SUSHI, WHALES, AND OIL SPILL TALES
Brett Jenks, President and CEO, Rare
Carl Safina, Founder and President, Blue Ocean Institute
The recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill and nuclear accident in Japan reminded the world of the significant impact of human activity on the environment. Media reports featuring contaminated aquatic life, seafood scares, and compromised livelihoods brought to the foreground old and new questions about natural resource management, marine conservation, climate change, and sustainable development. As sea levels rise, reefs bleach, and fish stocks crater due to global warming, overfishing, and pollution, what are the prospects for the billion people who rely on these resources? What strategies are available to address these destructive imbalances? What role should the international community play in ecosystem conservation efforts? Join us for a conversation on these issues and what they mean for individuals, nations, and global policy making.
Brett Jenks is president and CEO of Rare, a global conservation non-profit organization that develops scalable solutions to the environment’s most pressing challenges. Rare received four straight Social Capitalist Awards from Fast Company magazine, which recognizes organizations that combine savvy business models with solutions to pressing social needs. Previously a journalist and filmmaker, Jenks has worked in the field of tropical conservation and rural education since 1992. He served as the Costa Rica Program Director for WorldTeach, a non-profit education organization based at Harvard University’s Center for International Development, and is a founding board member of Foundations of Success, an NGO dedicated to improving the effectiveness of conservation projects around the world. Jenks is also a 2010 Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He earned his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and his M.B.A. from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Dr. Carl Safina is president of the non-profit Blue Ocean Institute, adjunct professor at Stony Brook University, and the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur, Pew, and Guggenheim fellowships. An award-winning author, Safina’s books include Song for the Blue Ocean, The View From Lazy Point, and A Sea in Flames, among others, and he has authored over 100 articles. He is also host of the TV series Saving the Ocean. His latest book, A Sea in Flames: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout, will be available for purchase and signing following the program.