Members

Co-chaired by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Mike W. Sole and Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Ken Haddad, the council is made up of fifteen voting members and three non-voting members. DEP Secretary Sole, FWC Director Haddad and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Commissioner Charles Bronson each appoint five members to the council. Secretary Sole has appointed Deputy Secretary Bob Ballard of DEP’s Lands and Waters as his designee. Executive Director Haddad has appointed Gil McRae, Director of the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute as his designee, and Commissioner Bronson has appointed Director Sherman Wilhelm of DACS - Aquaculture as his. Deputy Secretary Ballard and Directors McRae and Wilhelm are the non-voting members.

DEP Appointees:

• Dr. Karl Havens – Chair of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida.
• Dr. John C. Ogden – Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and Professor of Biology, University of South Florida.
• Dr. Lisa Robbins – Senior Scientist, United States Geological Survey Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies.
• Dr. Thomas D. Waite – Dean of the College of Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology.
• Dr. Peter Ortner – Research Professor and Associate Director, Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies,  University of Miami

FWC Appointees:

• Dr. James Cato – Senior Associate Dean and Director, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida
• Dr. Billy Causey – Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Marine Sanctuary Program
• Holly Greening – Executive Director, Tampa Bay Estuary Program
• Dr. Jerome Lorenz – Research Director, National Audubon Society’s Tavernier Science Center.
• Dr. Shirley Pomponi – Senior Scientist, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

DACS Appointees:

• Jane Davis – Aquarium Director, The Living Seas at Walt Disney World’s Epcot^®.
• Dr. Ernest Estevez – Director, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Coastal Ecology.
• Rob Hendricks - Chief Executive Officer, Coastal Conservation of Florida
• Jerry Sansom – Executive Director, Organized Fishermen of Florida.
• Jody Thomas – Director, The Nature Conservancy’s South Florida Region.