Sustainable Sarasota

Biographical Sketches


Speaker Biographies Sarasota Sustainability Conference


Bruno Andreis
Mr. Andreis is Founder and CEO of Safrema Energy, LLC. He is an internationally experienced entrepreneur and initiator within several industries and projects. He is fluent in six languages, which over the years contributed to an extensive international network. He successfully launched several companies in different industries such as the sporting goods industry with brands like “Fila”. Mr. Adreis sponsored prominent athletes and the National Golf team in Sweden including the launch of the Swedish start in professional golf. He then moved on to the horticultural field, developed a technology for the production of natural fertilizer with his own engineers and biologists, and set up distribution in countries like Holland, France, Spain and Saudi Arabia. He has also represented a company that established investment opportunities in the former Eastern Bloc countries and Asia.

Mike Alexy
Mike Alexy has been involved in technology and energy related projects for more than 40 years.  His projects span a wide range of products and industries including designing and producing: computer systems; fault detectors for the electrical utility industry; controls for medical products and diving rebreather systems for the US Navy.  He has held a variety of executive positions including VP of Engineering for an electronics design and manufacturing company and VP of Marketing for an R&D company.  As part of the R&D company, Mike was one of the inventors of a patented, ultra high performance, high efficiency actuator.  The R&D company was subsequently purchased by one of the largest industrial companies in the world.  Presently Mike is an executive with one of the global leaders in Intelligent Transportation Systems working on next generation transportation monitoring and control systems.  Mike has given a number of lectures on energy and science related topics.  Locally his lectures have been heard at various venues including New College and the South Florida Museum.
   
Roy Beckford
Roy Beckford is the University of Florida’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Lee County, Florida. He previously worked in Agricultural Extension in Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands for 14 years. Roy is the author of a book on Tropical Agricultural Development - The Third Pillar: Unearthing the Agro-economic Potential of the British Virgin Islands - and several fact sheets and articles on agricultural production and management in the tropics, as well as on topics in alternative energy and natural resources. In Lee County, Roy’s program has focused on natural resource management, sustainable ecology and urban farming systems. Roy has developed expertise in renewable bio-energy crop applications, and he is currently a doctoral candidate in Sustainability Education where his area of focus is 'Integrated Food-Energy Systems'.


David Brain
Professor Brain's research and teaching interests focus on the connections between place-making, community-building, and civic engagement, and on sociological issues related to the planning and design of good neighborhoods, humane cities, and sustainable regions.  In his teaching, his focus on urban and environmental studies involves getting students out of the classroom and engaged with neighborhood oriented action research n collaboration with local government and community groups. As an independent consultant, he has worked with with planners and urban designers on planning projects that range from community or downtown plans to the planning efforts on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  A sociologist with background and training in architecture and urban design, he is frequently engaged to help facilitate public engagement in the planning process. He has been recognized internationally as an expert on contemporary efforts to transform the way cities are built, and has been a frequent contributor to educational programs for citizens and professional practitioners--- in collaboration with the National Charrette Institute, the Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development, the Seaside Institute, the Seaside Pienza Institute for Town Building and Land Stewardship, the Knight Program in Community Building, and the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment.  As a member of the teaching faculty of the National Charrette Institute, he regularly facilitates training workshops for professionals, civic leaders, and citizen groups on the techniques of collaborative and participatory planning and design.  His most recent work has been particularly focused on the sociology, politics and design of sustainable communities.

Humberto Cervera-Rosado
Professor Cervera-Rosado holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Essex, England. He is currently on the faculty of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY) where he has been a teacher of English, translator and interpreter for the Department of Aquaculture and Marine Biology, as well as Head of the Language Center of the School of Education. He teaches both in the graduate and undergraduate programs and is a member of the School’s Academic Evaluation Committee and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Education and Science. He represented UADY in the Sarasota-Merida Sister Cities Activities that took place before the signing of the Sister Cities Agreement in December 2010.

