The International Seakeepers Society is delighted to announce the Honorary Committee for the 2014 Bal de la Mer honoring Wendy Benchley at the Yacht Club de Monaco, positioned in the glamorous Mediterranean yacht charter destination – Monaco. The event will be held on Friday, 26 September, 2014 at 7:00pm EDT (-04:00).
Based in Washington D.C., Benchley is engaged in the marine policy and conservation community as a respected leader and generous supporter. Benchley’s efforts span decades of activism including a 28-year commitment as National Council and Advisory Trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund and Co-Founding the Peter Benchley Ocean AwardsTM, dedicated to her late husband’s legacy to recognize the remarkable ocean conservation efforts of marine explorers, policy makers, researchers, and scientist. Today she is recognized as a global voice on ocean and shark conservation.
The Honorary Committee is comprised of remarkable women, who in their own right have embodied the many achievements of women in ocean advocacy from around the globe. Notable names from environmental organizations, philanthropies, and the superyacht industry and community form an impressive assembly in support of Benchley’s achievements. This year’s Honorary Committee Chair is Maria Damanaki who was elected as the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2009. Patty Elkus, Founding Member of SeaKeepers and former Honorary Committee Chair, (2012, 2013) is this year’s Founding Chair of Women in Yachting & Ocean Advocacy.
The Committee is charged with promoting the event and extending a warm invitation to their far reaching professional interests and networks.
2014 Bal de la Mer Honorary Committee Biographies
Honorary Committee Chair- Maria Damanaki
Maria Damanaki is the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Damanaki, a native of Greece, studied chemical engineering at the National Technical University where she became involved with political movements. She was elected as the Commissioner-designate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in November of 2009.
Founding Chair of Women In Yachting & Ocean Advocacy- Patty Elkus
Patty Elkus is a Founding Member and former Board Member of the International SeaKeepers Society. Elkus currently serves on Dr. Margaret Leinen’s Director’s Cabinet of The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. and the Board of Directors for Dr. Sylvia Earle’s Misson Blue, and the BLUE Ocean Film Festival.
Captain Alexia Barrier
Captain Alexia Barrier founded the ocean research program “4myplanet” which saw her commission and sail a 60 foot sailing yacht around the world single-handedly, while gathering ocean status data and educating school children worldwide via satellite podcasts and in person along the way. She was supported in this endeavor by many Monaco-based ocean groups and by The International SeaKeepers Society.
Jill Bobrow
Jill Bobrow is Editor-At-Large of Yachts International Magazine. She has had an extensive career in yachting journalism and is the author of more than a dozen books. She is a Director on the Board of the International Superyacht Society, an organization dedicated to excellence and sustainability in the global large yacht industry. Additionally, she is a founding Board member of Ports of Cause, an emerging philanthropic organization dedicated to a variety of ocean advocacy initiatives.
Gigi Brisson
Gigi Brisson is Founder and CEO of OceanElders, Director and Advisor for PONO, and Founder and Partner of Attractor Investment Management Inc. She is also a Board Member for the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue.
Diane M. Byrne
Diane M. Byrne is a journalist and publisher in the global yachting industry. She is the founder and editor of MegayachtNews, a popular online yacht news resource. She is active in various yachting organizations including the U.S. Superyacht Association and the International Superyacht Society, the latter of which has her on its Board of Directors.
Joyce Clear
Joyce Clear is Founder and President of Clear Group International LLC, Founder of Clear Yacht Interiors, and Founder of Ports of Cause, a non-profit organization innovating sustainable luxury to benefit ocean advocacy. She is also a published interior designer and has served on various panel discussions for SMART Yachts and interior design. Clear is a member of the International Superyacht Society, The US Superyacht Society and member of the Luxury Marketing Council.
Pamela W. Cole
Pamela W. Cole is a private Portfolio Manager. She was previously a Research Associate for Salomon Brothers. She is currently Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Gables Club Condominium, LLC, is a member of the Coral Gables Garden Club and a sustaining member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Dr. Sylvia Earle
Dr. Sylvia Earle, “Her Deepness”, is a celebrated Hero of the Planet and Living Legend. She is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist. Her work with The Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, Mote Marine laboratory, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Rutgers Institute for Marine Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and Ocean Conservancy is unparalleled. Dr. Earle is a former chief scientist of NOAA and founder of the Mission Blue Foundation. She is an Explorer-in Residence for National Geographic and serves on the SeaKeepers Scientific Advisory Council.
