About The Ocean Project
Current Initiatives
Mission
Leadership and
Advisory Councils
Special Thanks
The Ocean Project Team
Internship Opportunities

Bill Mott, Director

Bill has been professionally involved in effecting positive change through local, national, and international not-for-profit organizations since the late 1980s. Throughout that time, he has focused on building networks and coalitions to promote more collaborative and strategic ways to bring about a better future.

Bill began his conservation career at the Center for Marine Conservation (now The Ocean Conservancy), where for several years he worked on marine ecosystem protection, mainly through helping to create and coordinate the Coral Reef Coalition, culminating in the establishment of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 1990. After grad school in the early-1990s, Bill served as director of the Marine Fish Conservation Network, another diverse coalition of more than 100 conservation and fishing organizations. Through innovative national media and grassroots campaigns, the Network worked to reform Federal fisheries policy in Congress, eventually succeeding in getting unprecedented conservation provisions incorporated through congressional passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act in 1996. Bill next worked with SeaWeb, for seven years, focused primarily on aquaculture and seafood issues. During that time, he split his time helping to develop The Ocean Project. In 2005, Bill decided to focus 100% on The Ocean Project.

He received an M.E.Sc. from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 1993 and a B.Sc. in Natural Resources from Cornell University in 1987. Currently, Bill lives with his wife, Stephanie, and two young children, Sophia and Nicholas (and Oyster/see below), in Providence, Rhode Island where Bill founded and coordinates the RI Environmental Network and also serves on the boards of several local- and state-focused organizations.

Bruce Campbell, Technical Director

Bruce joined The Ocean Project in 2007 as a Web-enablement specialist looking to help build community among The Ocean Project partners. Through maintaining websites, and collaborating with Bill and the various interns and consultants involved in delivering Web content and computer-mediated communications opportunities, Bruce hopes to continue to raise awareness on the plight of our planetary waterscape. Bruce brings seven years experience as Technical Director of the Center for Environmental Visualization at the University of Washington. Prior to getting involved in environmental data management and visualization, Bruce spent ten years implementing information science-related projects for academic, government, and corporate organizations. Bruce holds MS degrees in Human-Computing Interaction Science, Computer Science, and Information Science from The University of Washington, The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and The University of Wisconsin as well as a BS in Finance and Accounting from The University of Delaware. He lives in Providence with his wife Irma, cat Zodic, and dog Helmut.

Renée Grinnell, Conservation Associate

A New Hampshire native, Renée spent the past four years earning a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell in 2008. During her junior year she set out on a life-changing adventure abroad in Nepal studying the language and culture, living with Nepali friends, and designing her own month-long field research project, which examined the body image and changing beauty ideals of urban and rural Kathmandu Valley women. Renée was also lucky enough to travel widely within her host country, from the flat tropical plains in the southern Tarai region to trekking at high altitudes in the Annapurna range. These experiences showed her firsthand the negative environmental effects rapid modernization can create in the absence of a sustainable plan for development.

Renée is excited to take her academic, research-oriented psychology background in a new direction at The Ocean Project, applying knowledge in a practical, communications- and marketing-oriented context to incite positive change in the world. She keeps a hand in academia as a research assistant in the Britton neuroscience lab at Brown Medical School, exploring the effects of mindfulness meditation on the brain, and also blogs for PsychCentral.com, a web-based mental health resource. Renée loves her new hometown of Providence, where she lives with three wonderful housemates and two adorable rescued kittens named Chai and Bakancito. She enjoys outdoor sports in any season, particularly distance running, Nordic skiing, hiking, and horseback riding.

Christine Wendland, European Intern

Christine Wendland joins The Ocean Project team from Germany for the 2009-10 season to work on the Watershed-to-Ocean Initiative, World Oceans Day, and coordinate our relationship with Save the Bay — Narragansett.

Oyster, Morale Booster

Oyster the dog faithfully sits by The Ocean Project staff as a peace promoter and ultra-conscious consumer.

Remote Volunteer Team

Jennie Dean, Watershed-Ocean Initiative

Jennie Dean is volunteering as an intern remotely for the 2008 and beyond. During 2008, Jennie finished her first year of a two year Masters of Environmental Management degree at Duke University and was excited to start the second year at their coastal facility. With her future career Jennie hopes to help synthesize the knowledge of different users of coastal ecosystems to develop more comprehensive and workable ocean management programs and policies.

