Board of Directors
Alexandra Connell
Alexandra has a background in finance and public policy and has worked with a renewable oils company since 2011. She currently focuses on both upstream and downstream business and corporate development projects looking to commercialize triglycerides produced from algae. Alexandra has always been passionate about environmental issues and marine environments in particular. Alexandra holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an A.B. from Princeton University.
Rick Davenport
For over two decades, Rick has worked with a variety of public and private companies to enhance their executive compensation and benefit plans. Before founding his own firm in 2005, Rick worked with Marsh / Mercer, Clark Consulting, and MCG Northwest. Earlier in his career, he worked as Managing Partner at D/A Financial Group of California. Rick graduated from the University of California, Berkeley Business School in 1981. Just two years later, he earned his Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations from The American College. Rick has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Board of Regents at John F. Kennedy University, the Alta Bates Foundation Board, the Orinda Country Club Board, the HVIA Board, and the Berkeley Business School Alumni Board. In his free time, Rick enjoys both snow and water skiing with his family, photography, scuba diving, and perfecting his skills as a private pilot.
Tom Davis
Tom has worked as an environmental scientist since 2004. He currently works at CH2M Hill where he coordinates biologists, environmental inspectors and other specialist scientists for a variety of transportation, utility and energy development projects. Tom holds a degree in Environmental Studies and Economics from the University of California Santa Cruz. He has worked for the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and enjoys SCUBA diving, open water swimming and surfing.
Don Disraeli, Ph.D.
Don holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 1983, he launched Kanaloa Seafood—a national distributor of environmentally responsible seafood—with his wife Randee, a former researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Kanaloa Seafood is a sustainable seafood company that takes a scientific approach to fishery management and harvesting. The company is the only seafood company in North America that meets the ISO 14001 standards for sound environmental management. Don is also a vice-president at the California Fisheries & Seafood Institute and an advisor to Sea Grant, California.
John Hubenthal - Treasurer
John has worked in the solar industry since 2004. He is currently a commercial project developer and senior manager at RGS Energy, where he has worked on numerous large scale projects for local, state & federal agencies, notably the US Navy. He holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is an avid backpacker, surfer, open water swimmer, cyclist, sailor and recreational fisherman.
Dirk Rosen - Executive Director
Dirk has over 25 years of deepwater engineering experience. He was president and director of Deep Ocean Engineering before selling the company in 2000. At DOE, he was project manager and test pilot for all three Deep Rover 1,000 meter-rated manned submersibles, and a designer/operator of the Phantom and Bandit ROV systems. At Hawkes Ocean Technologies he served as project manager for the 11,000 meter rated Challenger, a manned submersible designed to go to the deepest point in the ocean, the Marianas Trench. He recently retired from the board of Save the Bay, where he served for nine years.
Katherine Teplitz
Currently a Director of Performance Improvement at Kaiser Permanente, Katherine has worked in Organization Effectiveness and Leadership Development for industries such as healthcare, construction, market research, and software development. She has held several positions on non-profit boards of directors, such as president, strategic planning, and board development. Currently she is chair of Membership and Leadership Development for her church. Katherine holds an MBA from the Simmons Graduate School of Management and an EdM from Boston University with a concentration in Organization Development. In an earlier life, she was a science teacher and a member of the Massachusetts Marine Educators. Katherine lives with her husband in Lafayette, CA and has three grown children.
Ed Ueber
Ed is considered an expert on abalone, sardine, groundfish, crab, fishery economics, fishery management, marine protected areas and navigation. He began his ocean career as a USN submarines navigator and later worked in the merchant marine. He served as manager of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the northern sector of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from 1990 – 2004, overseeing a 2,900 square nautical mile area. He received four Congressional citations for exceptional service from the 105th, 107th and 108th Congress's respectively. Mr. Ueber was one of eight senior scientists on the Master Planning Team of the California Marine Life Protection Act. He taught at the University of Connecticut and University of Rhode Island and received, at the latter, his Master's degree in Resource Economics and Fisheries. He is involved in six marine environment related nonprofits in the Bay Area.
Karen Weber - Board Chair
Karen offers financial, marketing, strategic and management experience in the business and nonprofit sectors. Working at firms such as Price Waterhouse and Merrill Lynch, she has performed analyses of financial statements, proposed asset sales, and cash flow operations. She has also conducted feasibility studies and enterprise valuations; analyzed bankruptcy creditor and debtor claims; assisted in reorganization strategy development; and completed financial, strategic and operational business turnarounds. Karen has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including Save the Bay and the Junior League of San Francisco. She holds an M.B.A. Finance from Rice University and received a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from the University of San Francisco in December 2011.