The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, a non-profit organization, today announced it has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors and a new Advisory Board member to support the Foundation’s ongoing effort to promote a worldwide understanding of the importance of biodiversity and the preservation of our biological heritage. The new Board of Directors’ appointments are effective immediately and include:
• Gregory C. Carr – As a humanitarian and prolific philanthropist, Greg has dedicated the last 15 years of his career to the betterment of the human condition and the world we live in. In 1999, he co-founded the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. Joining family and friends, he co-founded the Museum of Idaho in 2000, a cultural and natural history museum in Idaho Falls that is the largest institution of its kind in the state. In 2008, Carr signed a 20-year agreement with the Government of Mozambique to restore and co-manage the country’s flagship national park, Gorongosa. National Geographic Television chronicled the Park’s restoration in their film Africa’s Lost Eden.
• Charles J. Smith – Charles is a serial entrepreneur who has launched four companies and one foundation. He is perhaps best known for developing the royalty-free licensing model for digital images which today accounts for over 95% of worldwide image sales. Charles also co-founded Knowledge Factor, a company that pioneered the Amplifire protocol, which demonstrably accelerates learning and enhances long-term retention. He has served on the Director’s Cabinet at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the world’s oldest and largest organization devoted to understanding the dynamic between land, ocean, and atmosphere. Charles currently serves on the board of Nature and Culture International, a position from which he is applying time and expertise toward saving the remaining biodiversity hotspots on the planet before they disappear forever. To date, Nature and Culture has conserved nine million acres in the most diverse ecosystems of Latin America.
• David J. Prend – David is a Managing General Partner and co-founder of RockPort Capital Partners, a Boston and Menlo Park-based venture capital firm focusing on investments in technologies in the energy, mobility and sustainability sectors. David currently serves on the Boards of RockPort portfolio companies Achates Power, Aspen Aerogels, Glasspoint Solar, Inc., InVisage Technologies, SatCon Technology Corporation, and SustainX, Inc. He is a member of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) National Advisory Council, and is the chairman of the Solar Technology Review Panel for NREL.
Joining the Foundation’s Board of Advisors is Stuart Leonard Pimm. Stuart is the Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He is a world leader in the study of present day extinctions and what can be done to prevent them. Pimm wrote the highly acclaimed assessment of the human impact to the planet: The World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth in 2001. His commitment to the interface between science and policy has led to his testimony to both House and Senate Committees on the re-authorization of the Endangered Species Act, which has covered elephants, reintroductions of other large mammals and most recently lions for National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative.
Stuart will join a growing list of Foundation advisors, which includes E.O. Wilson, Eric Chivian, Gretchen Daily, Harrison Ford, Carol Greider, Eric Kandel, Amory Lovins, Gregory Lucier, Sir Paul Nurse, Steven Pinker, Peter Raven, Larry Rosenstock, Jeffrey Sachs, Daniel Schrag, and Holden Thorp.
“We are thrilled to have such an esteemed group of individuals join the Foundation through these Board appointments,” said Dr. Paula J. Ehrlich, CEO and President of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, “We believe their involvement in the Foundation is a testament to the importance of our mission and are confident that their diverse experiences and unparalleled accomplishments will serve us well in achieving our objectives.”
