Craig Hayes is a native of South Dakota who lived and worked as a physician in the Black Hills for 24 years. In 1981, he and a couple friends started Turneffe Flats Resort in Belize. Craig now spends most of his time overseeing Turneffe Flats and working on conservation issues related to Turneffe Atoll. As the founder of Turneffe Atoll Trust, Craig is a longtime conservationist with a passion for protecting coastal marine habitat. Craig currently serves as the Board Chairman for Turneffe Atoll Trust.
Dale Fairweather was raised in Placencia, Belize where his father worked as the projectionist for the local cinema. For the past 25 years, Dale has worked as a fisherman at Turneffe. Dale and his son, Dale Jr., fish the entire Turneffe Atoll for lobster, conch and finfish from their fishing camp located in the Grassy Caye Range. Although he utilizes a variety of fishing methods, he still enjoys free diving for lobster and is now expanding his operation to off-shore fishing. Dale is the Vice Chairman of the Federation of Fishers in Belize and an advocate for the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. Dale serves on the Board of the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Assoication, the co-managing entity of the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve.
Earl Mason was born in New Jersey in 1947. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University where he earned a B.S. in Economics and then an MBA. After business school, Mason joined AT&T where he rose to the level of Executive Director over a 16 year period. He was then recruited by Digital Equipment Corporation, where he worked as the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; residing in Geneva, Switzerland. After Digital, he was recruited by Inland Steel Industries where he was Senior Vice President (VP) and CFO and President of Inland International. After working for Inland, Mason joined Compaq Computer Corporation where he was Senior VP, CFO and Chairman. Following Compaq, Mason became President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alliant. Earl has extensive corporate board experience. He was a Director of Eye Ticket Corporation, Chairman of Computer Horizons Corporation, Audit Committee Chairman of Bway Corporation, Lead Director and Audit Committee Chairman for Earle M. Jorgensen Corporation, and Chairman of the Dividend Growth Trust Company. Self described as a "simple fisherman" Earl has a passion for permit fishing and Turneffe Atoll.
George Myvett is the Senior Fisheries Officer and the Deputy Head of fisheries and aquaculture development for Belize. A former Justice of the Peace in Belize, George has a degree in Aquaculture Production and Fisheries Management from Stirling University, U.K. and a degree in Marine Science and Chemistry from the University of the West Indies. George makes his home in Belize City. He has been a leader in promoting sustainable commercial fishing in Belize and has taken on the lead role for the Fisheries Department in developing the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve.
Cindy Morton is a native southerner residing in Sevierville, Tennessee with her husband, Steve, and their two weimaraners, Taz and Gracie. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, she is an avid college basketball and football fan. Cindy's interests include adult literacy, the Boys and Girls Club, Douglas Cooperative (a program for mentally challenged adults) and her church. A scuba diver for over 35 years, Cindy has had the opportunity to dive throughout the world but her favorite, by far, is Turneffe Atoll. Having seen the disastrous results of development, dredging and over-diving in other areas, Cindy is very interested in protecting Turneffe Atoll.
David House was born and raised in Austin, MN and received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1972. He graduated from the Harvard Business School Program for Business Development in 1991. David's business career began with Proctor & Gamble where he was a District Sales Manager. He then became General Manager (GM) for Client Management for Majers Corporation and subsequently VP of Pepsi National Accounts. He worked for Reebok for a number of years, followed by American Express from 1993 - 2007. He retired from American Express as Group President of American Express responsible for global services, global network services, travelers’ cheques and prepaid card businesses. David is currently Chairman of Serenoa LLC, and also serves on several nonprofit boards. Fly fishing is one of David's passions and he cares deeply about the conservation of Turneffe Atoll.
Dr. Walter Meier was born in Fremont Michigan, achieving a B.S. at Indiana University and M.D. at the University of Miami, Florida. He specialized in ophthalmology at Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital and went on to fellowship training at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He served on the teaching staff at Manhattan Eye and Ear for twenty years and served as a medical director of The Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, New York and a visiting surgeon for Project Orbis, flying eye hospital to the third world. Dr. Meier has served as a trustee of East Woods School, Indian Mountain School, director of The Banbury Fund, helping to establish the Alzheimers program at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Robertson Research Fund at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Robertson Foundation for Government, Washington D.C. Presently, he enjoys returning to Turneffe as often as possible and serving on his family foundation; supporting mutual family interests in the environment and education.
Marty Shubert is originally from Colorado and he has been an avid outdoorsman all his life. A wildlife artist, scuba diver and fly fisherman, Marty is dedicated to preserving the unique habitat of Turneffe Atoll; which represents his three interests so well. He is also currently a board member of the Coastal Conservancy Association in Maryland where he is also working on the preservation of habitat associated with the Chesapeake Bay. Marty is a graduate of West Point where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1979. He also holds a Master’s of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. He is currently working as an experimental test pilot for Bell Helicopter in Patuxent River Maryland and he is also a test pilot for the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Marty has flown military aircraft for more than 35 years and flight tested military aircraft for 25 years.
Charles Kalmbach, a native of Boston and Philadelphia, now spends most of his time in South Carolina. He pursued a career in international business as a banker (Philadelphia National Bank); as a consultant (McKinsey and Accenture); and as the CEO of DBM (a professional services firm with operations in 85 countries). In retirement he became a professional corporate director and the first CEO of Princeton University. Matters surrounding conservation and the environment have been life long passions and he currently serves on the Boards of the Spring Island Trust (Okatie, SC) and the Resources for the Future (Washington, DC). He earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Princeton University, JD in International Law from the University of Pennsylvania and an MD from the Princeton Theological Seminary. He serves as Parish Associate for the Sea Island Presbyterian Church.
Roderic Mast is President/CEO of The Oceanic Society, the oldest non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to ocean conservation (established 1969). Oceanic Society (OS) aims to "deepen the connections between people and nature through research, community engagement, and travel." They have been active at Turneffe Atoll for more than 20 years conducting research on marine megafauna and educating students and eco-travelers from their base at the Blackbird Caye Research Station. Rod is an author, photographer, seasoned traveler and marine turtle expert. He is the the Co-Chair of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, founder of the State of the World's Sea Turtles (SWOT) program, and Chief Editor of SWOT Report.
John Walker has a 40-year history in urban planning, energy security and power plant development in Canada and internationally. He was Chairman of U.S. Geothermal Inc. until 2018 and has served on several other boards. He was a founding director of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority in 1992 and was co-founder of the Borealis Infrastructure Fund. John has worked in the financial services industry and served on the Board of Directors of Sheridan College. His background includes 10 years at Ontario Hydro where he was responsible for community impact studies, alternative energy and international market development. Currently, John sits on the Board of Trustees of Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, He is a Registered Professional Planner in the Province of Ontario and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. John has a BSc. from Springfield College in Massachusetts and a Masters of Environmental Studies (Urban/Environmental Planning) from York University in Ontario.