Introduction

After receiving a bachelor’s Degree in Recreation and Business at California Humboldt State University in 1991 I immediately moved to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). I assimilated into a community of 150 indigenous people on the 5-mile-long island of Jost Van Dyke before relocating to the main Island of Tortola. I remained in the BVI working in various marine and terrestrial related conservation until returning to the United States in 2017.  

Working in the BVI involves multiple remote communities and cultures in which the natural environment and its resources are an important aspect of life.  It is a source of substance to many and their dedication to their countries natural resources surpasses most modern societies. As I became integrated closely with the BVI Islanders I inherited their passionate respect for natures vital role in sustaining life.

I started my first marine related organization in 1994.  After years in various roles as a professional SCUBA diver I began witnessing coral bleaching, pollution, mangrove deforestation and commercial developments that were having a direct impact on the environment. I had received so much from the BVI’s diverse natural environment that I was compelled to become active in protecting and restoring it. 

I became involved with business and community leaders, educational institutions, government and non-government organizations in conservation initiatives. Working with marine biologists, the BVI Conservation & Fisheries Department and regional leaders I began obtaining contracts for commercial diving and marine protection. By 2002 I had become part of a cooperative with systematic ocean survey work, coral transplanting and sustained reef monitoring with direct influence into coastal development.  

A summer in Alaska encouraged me to create an eco-marine tour business in the BVI. After a year of innovation and adaptation I had a tour for visitors interested in the marine ecosystem. The excursion through mangroves, sea grasses and corals drastically displayed the integrated relationship between mans livelihood and the health of the marine environment.  By this time, I was prepared and able to be proactive when I realized what harm would come with the forecasted Lion Fish invasion.

I formed the non-profit Reef Guardians BVI in 2005 to protect the marine environment and provide economic programs to the marine industry. During this process I discovered that I had the insightfulness to understand the big picture of the issues with social and economic problems in conservation.  I began to see successes in adapting integrated program approaches to various conservation methods in cross-cultural communities. Projects were synergized with each other and coordinated into various functions, but still focused on targets. I enjoyed the personal involvement with communities that depended on the land and seas for their well-being.  In this realm I was able to observe all of the components that can be brought together for their betterment.  I was then able to create project models to accomplish ever expanding and transcending benefits.  Today I accept that climate adaptation programming needs to be a component of conservation. 

Modern cultures as well as developing nations are confronting biodiversity degradation with compassion and courage. The future is uncertain. I believe in program models that keep local, regional and even global perspectives into scalable projects. I have witnessed, much through science and education, the human desire to live in congruence with nature.  To achieve this we must continually create new ways to adapt our behaviors equal to our expansion. 

After the devastation from Hurricane Irma I moved back to my home town, San Diego in 2017.  I created the Sea of Companions organization in an effort to reduce the copper emissions from recreational boats antifouling paint. After obtaining my US Coast Guard 100 ton captains license (My British Virgin Islands License is not recognized in the USA) I freelanced as a captain in various disciplines for 5 years. I left San Diego in April of 2022 for Ketchikan Alaska and continue my marine interests in the breathtaking Tongass National Rain Forest on the island of Revillagigedo.