The knowledge on the ocean’s dire state is clear. Still, we’re not listening. To motivate widespread momentum for the ocean, we need to awaken new depths.

UN World Oceans Day 2024 Speaker Bios

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Naoko Ishii
Professor at The University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives | Former Chief Executive Officer, Global Environment Facility
LinkedIn
Dr. Naoko Ishii is a Professor at the University of Tokyo. Before joining UTokyo, she was the CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from 2012 to 2020. She is a vocal advocate for catalyzing systems change for sustainable development within planetary boundaries. She brings her expertise to global discourse by joining Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW), and High-Level Independent Panel on financing pandemic preparedness, among others. Her earlier roles include Deputy Vice Minister of Finance in Japan, and senior positions at the World Bank and IMF.

Prof. Johan Rockström
Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Bio
Johan Rockström is Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam. He is an internationally recognized scientist on global sustainability issues and led the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework for human development in the current era of rapid global change. Professor Rockström is a leading scientist on global water resources, with more than 25 years of experience in applied water research in tropical regions, and more than 150 research publications in fields ranging from applied land and water management to global sustainability. He is a member of the European Commission expert group: Mission Board for adaptation to climate change including societal transformation, chair of the Earth Commission, Chief Scientist of Conservation International, and elected member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Spotlight Speakers

Rayne Sullivan
Founder, SEASTORIA
LinkedIn
Rayne is a climate technologist, legal scholar, and recognized “leader saving our planet” working on accelerating private sector investment for biodiversity, equitable artificial intelligence, island innovations, and ocean technology. He is the founder of SEASTORIA, a platform dedicated to driving a nature-positive economy, underpinned by regenerative Indigenous science. In international climate policy, Rayne served as the United Nations Youth4Climate Delegate for the United States, co-chaired the Youth Policy Advisory Council at the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, and advised the Government of Palau on oceans and innovation during COP27 and COP28. He is also a member of the TED Vision Council. Rayne holds a JD from Stanford Law School, a master’s from the University of Oxford, and a BA from Georgetown University.

Eman Mounir
Climate Journalist
LinkedIn
Eman Mounir is an Egyptian independent data and investigative journalist who specializes in climate change and environmental issues in the MENA region. She has conducted several investigations throughout Egypt and the MENA region, winning numerous awards, including the New Media Award from Bournemouth University in the UK for her Black Beaches investigation and the first prize for science journalism from the Goethe-Institut for her investigation, “Women Without Vaginas or Genitals.” She has also been nominated for several prestigious awards, including the Covering Climate Now Awards 2022, the True Story Award 2021 in Switzerland, the Fetisov awards 2022, and the One World Media Award in the Environmental Journalism category 2021. In 2023, Eman Mounir became a Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network fellow, focusing on reporting environmental stories about the Arab Gulf area. Her work is supported by organizations such as the Pulitzer Center, National Geographic, Journalism Fund Europe, Earth Journalism Network, and the Candid Foundation. In November 2023, Eman co-founded the ECJ Network in MENA, which stands for the Environment and Climate Journalism Network in MENA, to support MENA journalists in climate and environmental journalism.

Dave Erasmus
Website
Dave is a social innovator and immersive storyteller. He works to bridge gaps that value life. With 4 TEDx talks and winning an Oxford Union debate, he is an expert storyteller, pulling from his real-world adventures he speaks from the heart to connect. After a life-transforming month-long sailing trip to COP26 which led to collaborations with Google at COP27, he is now growing the Aqoustics platform to empower us all to listen more deeply to the ocean, to move forwards both biodiversity and marine protection research as well as serving artists making music in collaboration with Nature! Dave believes that to protect we must care, and to care we must connect and for that, we must listen!

Dr. Sylvia Earle
LinkedIn
Sylvia A. Earle, a pioneering ocean scientist, explorer, author, speaker, and conservation leader is a National Geographic Society Explorer at Large, Founder of Mission Blue, Founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Founder of Deep Hope, a Founding Ocean Elder, a founding IUCN Patron of Nature, Council Chair for the Harte Research Institute and former Chief Scientist of NOAA.

Xiye Bastida
Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative
LinkedIn
Xiye Bastida is a 22-year-old Mexican climate justice activist, Indigenous rights advocate, and storyteller. She was an organizer with Fridays For Future and is the co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative, an international youth-led organization that focuses on community-led climate solutions. Xiye was the recipient of the 2018 UN Spirit Award and was named TIME100Next in 2023. Currently, Xiye is working on “The Way of the Whale,” a feature film about the fight to preserve ecosystems in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Blue Economy Panel

Karen Sack
Executive Director, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance
LinkedIn
Karen has worked on ocean conservation, law, and policy for the past three decades. Karen previously served as CEO of Ocean Unite, co-founded with Sir Richard Branson and José María Figueres. Previously, she held senior roles at The Pew Charitable Trusts and Greenpeace International. Karen has spearheaded global campaigns to secure a new UN high seas biodiversity treaty, establish large marine reserves and end illegal fishing and high seas bottom trawling. She initiated the Global Ocean Commission. Karen is originally from South Africa and now lives in the United States.

Brett Jenks
CEO, Rare
LinkedIn
Brett Jenks has championed behavior change in the conservation community for more than 20 years. As CEO, he leads Rare’s international mission to equip people in the world’s most biologically diverse countries with the tools and motivation needed to sustainably manage their natural resources. Under Brett’s leadership, Rare has grown 3,000% since 2000. Brett has led the creation of large-scale, global partnerships with Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Oceana, Environmental Defense Fund, UNESCO, AVEDA, Encourage Capital, National Geographic, and the ministries of environment and fisheries of many nations.

Barkha Mossae
Regenerative Blue Economy Manager, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
LinkedIn
Barkha Mossae is a Mauritian diplomat committed to unlocking Africa’s blue growth through conservation and sustainable development of its oceans, climate action, policies supporting gender equality and youth, and through public service innovation. Starting her career as a diplomat, she served as Blue Economy Technical Advisor for the African Union and currently works with IUCN as Regenerative Blue Economy Manager, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Moderators

Sweta Chakraborty
President of US Operations, We Don’t Have Time Organization
LinkedIn
Sweta Chakraborty is a globally recognized risk and behavioral scientist and expert on global risks ranging from climate change to COVID-19. She is a trusted authority on proactive preparedness to mitigate against the impacts of climate change, motivated by the need for clear, credible, evidence-based communication. She is the president of U.S. operations for We Don’t Have Time and a partner at Pioneer Public Affairs.

Shyla Raghav
Chief Climate Officer, TIME
LinkedIn
Shyla Raghav is the Chief Climate Officer, TIME. She has had a long career working on both climate change adaptation and mitigation, with a focus on international policy and natural climate solutions. Her background includes serving as Vice President of Climate Change at Conservation International, and previously held roles at the World Bank, Adaptation Fund, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She was named an InStyle BadAss woman in 2019, a Grist Top 50 Fixer, a AAAS/IfTHEN Ambassador for women in STEM, and has been featured on CNN, Vice News, and Elle Magazine.

Bailey Bass
Actor, Producer & Entrepreneur