ELI Ocean Council

The Ocean Program at ELI works with institutions and governments to build legal frameworks that support long-term marine conservation and responsible use of ocean resources. To guide that work, the program maintains an expert advisory board: the ELI Ocean Council. Council members bring experience in fisheries management, maritime law, international development, shipping, and marine science. They help ELI attorneys stay attuned to pressing questions in ocean and coastal governance.

Members:

Stephanie Altman – Foreign Service Officer and Attorney at USAID

Don Baur – Partner at Perkins Coie LLP

Charles di Leva – Chief Officer of Environmental and Social Safeguards at World Bank

Anders Jessen – Head of Unit for Regional Fisheries Management Organisations at the European Commission

Kathryn Mengerink – Executive Director at the Waitt Institute

Kathy Metcalf – President and CEO of the Chamber of Shipping of America

Mark Spalding – President of the Ocean Foundation

Margaret Spring – Vice President of Conservation and Science and Chief Conservation Officer at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Steve Roady – Professor of the Practice of Law at Duke University School of Law

Amy Trice – Director of Ocean Planning at Ocean Conservancy

Steve Tucker – U.S. Coast Guard Marine Protected Resources

The Council's Advisory Role

The ELI Ocean Council meets periodically to review program priorities and offer guidance on emerging legal issues. Council input has informed ELI research on marine spatial planning legislation, regional fisheries agreements, Gulf of Mexico restoration policy, and protected area management. Members also connect the Ocean Program with practitioner networks in government, industry, and conservation organizations.

This advisory relationship is nonpartisan and independent. Council members serve in their personal capacity and do not speak for their employers. Their varied backgrounds reflect the cross-sector nature of ocean law, where shipping routes, fishing rights, energy development, and habitat protection often intersect within a single coastal region.

For questions about the Ocean Council or the Ocean Program's work, visit the About Us page or explore our focus areas.