Mr. Bestor has been actively involved in environmental awareness programs for over 30 years. As founder and director of the Gulf Coast Preservation Society, he leads and directs the organization and serves as Managing Editor. A former member of the Marian College Advisory Committee, Mr. Bestor is listed in WHO'S WHO of Leading American Executives.
Explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer - for more than four decades Jean-Michel Cousteau has used his vast experiences to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. Since first being 'thrown overboard' by his father at the age of seven with newly invented SCUBA gear on his back, Jean-Michel has been exploring the ocean realm. The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel spent much of his life with his family exploring the world's oceans aboard Calypso and Alcyone. After his mother's death in 1990 and his father's in 1997, Jean-Michel founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work. Responding to his father's call to 'carry forward the flame of his faith,' Jean-Michel's Ocean Futures Society, a non-profit marine conservation and education organization, serves as a 'Voice for the Ocean' by fostering a conservation ethic, conducting research, and developing marine education programs.
Attorney David H. Walkowiak has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1997 and has been a resident of the Tampa Bay area since 1989. Mr. Walkowiak graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo and obtained his J.D. with honors from St. Thomas University School of Law in 1997. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Walkowiak was an active Florida real estate broker and mortgage broker. Mr Walkowiak is the senior partner in the Law Offices of David H. Walkowiak, P.A., headquartered in northwestern Hillsborough county. The firm has offices located in the Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Lakeland, and Orlando areas. The Law Offices of David H. Walkowiak, P.A. represent clients throughout the state of Florida in numerous legal matters, including Real Estate Foreclosure Defense, Real Estate Litigation, Civil Litigation, Immigration, Criminal Defense, and Personal Injury.
Dr. Rabalais, considered by many to be the leading expert on the causes of hypoxia and the growing "Dead Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, is a recent recipient of the Ketchum Award. She was cited for her leadership role in the science, causes and implications of coastal anoxia (a lack of oxygen in coastal waters) in the Gulf of Mexico. She was named a 1999 NOAA Environmental Hero for her work on the causes and consequences of Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Nancy Rabalais has been affiliated with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) since 1983. She earned a Ph.D degree in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin, and B.S. and MS. degrees in biology from Texas A&M University, Kingsville, TX. Prior to 1983 Dr. Rabalais was a Research Associate then a graduate student at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. She teaches marine science courses at The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) and in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University.
In addition to her duties with GCPS, Melissa is active in a number of charities as Vice President of OCEAN, a volunteer for the Coalition for the Homeless, Expressions for a Beautiful Mind, and the Veteran’s Appreciation Board, and Chairperson of the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. After personally viewing thousands of dead marine animals poisoned by recurring red tide, and alarmed by reading about the growth of the Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone" over the past 20 years, Melissa's concern for her children's future inspired her to donate both her time and financial resources to help teach others about the goals of the Society. Her personal donations and network of civic-minded, community and business leaders around the state of Florida has made her a valued member of the organization.
Aaron has had an interest in science since a young age. His early love of the outdoors, combined with skills acquired from long hikes, fishing, and camping outdoors with his father and the Boy Scouts led to Aaron earning the rank of Eagle Scout. His interest in preserving the environment grew when he and his future wife Amanda were both selected for a 2002 Environmental Expedition to study geothermal energy production in Iceland, and the effects of air pollution on Europe's famous Black Forest. After acquiring his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, Aaron accepted a position as research biologist at the National Institute of Health (NIH). His research at the NIH includes the life cycle and expansion in North America of borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. He has co-authored papers about the unique segmented genome of Borrelia and how specific genetic elements have been found to encode factors critical for B. burgdorferi to complete its infectious cycle. In addition to his research duties at the National Institute of Health, Aaron graduated from military training in the US Air Force and currently serves in the Air Force Reserves as a jet engine mechanic.