 
Russell Dunn
Russell Dunn is the National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As the national policy advisor, Russell works with anglers to address their interests while providing for the long-term health of fish stocks to protect and enhance the significant socio-economic benefits recreational fishing affords anglers, coastal communities, and the national economy.  As a member of the national leadership team, Russell focuses high level institutional attention on key angling priorities and serves as the national point of contact for the saltwater fishing community and other federal agencies.   Russell has 17 years of public and private-sector experience in national and international marine fisheries policy, including serving as Branch Chief of NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Management Division; Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; Director of Government Relations for the National Audubon Society’s Living Oceans Campaign, and as Special Assistant to U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.

Thomas Elder
Thomas Elder is a Research Scientist with the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, located in Pineville, Louisiana. He holds a Ph.D from Texas A&M, and is Professor Emeritus in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University. His current research interests are concerned with the thermal degradation and utilization of woody biomass for chemicals and energy. He is active in work on the chemistry of pyrolysis, analysis of biochars, gasification and the conversion of its products to liquid transportation fuels.

James M. Fenton
James M. Fenton has been Director of the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) since January 2005, where he leads a staff of 140 in the research and development of energy technologies. He also leads a 12-member university and industry research team in a $19 million U.S. Department of Energy research program to develop the next generation proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell automobile engine. Dr. Fenton serves as a Professor in UCF’s Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering Department. Prior to joining FSEC, he spent 20 years as a Chemical Engineering Professor at the University of Connecticut. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1984 and his B.S. from UCLA in 1979. He is the author of more than 120 scientific publications and a number of book chapters and holds three patents. He was recently elected as Fellow of The Electrochemical Society and Governor Crist appointed him as a member of the Florida Governor’s Action on Energy and Climate Change.

Carlos Gonzalez-Salas
Carlos Gonzalez-Salas is a biologist with a B.S. in Biology from the Autonomous University of Yucatan in Mexico and a former CONACyT fellow. He received his M.S. in Marine Biology from CINVESTAV-Merida Unit in the field of Recruitment and Ecology of Reef Fish in the Mexican Caribbean Sea in 2001, and his Ph.D. in Environment, Organisms and Evolution from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, based in Perpignan, France in 2005. He obtained his Postdoctoral degree from CINVESTAV Merida Unit in 2006. Dr. Gonzalez-Salas is a full time research professor and teacher at the School of Marine Biology of the Autonomous University of Yucatan. He has been a dissertation advisor of B.S. and M.S. students in Mexico and France. His main research area is the use of molecular genetic markers and otolith shape analysis in tracing fish populations of commercial importance. He has published several research papers in international journals in Spanish, English and French.

Adrienne Gould-Choquette
Adrienne Gould-Choquette obtained Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from  the University of Rhode Island. During her graduate studies she worked as a Teaching Assistant in Dynamics, Engineering Experimentation and Kinetics. Her career started at Lucent Technologies as  their Ultra High Purity Gas Systems Engineer during the construction of their $700M cleanroom. Later  she became the Tungsten Deposition Development Engineer for Bell Labs. Her innovative work at Bell Labs earned her 2 patents in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Adrienne taught in the Richmond, VA public school system before accepting her current position as Program Director and full  time faculty at the State College of Florida.  She received Florida's 2012-2013 Educator of the Year Award for Engineering Technology.

Sharon Hanna-West
Sharon Hanna-West is the Exide Distinguished Lecturer in Ethics and Sustainability and a member of the graduate faculty for the USF College of Business. She is also a graduate programs faculty affiliate for the USF Center for Entrepreneurship and the Patel Global College for Sustainable Solutions. She also teaches in the USF College of Business Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola program in Lima, Peru. Active in growth management and sustainability issues, she studies sustainable business solutions to respond to the challenges posed by climate change, with a goal of making them affordable and profitable. She coordinated USF’s first business and sustainability symposium in 2006, which brought area businesses into a dialogue about sustainability, and expanded that effort into a subsequent multidisciplinary sustainability expo at the USF Sun Dome in 2008 and expo and conference at the USF Marshall center in 2009. She works with students and businesses to develop sustainable action plans for organizations of all types. Hanna-West holds a JD from the University of Florida, where she focused on environmental law. She later founded a corporation engaged in international trade. Hanna-West developed the Building Sustainable Enterprise track for the USF MBA program and teaches several courses in the track. She is a frequent lecturer and her expertise is often sought by media seeking comment on sustainability, ethics, and environmentally friendly business practices.

