yale University and Norwalk Community College. He is also a two-time Emmy®-Award winning producer and writer. Guy served as Co-Producer, Co-Writer and Artistic Director for the PBS film Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War. He served as Director of Promotions and Special Events and juror for various film festivals in the United States. With Haverland Film/Video Productions, New York, Guy wrote, produced, and directed educational works, including oral histories and test pilots for proposed television series.

South Florida — Neil Hammerschlag, Cassandra Clark, Sabrina Garcia &
Daniell Washington

South Florida — Neil Hammerschlag
Neil joined SRI when he was in high school, earned an undergraduate degree in Ecology from the University of Toronto, Canada and received his Masters degree in Marine Biology from the Nova Southeastern University, Oceanographic Center. Neil is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. His research focuses on understanding the ecological roles of marine predators, particularly sharks, as well as on the community ecology of mangrove fishes. He is also directing the South Florida Student Shark Program (SFSSP) with students participating from South Broward High School (Broward, Florida), MAST Academy High School (Miami, Florida), Palmer Trinity High School (Miami, Florida) and the University of Miami (Miami, Florida). www.neil4sharks.org

South Florida — Daniell Washinton
A South Florida native, Daniell is a senior at the University of Miami with a double major in marine science and biology. She has studied predator/prey relationship between white sharks and cape fur seals at False Bay, South Africa, and participated in a month-long marine science internship along the Pacific coast in Washington at the Olympic National Park Natural Resources lab. She is also assisting with the SFSSP and serving as the co-president of the UM Marine Mammal Stranding Team. She intends to pursue a Master’s degree in marine biodiversity and conservation at the University of California San Diego, with the goal of making a significant contribution to the preservation of the ocean and all marine environments for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

South Florida — Cassandra Clark — Originally from Port Tobacco, Maryland, Cassie grew up along the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. During her senior year in high school she took additional courses at the College of Southern Maryland, including an introductory Marine Biology course. After graduating in 2004, she enrolled at the University of Miami to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Marine Science, Biology, and Ecosystem Science and Policy, with a minor in History and Classics. The summer after her freshmen year, she volunteered at the Morganstate University Estuarine Research Center in Maryland, assisting with field research and data collection on the eastern oyster and blue crab. Since January 2006, she has been completing an internship with the University of Miami’s NSF-NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center (within the Rosenstiel School’s Department of Marine Biology and Fisheries), conducting research on toxic Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in South Florida coastal waters, and field/diving research in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. In her senior year at UM, she currently serves as the president of GreenpeaceUM, and is a member and volunteer for multiple student and national environmental organizations. After graduating, she plans to seek a Master’s degree in marine/environmental science in tandem with service in the PeaceCorp, ultimately pursuing a career that will allow her combine scientific research and environmental conservation.

South Florida — Sabrina Garcia
Sabrina Garcia is a senior at the University of Miami where she is studying Marine Science/Biology. A Miami native, she went to high school at the Maritime and Science Technology (MAST) Academy on Key Biscayne and gained field experience through internships at NOAA. As a junior at UM, she began working with Neil Hammerschlag and the SFSSP and gained hands-on experience with juvenile lemon and bonnethead sharks. The sharks were netted, tagged, weighed, measured, and underwent stomach eversions to analyze their stomach contents. In the summer of 2007 she was a volunteer the Bimini Biological Field Station (BBFS) working with Dr. Gruber and gill-netting juvenile lemon sharks in the mangrove nurseries surrounding the island and long-lined for sub-adult and adult tigers, lemons, black-tips, and nurse sharks. During the spring 2008 semester, Sabrina will be completing her studies at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. Afterwards, she will be working towards a Master’s degree in fisheries biology with a conservation and management concentration.

Texas — Mike Tichenor
Mike received a B.S degree in Biology from San Diego State University, an MBA from Amberton University, attended the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, and is currently working on an M.S. in Statistics from Texas A&M University.

Mike’s interest is focused on population studies of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, collection and classification of shark teeth (in particular Carcharodon megalodon, and shark education. A retired PADI dive instructor, Mike has participated in research expeditions to the Bay Islands (Honduras), Mafia Island (Tanzania) and the Outer banks of North Carolina.

Affliliations
American Littoral Society
Reef Watch Marine Conservation (India)
Shark Research Centre (South Africa)
Shark Alliance
Species Survival Network
National Institute of Watersports (India)
University of Guayaquil (Ecuador)
United Nations