Speakers

Irela M. Bagué 

Founder and President of Bagué Group

Ms. Irela Bagué is an accomplished public relations and governmental affairs specialist with more than 18 years of experience. As a former state appointed official Ms. Bagué has earned the respect of clients and policy makers alike. Her clients rely on her in‐depth understanding of the political process. Her critical insight and straightforward communications style makes her a credible and engaging spokesperson.

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Tia Diaz-Balart
President, EcoChamber

Tia Diaz-Balart is the founder of the EcoChamber; the first and only global green chamber of commerce. The EcoChamber has presence in over 19 countries worldwide and 37 states in the United States. They have put programs into place to support the environment by helping businesses adopt sustainable practices and helping them succeed by networking with prospective customers, investors and vendors from across the globe. In addition, the EcoChamber is involved in community projects that work to improve children's health, build businesses for struggling and displaced families and include programs to nurture environmental leadership and stewardship for our youth.

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State Senator Michael S. Bennett

Legislative Service:

Elected to State Senate Nov 2002 and subsequently re-elected in November, 2004

Represents District 21, consisting of Manatee and Lee Counties, includes parts of Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto Counties

Prior legislative service - Florida House of Representatives, 2000-2002

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Representative Jeff Clemens 

Jeff has long had an interest in politics, but until recently never thought he would run for office. As early on as eighth grade, Jeff’s sole ambition was to be a reporter. He was editor-in-chief of both his middle school and high school newspapers, and was named one of the top 12 high school journalists in the state of Michigan as a senior, winning a prestigious Scripps Howard scholarship. He attended Michigan State University, where he worked as a reporter, opinion page editor and assistant managing editor at The State News, which won the Pacemaker Award as one of the best college daily newspapers in the country during Jeff’s time there. 
After graduating with a degree in Journalism (minor: Political Science), Jeff worked for newspapers in Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia before landing at the Naples Daily News. During that time, he won more than 12 statewide writing awards, including six in Florida. 

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John L. Fiveash
Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A.Of Counsel, Chair- Water Resources Practice Group

POSITIONS 
Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A., Of Counsel, Chair- Water Resources Practice GroupWSource Group LLC, Managing DirectorIncre Capital, Managing Director
Professional Experience

 
Mr. Fiveash is an attorney and Of Counsel with Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A. (www.llw-law.com). He is Chair of LLW’s Water Resources Practice Group. He also oversees the operations and governance of WSource Group LLC (www.wsourcegroup.com) and its financial division, Incre Capital.

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Jupp Baron Kerckerinck zur Borg
President of Shark Research Institute

Jupp is a dashing aristocrat who grew up in a castle in Germany. After completing his education and military service in Germany, he learned banking which was so boring for him, so he opened his own advertising agency. Soon after establishing his business he became a race car driver for Abarth and Alfa Romeo. After 4 years of racing he took over the management of the family business in Germany, consisting of an agricultural operation, real estate holdings and a 40 room hotel.

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Dr. Jennifer Languell
Founder and President of Trifecta Construction Solutions

For more than 15 years, Dr. Jennifer Languell has championed the integration of green building principles and sustainable design within the construction industry.  Today, as Founder and President of Trifecta Construction Solutions, she remains an outspoken advocate and valued consultant to a wide range of industries that are incorporating sustainable business practices into their daily operations. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering, a Master’s in Civil Engineering and Construction Management, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Construction.

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MODERATOR

Terry E. Lewis

Represents more than 50 regional and local general purpose and special purpose governments including: the West Coast Inland Navigation District, St. Lucie County, West Palm Beach, and Lake Worth Drainage District.  Having served as general or special counsel on general governmental issues, legislation, environmental and land use regulation and litigation including Federal, Clean Water Act regulation, State environmental resource permitting, developments of regional impact and the Endangered Species Act.

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Bill MacDonald
President- MacDonald Productions 

Bill, a former team member of Jacques Cousteau's Calypso, is a film producer whose mission is to document aquatic resources, marine life, and watersheds. He employs a high definition video archive of some 1000 hours to produce educational programming on watershed awareness. In addition, Bill makes broadcast quality promotional videos that capture the very best in underwater experiences at the world’s foremost dive resorts and live-a-board dive vessels.

Having been diving for over 50 years, Bill MacDonald has recently produced a series of films to create an entire presentation called SEA PULSE. The films present the beauty of the world oceans’ most biodiverse reef habitats. The threats to this world ocean are then depicted in the most recent Algalita program (“Synthetic Sea 2010″) featuring Captain Charles Moore, the dean of marine debris researchers.

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Dr. Stuart Pimm
Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke

 

One the most cited scientists working in the field of conservation biology. He’s also worked with the best minds in the world to share his passion for protecting the Earth’s biodiversity.

Dr. Pimm is author of The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth, “a globe-circling tour of our endangered planet.” Before Duke, Dr. Pimm was professor of conservation biology at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University in New York. He was the recipient of a Pew Scholarship for Conservation and the Environment (in 1993) and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship (in 1999).

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Jorge R. Piñón
Senior Research Associate, Florida International University
Former President of Amoco Oil Latin America

Jorge R. Piñón began his thirty year career in the energy sector when he joined Shell Oil Company.  He was president and CEO of Transworld Oil USA prior to joining Amoco Corporation in 1991 as president of Amoco Corporate Development Company Latin America.  In this position Mr. Piñon represented the business development and joint venture efforts in the region between Amoco Corporation and state oil companies.

In 1994 he was transferred to the downstream oil sector to serve as president of Amoco Oil de México and president of Amoco Oil Latin America, based in Mexico City.  After the 1999 merger between Amoco and BP, Mr. Piñon was transferred to Madrid, Spain, to manage BP Europe’s western Mediterranean petroleum supply and logistics operations. He retired from BP in 2003.

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Claude Ouimet
Senior Vice President and General Manager InterfaceFLOR Canada and Latin America

The Journey to Sustainability: The Courage to Change is in All of Us

Industrialism developed in a different world from the one we live in today: fewer people, less material wellbeing, plentiful natural resources. What emerged was a highly productive, take-make-waste system that assumed infinite resources and infinite sinks for industrial wastes. In today’s world, this approach is archaic and in fact is endangering our prosperity, not enhancing it. That is why fundamental change is required and a focus on sustainability is so important.

Read more: Claude Ouimet