Lisanne Aerts, PhD, founder and marine ecologist

Dr. Lisanne Aerts, a marine biologist and underwater photographer, has more than three decades of experience executing marine scientific surveys, managing environmental projects, writing environmental assessments, and assisting with permits and compliance related to various international policies, the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. Projects were conducted in support of various local, national, international, and lender organization requirements in Europe (East and West), Africa, Russia, South America, and, since 2006, in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2003, her work has mostly involved marine mammal monitoring and mitigation projects related to energy development (e.g., seismic and shallow hazard surveys, pile driving, dredging, and platform, cable, and pipeline installation) and has included development and management of advanced monitoring and research programs along with applicable regulatory authorizations and stakeholder engagement. Her experience with the oil and gas industry, her ability to work with diverse teams, her commitment to clear and consistent communication with clients, her language skills, and her scientific background all contribute to successful completion of technically and politically challenging projects.  Today, semi-retired, she takes on interesting consulting projects on a selective basis. 

 

Bill Streever, PhD, author and biologist

Bill started his working life as a commercial oilfield diver in the Gulf of Mexico and the South China Sea. Later, with a fellowship from the National Science Foundation, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Florida’s Environmental Engineering Sciences department. He has worked as an academic, government, and private sector scientist, including work in Australia and throughout the United States on wetland restoration projects and 16 years managing a high profile applied ecological research program in the Alaskan Arctic for a major oil company. His volunteer services have included editing Wetlands Ecology and Management, participation on the Ramsar Convention’s Science and Technical Review Panel, advising the federal government on plans to restore coastal Louisiana, and chairing the science panel for the North Slope Science Initiative. He has authored or coauthored over 100 technical publications on a range of topics, including plant competition, the evolution of cave organisms, environmental economics, responses of whales and fish to underwater sounds, and tundra restoration. His national bestseller Cold (Little, Brown, 2009) was critically acclaimed as a new contribution to the literature of the north and his books Heat (Little, Brown 2013) and And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind (Little, Brown 2016) were honored with Silver Nautilus journalism awards.