Sarah James
Sarah James is currently a town planning consultant and co-author with Torbjörn Lahti of the book "The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices" (2004). She is also co-author of the American Planning Association’s Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability (adopted, April 2000). In 2005, she co-founded with Torbjorn Lahti the Eco-Municipality Network in the USA, consisting of communities committed to taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability in government operations, energy use, and land development.  In 2007 Sarah was awarded the Dale Prize for Ecological Urban Design and in 2009-2010, Sarah and Torbjörn worked with a Mexican National Agency to "mainstream sustainable development" in an initiative sponsored by the World Bank and are currently starting a multi-eco-municipality project in Chile.

Bill Johnson
Born in Denver Colorado, Bill Johnson moved to Sarasota Florida in 1975 with his family, and grew up with solar hot water and solar pool systems on his roof.  Bill received his undergraduate degree in physics from Emory University in Atlanta Georgia, a Masters in physics from the University of South Florida in Tampa, and an MBA from the University of Florida in Gainesville.  After finishing his MBA, Bill worked in telecommunications in Chicago, Illinois and Denver, Colorado before returning to Sarasota with his wife and two children.  Bill founded Brilliant Harvest, a state certified solar contractor, in early 2009, to serve residential and commercial solar hot water and solar electric clients on the west coast of Florida.  Bill is a graduate of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Sarasota program.  Bill is an active community volunteer and has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including the Myakka River Branch of the US Green Building Council, the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy, Crowley Museum and Nature Center, and The Florida Center for Early Childhood where he is the immediate past chairman of the board.

Ori Lahav
Ori Lahav is an Associate Professor of Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering in the Faculty of Civil & Enviromental Engineering at Technion-Israel Institue of Technology in Haifa, Israel.  His research interests include water and wastewater process development and modeling, aquatic chemistry with emphasis on process engineering, desalination post treatment processes and aquacultural engineering with emphasis on water quality aspects and water treatment processes. In 2007 he received the Hershel Rich Technion Innovation Award for Post-Treatment Process for Desalinated Water and in 2010 he was the recipient of the France-Israel Foundation Award for Academic Excellence in the Field of Water. Professor Lahav is currently on sabbatical leave at Duke University in Durham, NC.  He received his B.S., M.S. And Ph.D. degrees from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and has well over 100 publications including books, book chapters, patents and numerous scientific papers.

Torbjörn Lahti
Mr Lahti is the project director for Sustainable Robertsfors, a five-year sustainable community demonstration project. He was the project planner for Sweden's first eco-municipality, Övertorneå, a town of 5,000 that had 25 per cent unemployment and had lost 20 per cent of its population during the previous 20 years. Lahti and his colleagues engaged the community - getting participation from 10 per cent of residents - to create a shared vision of a local economy based on renewable energy, public transportation, organic agriculture, and rural land preservation. In 2001 the town became 100 per cent free of fossil fuels. Public transportation is free. The region is now the largest organic farming area in Sweden and more than 200 new businesses have sprung up. Subsequently Torbjörn was instrumental in the formation of SeKom, the Swedish National Association of Eco-Municipalities. The story of the ecomunicipality movement is documented in his book, The Natural Step for Communities; How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices (2004; ISBN 0865714916) written with American planner Sarah James. Today there are more than 60 eco municipalities in Sweden - representing 20 per cent of the population - and this movement for social and ecological sanity has spread throughout Norway, Finland and Denmark as well.

Kevan L. Main
Kevan Main works at Mote Marine Laboratory, where she directs the Mote Aquaculture Research Park in Sarasota, Florida. She is also a Senior Scientist and Manager of Mote’s Marine and Freshwater Aquaculture Research Program. Dr. Main is the Immediate Past President of the World Aquaculture Society, after completing her presidency of this international organization in February 2013. Dr. Main has worked closely with private and public aquaculture and fisheries community leaders to support the advancement of the technology to produce seafood and conserve ocean resources. Her research interests are in developing sustainable aquaculture methods to produce marine fish, sturgeon, shrimp, abalone, and corals through aquaculture.  She has traveled throughout Asia, Europe and the United States to network aquaculture industry and research leaders and to advance the development of U.S. marine aquaculture. Dr. Main has published 7 books and more than 60 peer-reviewed publications. She received her Ph.D. at Florida State University in Biological Sciences.

