Michael Conathan named Executive Director

MAY 14, 2018 • SYLVIA EARLE & DAVID SHAW

On Monday, May 14, 2018, the Aspen High Seas Initiative named Michael Conathan its Executive Director. Conathan was previously Director of Ocean Policy at the Center for American Progress and is a former Republican staff member of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard.

Sylvia Earle and David Shaw, co-chairs of the Aspen High Seas Initiative, issued the following joint statement: “We are thrilled that Michael Conathan will lead the Aspen High Seas Initiative as its Executive Director. Mike has a rare ability to bring people together across sectors and political affiliations to advance ocean stewardship. In addition to his bipartisan background, he helped establish and lead the National Ocean Protection Coalition which has brought together over 20 conservation groups to advocate collectively for place-based ocean protection in U.S. waters. We look forward to working with Mike to use the power of film and media to raise public awareness of what’s at stake for the ocean and planet, to work to protect marine reserves in the High Seas and adjacent areas, to harness technology to explore and understand these areas, and to engage the next generation in becoming ocean stewards. We congratulate Mike and look forward to working with him on this critical agenda for our blue planet.”

To find out more about the Aspen High Seas Initiative’s comprehensive plan for ocean stewardship, watch the discussion of the High Seas — Live Broadcast from the White Shark Cafe, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGh4Vp-KChs.

You can also view the panel discussion from Aspen Ideas Festival with Sylvia Earle, David Shaw, Barbara Block, and Essau Sinnok moderated by Elliot Gerson, https://www.aspenideas.org/session/protecting-earth’s-last-conservation-frontier-high-seas.