PACMARA - Key Persons
Andrew Lewin is a Marine Spatial Ecologist, founder of Speak Up For Blue, and the President of Spatial-Conserve Inc. He specializes in the conservation of coastal habitats. Andrew has worked in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico participating in various projects such as water quality studies, sediment quality studies, fishery and benthic invertebrate studies, and marine mammal surveys.
Job Titles:
- Scientist With the NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research
Dr Heather Coleman is a scientist with the NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. She is also a specialist in marine conservation and resource use planning, focused on bridging the gap between multi-disciplinary marine science and policy-making. Heather also acted as PacMARA's Senior Science & Policy Advisor, identifying, designing, and directing innovative programs and projects to inform decision-making, primarily around marine spatial planning (MSP). In her years with PacMARA, Heather has built capacity and expanded resources available to conservation planners and managers by strategically developing and co-leading our internationally-recognized Marxan and systematic multi-objective planning training program from its inception, which operates around the world with 13 trainers in both English and Spanish.
Dr Jeff Ardron has for more than 30 years worked in environmental governance, marine science, planning, and conservation, with experience in a wide range of sectors -governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental, private, research and academia. He has co-founded two NGOs, three international initiatives, served on boards for several others. He has more than 55 papers in the peer-reviewed literature, as well as co-authoring a textbook on marine policy. He conceived and currently leads the Commonwealth Blue Charter programme for the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Adjunct Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria
- Assistant Deputy Minister With the Province of BC
- Special Advisor With Clean Energy Canada
Mark Zacharias is an Assistant Deputy Minister with the Province of BC, and he is responsible for Provincial mapping and geographic information programs as well as its ecosystem-based management programs.
Dr. Zacharias is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria, a Master of Science from University of Victoria, and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Guelph, ON.
Dr Mark Zacharias is currently a special advisor with Clean Energy Canada after a 25-year career with the British Columbia public service where he most recently served as deputy minister of environment and climate change strategy. Mark also holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of British Columbia Institute for Oceans and Fisheries and the University of Victoria Department of Geography. Mark holds a PhD in zoology from the University of Guelph and has published extensively, including Marine Policy: An Introduction to Governance and International Law of the Oceans (2014, 2019) and Marine Conservation Ecology (2011).
Dr Rodolphe Devillers is a marine Geographer interested in the use of geographic information sciences and remote sensing in marine conservation. He is senior research scientist at the French national research Institute for Sustainable Development IRD. His research interest includes systematic conservation planning, marine conservation and marine protected areas, seabed mapping and benthic habitat mapping and marine ecology. His research ranges from theoretical questions like the role of spatial scale in marine ecology, to applied research supporting ocean conservation and management done in collaboration with various government organizations (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada, Geological Survey) and NGOs (e.g. WWF).
Job Titles:
- Founder of Speak Up for Blue
Norma has been with PacMARA Program since 2011, organizing an leading Marxan trainings. Late in 2022 Norma become a Board Member taking on the secretarial. Norma works as an Environmental Analyst with Transport Canada. Previously, Norma worked as a Research Associate with CORAL Group at University of Victoria. She holds a MSc from University of Victoria, and an Advanced GIS degree from Spain. She is originally from Barcelona, Spain, but now lives in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, with her husband and daughter.
Norma can be contacted at nserra(at)pacmara.org
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Geoscience Centre of the Geological Survey
Roy Hyndman is a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Geoscience Centre of the Geological Survey of Canada, and a Professor at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria. Dr. Hyndman joined the Pacific Geoscience Centre after 10 years on the faculty of the Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, and became a Director of the Centre.
Having published 200 scientific journal and volume articles, on a wide range of marine and land geoscience research, Dr. Hyndman has been involved in numerous international collaborative programs, participating in, and organizing, research cruises in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.
His committee memberships include: NSERC Grant Selection Committees, review committees for several university departments, chair advisory board of the U.S. EarthScope program, chair of the Canadian Lithoprobe Scientific Committee, and chair of several international scientific ocean drilling (ODP) committees.
Dr. Hyndman is the former President of the Canadian Geophysical Union. He has been an associate editor of several scientific journals. He has supervised numerous graduate students and post doctoral research fellows.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, an honorary member of the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and a recipient of the J. Tuzo Wilson medal for contributions to geoscience in Canada.