Jose’ Manzo
Jose’ Manzo is Project Manager for Florida Organic Aquaculture, Fellsmere, Florida. He was born in Ecuador and studied at the prestigious Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School in Honduras, before completing his second BS degree at the University of Florida. Mr. Manzo has over 30 years experience in aquaculture covering every aspect from hatchery to grow out. He has a wealth of practical experience in running a successful aquaculture facility.

Clifford Morris
Clifford is President and Founder of Florida Organic Aquaculture, Fellsmere, Florida. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Mr. Morris has founded and served as a CEO of Mirzam Holdings, LLC, along with a number of other ventures here in America, Europe and his native South Africa. With over 30 years of experience in private wealth management, coupled with a keen eye towards business development, Cliff is well conditioned for the multiple challenges in moving FOA towards success.

Sandy Murray
After graduating from Garnock Academy, Sandy undertook a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) in 1983 with ICI at the Ardeer Plant Kilwinning with further placements at Future Technology Systems in Beith, Ayrshire.  In 1984, he joined the Royal Navy, Marine Engineering Artificer programme, based at HMS Sultan – Gosport and was posted to HMS Neptune, Faslane and served on a number of submarines, HMS Conqueror, Superb & Renown where his engineering knowledge and skills were fully realised. After serving 14 years in the RN Sandy was employed by NEC at Livingston in the wafer fabrication department.  His passion for this new technology led him to pursue further education at Lauder College, where he received his HNC. He continued his education to obtain a B.S. from Glasgow Caledonian University in Mechanical & Electrical Systems.  After three years lecturing at Lauder College he was appointed Department Manger at the Institute of Applied Technology – Adam Smith College and then back to Lauder College as the Head of School for Engineering. Following the reorganisation of Lauder College into Carnegie College, Sandy was appointed  Assistant Head of School (AHoS) for Engineering, overseeing all aspects of the engineering activities within the school based at the Rosyth Campus. He is also charter member of the IMechE (elected to Fellow status) and recently  undertook a research on behalf of the Edinburgh & Lothian Articulation Hub (ELRAH) and Robert Gordon University to review the skills required for the next 10-20 years within the renewable and energy related fields. This has been published and from the recommendations, action plans have been developed to address the findings.

Xavier Py
Dr. Py is currently a Professor at the University of Perpignan and Researcher at the CNRS-PROMES laboratory. He is Vice-President of the University of Perpignan, Chair of Renewable Energy of the UPVD foundation and Leader of the Thermal Storage activities of the PROMES laboratory. Professor Py teaches Thermal Energy Storage for the Master's degree in Solar Energy (UPVD) at the PolyEnR Engineer School (Polytech’Montpellier) and at the European Master in Renewable Energy (EUREC) Program. He is also an Associated Professor at the International Engineer School 2iE at Burkina-Faso since 2009. He previously worked as an engineer at the Separation Research Program (SRP) at the University of Texas at Austin, 1990-1991.  Professor Py's main research field is materials, composite materials and related processes for enhanced gas and/or thermal storage. For the last 6 years his research has focused on the use of recycled materials from vitrified industrial wastes (asbestos containing wastes, fly ashes, slags) for high temperature thermal energy storage. Those materials are devoted to thermal energy storage for concentrated solar power (CSP) processes and for adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES).

