Galapagos Conservancy is led by a volunteer Board of Directors who bring a wide variety of expertise and enthusiasm to GC. Learn more about each below.

• Ms. Wendy Rayner
• Dr. Sallie Glomb Reinmund
• Mr. Glenn Oakley
• Dr. Erich Fischer
• Mr. Bradley T. Johnson
• Dr. Stephen Mette
• Mr. Richard Polatty
• Dr. James Reynolds
• Dr. Dan Sherman
• Dr. David S. Wilcove

OFFICERS

President: Ms. Wendy Rayner

Ms. Rayner joined the Galapagos Conservancy Board in 2010. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbia College and completed the Harvard Senior Executive Program. As the State of New Jersey’s first Chief Information Officer, Ms. Rayner led the process to align the business of the state government and information technology, transforming citizens’ access to government. Previously with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, she initiated the development of the country’s first fully integrated environmental management system for air, water, solid, and hazardous waste programs. Ms. Rayner lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Secretary: Dr. Sallie Glomb Reinmund

Dr. Glomb Reinmund joined the Board in 2012. She received her doctorate in cellular biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. Dr. Glomb Reinmund’s research focus has been on cellular membrane biology and viral entry and infection, and her more recent experience is as a scientific writer and now Medical Director of Science First, LLC. She lives in Summit, New Jersey.

Treasurer: Mr. Glenn Oakley

Mr. Oakley joined the Board in 2014. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and an MBA from New York University. Mr. Oakley is the Executive Vice President of Operations and Engineering at CBS Corporate, and has extensive experience in the media industry. He has previously worked for the Discovery, AMC, and Showtime Networks. Mr. Oakley lives in New York City.

MEMBERS

Dr. Erich Fischer

Dr. Fischer joined the Galapagos Conservancy Board in 2011. He has spent 20 years as a management consultant and line executive, most recently joining Deloitte as a Principal from Booz & Company, where he was managing partner for the Washington DC-based aerospace & defense team. Dr. Fischer began his career as a space scientist, working on missions to the Moon and Mars. He received a BA from Dartmouth College and a MSc and PhD from Brown University. Dr. Fischer is the author of a number of articles in peer-reviewed journals such as The Journal of Geophysical Research, Science and Icarus, and has been quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Economist. He lives in Washington, DC.

Mr. Bradley T. Johnson

Mr. Johnson joined the Board in 2014. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and his MBA and JD from the University of Virginia. Mr. Johnson has lived and worked extensively in Latin America and is an experienced international attorney now in private practice specializing in cross border transactions and new business development. He lives in Martinsville, Virginia.

Dr. Stephen Mette

Dr. Mette joined the Board in 2016. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Mette has broad experience in both academic medical centers and non-university healthcare systems as an expert in lung diseases and as a senior physician executive. His current work is in healthcare delivery reform. He is employed as chief clinical officer at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and previously served in leadership positions with the Maine Medical Center and the Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Mette lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Mr. Richard Polatty

Mr. Polatty joined the Board in 2016. He attended undergraduate school at Vanderbilt University and graduate school at Emory University (GA) in geology. He became a Galapagos guide in 1985 and has been working in the Islands as chief naturalist for International Nature and Culture Adventures (INCA) since 1990. Other endeavors have included working in the Antarctic since 1990 as expedition leader on various vessels and since the early 1990s he has been a research associate of Oceanites, which runs the Antarctic Site Inventory. He is also active in conservation programs on mainland Ecuador. Mr. Polatty lives on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos and Tumbaco, Ecuador.

Dr. Jim Reynolds

Dr. Reynolds joined the Board in 2012. He received his doctorate in geology from Dartmouth College and is an Associate Professor of Geology at Brevard College. His research focus includes volcanism and island ecology. Dr. Reynolds has worked extensively in Ecuador and Iceland. He lives in Brevard, North Carolina.

Dr. Dan Sherman

Dr. Sherman joined the Board in 2012. He received his doctorate in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Sherman’s experience in the pharmaceutical industry includes research at the RW Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. His background also includes software and database development at Isis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Sherman lives in Lafayette, California.

Dr. David S. Wilcove

Dr. Wilcove is professor of ecology, evolutionary biology, and public affairs at Princeton University. Prior to joining the Princeton faculty, he was senior ecologist at the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, DC, where he developed science-based strategies to protect endangered species, and previously he served as senior ecologist at The Wilderness Society. He is author of No Way Home: The Decline of the World’s Great Animal Migrations (2008), The Condor’s Shadow: The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America (1999), and numerous technical and popular articles in the fields of conservation biology, ornithology, and endangered species protection. He has served on the board of directors of the Society for Conservation Biology, Rare, American Bird Conservancy, Natural Areas Association, and New Jersey Audubon Society, and on the editorial boards of Conservation Biology, Ecological Applications, and Issues in Ecology. In 2001, Wilcove received the Distinguished Service Award of the Society for Conservation Biology in recognition of his work on behalf of endangered species. He received a PhD in biology from Princeton University (1985) and a BS from Yale University (1980).

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