Jenifer Austin Foulkes
Jenifer Austin Foulkes is Manager of Google Ocean. Her work with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Lab, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA is well known. She led the publication of Google Earth & Maps, the baseline for global ocean exploration and is a Board Member for the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue. Foulkes holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Neuroscience.
Amy Halsted
Amy Halsted of The Halsted Agency has held a deep dedication to promoting environmental responsibility by encouraging practical individual accountability. Amy’s commitment to ocean advocacy has included the creation of the International Superyacht Society’s “Fabien Cousteau Blue Award.” She is a founding director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Coastal Conservation Association, the Rainforest Alliance, Earth Day Roanoke and now Earth Day Bethel in the Mahoosuc Range of Northwestern Maine where she resides.
Dr. Nigella Hillgarth
Dr. Nigella Hillgarth is the President and CEO at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Dr. Hillgarth focuses on public awareness of the oceans and the importance of protecting our environment. Previously Dr. Hillgarth was Assistant Director at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Executive Director of their Birch Aquarium which is Scripps public outreach facility for ocean education and cutting-edge discoveries.
Shannon Joy
Shannon Joy is Director of the Joy Foundation, which focuses on the protection of marine ecosystems and the biodiversity and conservation of the oceans. Joy is a Board Member for the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue and a Board Member for WildAid.
Deborah Kinder
Deborah Kinder, an award winning documentary filmmaker, is Founder and CEO of the BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Event. She is Co-Founder of BLUE’s parent non-profit organization, Make A Difference Media. Kinder also consults with other advocacy organizations and helped to establish the Dominican Republic’s Environmental Film Festival.
Ann Luskey
Ann Luskey is Founder of Charlotte’s Web, a private foundation that focuses on ocean conservation, African wildlife conservation, experiential education for undeserved children, and plastic pollution. Luskey is the President and Executive Producer for Oceans Are Talking and is a Board Member for the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue.
Shari Sant Plummer
Shari Sant Plummer is President of the Code Blue Foundation, and a Trustee of the Summit Charitable Foundation. She also serves as Vice President of Seacology, Trustee of the Sylvia Earle Alliance, Chair of the International League of Conservation Photographers, and is on the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund and the Advisory Board of BLUE Ocean Film Festival.
Sharon Kwok Pong
Sharon Kwok Pong is Founder of Aquameridian Limited, a company that produces educational products to help promote positive changes to the environment. Pong is an Ambassador for SPCA Hong Kong, is a Board Member for the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue, and is on the International Board for WildAid.
Claudia Potamkin
Claudia Potamkin is a dedicated philanthropist, environmentalist, Co-Owner and Founder along withCaptain Sandra Yawn, of Global Oceans, a yachting-based ocean advocacy company. She reports on the yachting world for website genConnect. Potamkin is aMember of the DISCOVERY Yachts Program at The International SeaKeepers Society.
Sally Dane Sperry
Sally Dane Sperry is an active member of the marine insurance industry and resides with her husband Austin Sperry and their two children outside of New Orleans, LA. She has a unique knowledge of the boating industry and sailing world as both her father, John Dane III and her husband Austin were members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic sailing team representing the USA in China. John Dane is President of Trinity Yachts and Austin is employed in the barge transportation industry. Austin and Sally are expecting their third child in November.
Charlotte Vick
Charlotte Vick is the Strategic Partnership Director of the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue and Curator for Explore the Ocean in Google Earth. She serves on the Boards of Ocean Exchange, Blue Ocean Film Festival and TARA Expeditions USA.Vick also serves on the Steering Committees for the Sargasso Sea Alliance, High Seas Alliance & the Antarctic Southern Ocean Coalition.
Dr. Sandra Whitehouse
Dr. Sandra Whitehouse is a marine biologist and as a consultant serves as the Senior Advisor to Ocean Conservancy, a national non-profit organization that educates and empowers citizens to take action on behalf of the ocean and uses science to guide a policy that protects the ocean. She is also the former chair of the Coastal Zone Management Agency for Rhode Island and Environmental Policy Advisor to the Rhode Island House of Representatives. She currently serves on the board of Trustees for the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
Captain Sandra Yawn
Capt. Sandra Yawn is the only female to win the International Superyacht Society Distinguished Crew Award. She is a well-known charter Captain for international superyachts and has participated in DISCOVERY Yacht expeditions for the International SeaKeepers Society. Captain Yawn is the co-owner and founder of Global Oceans along with Claudia Potamkin.