Theresa Karasek, Watershed-Ocean Initiative

Theresa Karasek is volunteering as an intern remotely for the 2008 summer. Theresa has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences from Saint Louis University and has just completed the first year of a two year Masters degree program at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializing in Coastal Marine Resources Management. She hopes to use the power of the internet to provide public education and encourage active involvement in marine conservation, focusing on shark awareness and conservation.

The Ocean Project Intern Alumni

Angela Penn, Ocean Conservation Associate

Angela Burnett Penn worked with The Ocean Project team from June 2007 to June 2008, bringing a life-long passion for the ocean and coastal environments. Haven grown up in the Virgin Islands, Angela has always felt a strong connection to the ocean and wants to help others realize their connection to and role in protecting this magnificent resource.

Angela graduated from Brandeis University in 2007 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development. In her undergraduate years she had the opportunity to intern with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs where she worked on water conservation issues. She also had the opportunity to engage in extensive field work and conduct independent research under the Marine Biological Laboratory`s Ecosystem Center in Woods Hole, and The School for Field Studies` Turks and Caicos Islands Marine Protected Area program.

Currie Dugas, Summer Associate

Currie Dugas worked with The Ocean Project team for most of 2008. Her efforts focused on World Ocean Day and the Seas the Day initiative. Currie graduated in 2007 with a BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Brown University. During her time as an undergraduate she studied tropical marine ecology and sustainable ecotourism in Australia, Panama, and her native country of Costa Rica. She also had the opportunity to work with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute conducting independent research on the behavior of hydrozoan medusae. Although her background is in ecology, Currie has a life-long passion for conservation and environmental stewardship and is excited to continue to support the positive work going on at The Ocean Project.

Laura Mattison, Summer Associate

Laura joined The Ocean Project for the summer of 2008 to assist with the conservation communications initiative, as well as to help with our newsletter, Blue Planet News to Use. Laura is a graduate student of Environmental Studies at Brown University researching the roles of gender equity and community participation in fisheries management in both southern New England and Kerala, India. Prior to her time at Brown, Laura was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands working on issues of marine resource management and environmental education. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Vermont.

Zoe Hansen-DeBello, Ocean Conservation Associate

Zoe Hansen-DiBello, who is originally from Providence, worked with The Ocean Project team during the summer of 2007. She is currently finishing her B.A. in Maritime Studies with a focus in Political Science at the University of Connecticut. At the University of Connecticut Zoe was an Environmental Policy Intern for two years. She has also interned with Zoo Marine in Portugal, and recently returned from a three week boat trip which focused on maritime history, policy and literature. She hopes to further her education with a master in Maritime Public Affairs, and eventually write maritime public policy. Zoe lives in Connecticut with her fiance Dustin, and two cats, Gar and Rusty.

Jamie Doherty, Volunteer Associate

Jamie Doherty joined The Ocean Project team in 2008 to continue the work of our summer interns. Jamie finished up a year's work with us in 2009 as she graduated from Providence College.

Nick Ganci, Graphic Artist

Nick Ganci, who is originally from Maryland, worked with The Ocean Project team during the summer of 2007. He helped us generate imagery for the World Ocean Day, Seas the Day, and the Seven C's intiatives as well as improve on general imagery for The Ocean Project website. Nick produced materials for use with the public whenever The Ocean Project presents at an environmental fair. Nick had recently graduated from the Ringling School of Art of Florida with his bachelor's degree in fine art and currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD.

Meghan Sullivan, Ocean Conservation Associate

Meghan Sullivan interned with The Ocean Project during summer 2007. During her internship, she produced various issue papers and monthly content for The Ocean Project website. She also assisted in the revision and updates to the content on the newly improved website design. Meghan leaves The Ocean Project to complete her Masters degree from the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. After completion of her degree, Meghan will look to continue efforts in marine conservation and education in some manner or another. She previously received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Lindy Brady, Ocean Conservation Associate

Lindy Brady (often accompanied by her dog Murphy) worked for The Ocean Project from May 2005 until December 2006. Her work for TOP involved launching and sustaining the Seas the Day initiative, creating original content for Seas the Day and Blue Planet News to use, working on grant proposals and media communications, and conducting public outreach to increase the visibility of the organization. Lindy joined The Ocean Project as part of a lifelong dedication to the environment, having completed extensive coursework in environmental studies at Brown University and previously worked for three years for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. She graduated magna cum laude with her B.A. and M.A. from Brown University in 2008. Lindy is currently teaching courses in the English department at the University of Connecticut while pursuing her Ph.D. there, and remains active in protecting the environment as a member of the zoning and land use board in her new hometown.

Calling All Alumni