Technical Committee
Bernd Cordes
Bernd is a Program Officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, helping to manage its Oceans and Seafood Markets Initiative. He has also worked as an independent consultant, as a Senior Research Program Manager (Oceans) for Vulcan, Inc. and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and for twelve years as a Program Officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where he led the Western Pacific and Marine Birds Conservation programs. Prior to that, he lived and worked in Indonesia on enterprise-driven conservation projects in the forests and coastal waters of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Melanesia.
Bernd holds an A.B. in diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College, and a Master of Public Policy studies and a Master of Arts in Southeast Asian studies, both from the University of Michigan. Bernd first became involved with the Micronesia Conservation Trust just after its inception, while he was representing the Packard Foundation and guiding its grants in support of MCT. He joined MCT’s Board in late 2018. Elizabeth (Liz) Terk
Liz Terk is the Director of Conservation Science and Planning (CSP) for The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Micronesia Program. She has worked for TNC for four years and was originally hired as the Protected Area Advisor. She has worked in Conservation in Micronesia for over 10 years. First as the Deputy Director of the Conservation Society of Pohnpei and then as the Conservation Program Manager from the Micronesia Conservation Trust. She holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Bachler’s degree in Biology from Occidental College.
Her main areas of work include marine spatial planning, designing Marine Protected Areas to achieve fisheries management objectives, conservation action planning and community based climate change adaptation. Trina Leberer
Trina Leberer is the Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Pacific Division, overseeing work in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. TNC’s work in these amazing places is focused on ridges-to-reefs planning and management, fisheries reform, climate change adaptation and resilience, extractive industries reform, and sustainable finance, which are integral to achieving its global priorities of protecting land and water, providing food and water sustainably, and tackling climate change.
Trina has lived on the island of Guam since 1994, and prior to joining TNC, worked for the Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources for seven years as a Biologist, Fisheries Supervisor, and Acting Chief. She joined TNC in 2004 as the Micronesia Marine Conservation Coordinator and became Micronesia Program Director in 2009, with a focus on assisting partners to achieve the goals of the Micronesia Challenge, a shared commitment to effectively conserve at least 30% of their near-shore marine resources and 20% of their terrestrial resources by 2020, through science-based management, organizational capacity building, sustainable financing, and supportive policy. Trina has an MSc in Biology from the University of Guam Marine Laboratory and a BA in Environmental, Populational and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Peter Houk
Peter received his MS in Biology/Marine Science from the University of Guam in 1999 and his PhD in Marine Biology in 2006 from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is currently a tenured professor at the University of Guam. Mr Houk has also worked as the chief scientist at the Pacific Marine Resources Institute.
Peter was a PEW Fellowship Nominee in 2016 and serves as a member of the Micronesian Challenge Scientific Advisory Council. He has also been active serving on boards and/or committees with The Nature Conservancy, The Western Pacific Coral Reef Initiative, The Palau International Coral Reef Center and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration Simon Ellis
Simon Ellis has 30 years of experience working in the fields of aquaculture, sustainable development, and conservation. He concurrently holds three long-term positions as Director of the Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP), an NGO focusing on sustainable aquaculture development; affiliate faculty at the University of Hawaii Hilo – Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center; and Micronesia representative for Seacology, a Berkeley California-based conservation NGO.
Mr. Ellis has extensive experience in freshwater and marine aquaculture that covers pond and cage culture of fishes, bivalve and other shellfish farming. In addition, his Master’s thesis focused on finfish nutrition. Mr. Ellis was recently project manager on two USAID climate change-related projects focusing on aquaculture through the Pacific American Climate Fund. These projects focus on cage farming of fish, pearl farming and culture of invertebrates for the marine ornamental trade. In addition to these long-term projects, Mr. Ellis has completed a number of short-term consultancy projects for the European Union, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and other regional organizations. Mr. Ellis has lived in Micronesia for 20 years and has extensive experience in the Pacific region as well as Africa. Prior to living in Micronesia, he lived in the Bahamas for five years. Mr. Ellis holds a Master’s Degree from Louisiana State University in Fisheries and Aquaculture and a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He spent his formative years in Nigeria and Ghana. Norleen Oliver
Norleen Oliver is the Chief of the Social Affairs and Gender Office for FSM Health. Born in Pohnpei, Norleen received her Masters of Health Policy and Administration from Concordia University before returning to work in her current role. Previously she worked as a Program Manager and Systems Administrator for FSM Health and also spent a few years teaching at the College of Micronesia.
|
