Board of Directors

Charles Betlach II, Ph.D.  is a pharmaceutical scientist with a Masters Degree in Cellular Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco. He is the co-founder of a pharmaceutical company (Sano Corporation).  In 1999, Charles founded the Betlach Family Foundation whose mission is to help promote and support notable contemporary art and important environmental issues.

Carl Bidleman is managing partner of ConvergenceMedia productions, has been a television producer and administrator since 1979. He is former Executive Producer of KRON's Bay Area Backroads, a series about travel and adventure. His credits include documentaries, newsmagazines and public affairs programs for public television.

Peter Lippett is an attorney specializing in trusts and estate planning. He served on the board of directors for the U.S. Olympic Committee from1980-1992. He was a lecturer at the University of California from 1965 through 1995, and has published several books on estate planning.

Jerold Lowenstein, M.D. was co-founder of the Oceanic Society. He is retired Chair of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Lowenstein is a contributor to New Scientist magazine. He created a new field of anthropology: molecular evolution, and is recipient of the Fellows' Medal, the highest honor of the California Academy of Sciences.

Yasmin Namini is senior vice-president of marketing and circulation and general manager of reader applications at The New York Times. She received a B.S. degree in psychology from the University of Maryland and a Master's degree in applied statistics from Villanova University. Ms. Namini serves on the Board of Directors of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association, the Times Square Alliance and the Boston Children's Museum.

Birgit Winning has served as president of the Oceanic Society since 2001. She has served on protected areas committees and stakeholder councils, as a technical consultant to governmental agencies, as well as co-produced documentary films, and has authored dozens of popular and academic articles on conservation.