Washington, DC — The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation has released its 2007 annual report of activities, entitled “Making a Difference Together.” The report features the diversity of ocean conservation activities and also profiles the Foundation’s leadership, including new members of its Board of Trustees, Advisory Committee, and Trustees Emeriti.

The new Trustees include former NASA scientist, Dr. Kathryn Clark; leading veteran dive industry executive, Mr. Bob Hollis; Justin Kenney, Senior Public Affairs Officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts; Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, Director and Senior Scientist of MOTE Marine Laboratory; and Jeffery Mora, Corporate Chef and owner of the Metropolitan Culinary Services Inc. and chef to the Los Angeles Lakers.

New Advisory Committee members include Bob Holston, diving instructor and
dive center owner in Key West Florida, and Xavier DeShayes, a celebrated chef and owner of restaurants in Washington, D.C. who is currently managing chef for all events at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and the kitchens at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. They join continuing Advisory Committee members Patricia Thompson, First Vice President of Financial Services for Oppenheimer and Company; and Stephanie Curry, Assistant Vice President of Advanced Sales in Pacific Life's Annuities & Mutual Funds Division.

“We’re excited to have such a diverse group of high profile individuals joining the Foundation,” said new Board Chair, Bob Talbot. “They are leaders in their field and bring with them the diverse expertise and viewpoints necessary to guide the Foundation and address the global challenges facing the health of our oceans.”

The new Trustees and Advisors join an esteemed Board which includes former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta; film-maker, photographer, and environmentalist, Bob Talbot; National Ocean Industries Association President, Tom Fry; and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Gregory Conklin.

The Foundation is also pleased to have retained the services and credentials of its former esteemed Board members as the Foundation’s Trustee Emeriti which include former Connecticut Governor, Lowell Weicker; National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, Dr. Bob Ballard and Dr. Sylvia
Earle; explorer, environmentalist and film-maker Jean-Michel Cousteau; artist Robert Lyn Nelson; and National Geographic Society Vice President of Mission Programs, Terry Garcia.

Former U.S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings and ADM. James D. Watkins USN (Ret.)have also joined the Foundation to serve in Emeritus status. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1966, Hollings served a long and distinguished career, authoring an extraordinary range of laws safeguarding the nation’s coasts and oceans, and earning the informal title of legislative “father” of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Serving seven years as the founding President of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education, Admiral James D. Watkins, USN (Ret.) stepped down in 2001 to serve as Chair of the Presidentially appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy whose 2004 report “An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century” guides much of the ocean policy debates today. He currently serves as co chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative with Leon Panetta.

“We’re thrilled to have all of these extraordinary individuals, with their wealth of knowledge and experience, as part of our ocean conservation team,” said Foundation President and CEO, Lori Arguelles.