Jairo Award Committee
The Jairo Award Committee is an ad-hoc Committee of the Marine Program of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB Marine). The initiative to honor Jairo's commitment to marine conservation was instigated in 2015 under the auspices of the SCB Marine Policy Committee, led by then chair Dr. Andrew Wright, and head of the Exploration Committee Mel Cosentino. Andrew Lewin helped publicise the launch of the award in 2016. All are committed to building a more diverse conservation community and ensuring the safety of all within that community. Learn more about Jairo and the award here.
Contact: JairoAward@gmail.com
Andrew Lewin - Chair, 2018-2019
Andrew is a Marine Spatial Ecologist, a Science Communicator and the President of Speak Up For Blue Media and Communications Inc, which is an online media company that supports Marine Science and Conservation individuals and organizations to help them accomplish their mission to better protect the Ocean. Andrew hosts his own podcast called The Speak Up For Blue Podcast that targets the public to get guide them on how to live for a better Ocean through inspiration and action-driven messages. Andrew is an experienced podcaster and YouTuber to get his message of living for a better Ocean to various demographic audiences.
Mel Cosentino - Chair, 2017-2018
Mel is a conservation biologist with a special interest in computational approaches to study animal behaviour and communication in the wild and how human activities impact them. Born in Argentina, she earned her Biology Degree in Spain and her MRes in Applied Marine and Fisheries Ecology in the UK. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde (UK) and her project is focused on the acoustic behaviour of harbour porpoises in their natural environment. She is a member of several international conservation bodies such as the International Whaling Commission and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), as well as of local organisations such as the Wild Earth Foundation (Argentina) and the Clyde Porpoise CIC (Scotland).
Andrew Wright - Chair, 2016
Andrew has worked primarily on the impacts of noise and disturbance on marine mammals for over a decade, focusing primarily on behavioural and stress responses. His current research interests include the disruption of sleep with exposure to human activities and how this may ultimately affect marine mammals. Andrew has not only published in international peer-review journals, but he has also written jargon-free reports for managers on mitigation of the impacts of noise specifically for managers. He has worked extensively on science communication, particularly on leading scientists to the tools and collaborations they will need to reach a dis-interested and unengaged public. Andrew has provided expertise into science-based policy-making processes around the world, notably by invitation by the Taiwan and Canadian governments, as well as the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee. He has recently started a postdoc with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to study the impacts of noise on right whales to support management decisions.