David Randle
David W. Randle currently coordinates the Sustainable Tourism Concentration for the School of Global Sustainability, University of South Florida and serves as President and Executive Director of the WHALE Center (Wellness Health And Lifestyle Education). As the first ordained environmental minister in the world, Dave has successfully coordinated a national campaign to preserve water, wildlife, and wilderness areas on behalf of the Pitkin County Commissioners, served as political and environmental adviser to John Denver and initial program development coordinator for John Denver’s Windstar Foundation. Dave has a variety of consulting experiences including the program development, marketing, and leadership for the Breakthrough Cruise on the Mississippi Queen River Boat, the Breakthrough to Excellence program at Walt Disney World, providing of a feasibility study for HOK architectural firm and the Medical University of South Carolina $20 million wellness/Student Center, the Snowbird Wellness Program, and the SLC VAMC Leadership Development & Breakthrough Commitment System. He holds a B.A. from California Lutheran University, an M-Div. from the Iliff School of Theology and a Doctorate in Spiritual Disciplines, Wellness and Environmental Concerns from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO.

Tim Rumage
Tim is the Coordinator, Developer and a Professor of Environmental Studies at Ringling College of Art and Design. He is also the Environmental Impact Officer for “grow2feed,” an NGO based in Liberia that establishes fish farms and community based agricultural projects for individuals with HIV/Aids, their dependents and other at-risk groups.Tim was the Co-chair of the SCOPE SEE-Water Committee on alternative water sources and uses for Sarasota. He is also involved in a variety of interdisciplinary projects involving habitat restoration and protection, green infrastructure, local food production, and sustainability. He holds degrees from Bowdoin College (Biology & Psychology) and Boston University (Biology) and is the former director, scientific and technical illustration program, Rhode Island School of Design. Board Member, Florida House Foundation. Numerous publications. http://web.me.com/trumage/Site/Welcome.html


John Scarpa
John Scarpa is a Research Professor in the Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute of Florida Atlantic University.  Dr. Scarpa was the first to document the viability of tetraploid bivalves (an organism with four sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two) during a Science and Technology Agency-National Science Foundation fellowship in Japan.  His current research focuses on clams, specifically breeding of hard clams for thermal tolerance and sunray venus clams as an alternate species for Florida culturists, and sustainable aquaculture systems.  Dr. Scarpa’s other research interests include tunicate culture for biomedical and bioremediation applications, culture of marine shrimp in fresh water for inland aquaculture, and oyster restoration.  He received the 2011 Distinguished Service Award from the United States Aquaculture Society and is currently Treasurer for the National Shellfisheries Association, which will be holding their 106th annual conference in Jacksonville, FL in 2014.

Patrick Sheehan
Patrick is the Director of the Office of Energy for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services which he joined in September, 2011. Previous positions include working for Alutiiq International Solutions LLC as a Legislative Affairs Program Manager for the International Affairs division of the U.S. National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon and at the International Republican Institute as Country Director for Parliamentary Assistance  programs in Romania and Bosnia. He has also served as a Congressional Senior Staffer in a number of roles including Chief of Staff for U.S. Congressman Timothy F. Murphy; Legislative Director for U.S. Congressman George W. Gekas; and committee staff positions with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Youth Violence. His early education included schooling at Tampa Jesuit and the Patch American High School in Stuttgart, Germany. Higher education was at the University of Washington’s School of Political Science in Seattle, and later the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Law in Philadelphia.

Elias Stefanakos
Dr. Elias (Lee) Stefanakos is presently Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Clean Energy Research Center (CERC, http://cerc.eng.usf.edu) at the University of South Florida (USF) located in Tampa, Florida, USA. Up to August 2003 and for 13 years he was Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at USF. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Solar Energy (Photovoltaics) and Co-Editor-USA of the Journal of Asian Electric Vehicles. He has published more than 200 research papers in refereed journals and international conferences and 10 patents in the areas of materials, renewable energy sources and systems, hydrogen and fuel cells, and electric and hybrid vehicles. He has received more than $20 million in contracts and grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), US Department of Energy (USDOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and others. He has been a consultant to a number of companies and international organizations. CERC is an interdisciplinary center whose mission is the development of clean energy sources and systems with emphasis on technology development and technology transfer.

Leslie Sturmer
Leslie Sturmer directs the statewide shellfish aquaculture program for the University of Florida. Working with over 250 clam growers, she contributes to applied research projects that are industry-driven, ranging in topics such as genetic stock improvement, remote sensing, aqueous soils characterization, health management, product quality, and species diversification. With Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, she was instrumental in the establishment of a hard clam aquaculture initiative centered in Cedar Key, Florida. During the 1990s, she played an essential role in successful job retraining efforts designed for the commercial fishing industry and provided instruction on skills needed for hatchery, nursery, and growout aspects. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Aquaculture Association since 1990, and as vice-president was instrumental in drafting and passing monumental state legislation in support of aquaculture. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Shellfisheries Association and East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. Leslie received her MSc degree in aquaculture from Auburn University.   

Nan Summers
Nan Summers engages diverse ages and community sectors to accelerate innovation, high performance and resilience. Her professional development roles for Walt Disney World’s Imagineering Design team and Arvida/Disney’s master planned communities produced exceptional collaborations of business and community leaders, educators, scientists and the public. During construction of Disney’s Epcot, Nan also served on founding teams for Disney’s Wonders of the World education program, US College and World Showcase Fellowship Programs, and renowned Seminar business. Following 23-years with the Walt Disney Company, she was the Director of Performance and Vitality for the Rippe Lifestyle Institute at Celebration Health.  Nan has contributed her design, marketing, human resource and project management skills to more than 50 communities, theme, botanical and historical parks, and resorts. Since attaining B.A and M.B.A. degrees from Rollins College, Nan has taught at five colleges: recently as University of Florida’s Sustainable Communities faculty and Executive Director of Florida House. She currently serves as Academic Services Administrator for USF’s College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership.

Raymond A. Young
Dr. Young serves as Vice President for Education with the Sarasota Sister Cities Association, facilitating international faculty and student interactions and exchanges.  He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with research emphasis on Natural Products Chemistry. Professor Young is a past recipient of the Wisconsin Governor’s Energy Innovation Award, a Japan Photopolymer Society Award and a National Academy of Science Travel Award to Eastern Europe (two months). He received his B.S. & M.S. degrees from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle.  He was a Fulbright Scholar as a graduate student at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden and a Senior Fulbright Scholar as a Professor at the Artistotelian University in Thessaloniki, Greece. Dr. Young has had prior employment with the Kimberly-Clark Corp. as a Process Supervisor in paper production and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Fiber Chemistry at the Textile Research Institute associated with Princeton University. Professor Young has over 200 publications including book chapters, books, patents and many original research publications. He currently does consulting work with industrial and governmental organizations and volunteer work in his community.

Qian Ma
Qian Ma is currently a Postdoctoral scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory. She received her Ph.D. from Xiamen University in Marine biology in 2011, followed by Postdoctoral research at the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Qingdao, China. In the August 2013, she arrived in Sarasota as a visiting scholar, working on the program of genetic selection of the pompano broodstock. Her current research interests are in molecular mechanism of the ecologic adaptation and ecogenesis of fish, application of molecular markers in evaluation of the marine stock enhancement, and developmental biology in fish early life history. During the recent five years, Dr. Ma has published 14 peer-reviewed publications in English and Chinese journals.

Antonio Zonta
After graduating in Civil Engineering from the University of Padua (Italy), Antonio gained significant experience working as a technical officer for several local governments. Since 1997 he has been employed as Director of the Building and Estate Department for the Province of Treviso. His responsibilities include operation and maintenance, as well as design and construction, of school buildings for secondary education. He developed significant experience in managing more than 140 school buildings through the evolution of different contractual models. The latest contractual model, where the issues of energy conservation and sustainability were particularly developed, was awarded the “Best Practice in Real Estate Management Prize” at the PA 2012 Forum (Italian convention of best practices in Public Administrations). This experience is based on an effective Energy Performance contract, strongly marked by the research of users’ participation in the achievement of energy saving goals. Antonio participates in international projects at European level in the field of energy efficiency and sustainability, where local governments, energy agencies and universities from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Poland are involved. He has lectured on Real Estate Management and Energy Efficiency Issues at the Bocconi University in Milan and at La Sapienza University in Rome. He is also author of several publications in the field of real estate management and energy efficiency and sustainability in public buildings.