IUCN WCPA High Seas Specialist Group

Emily Stokes is an expert in international marine protected area policy and ocean governance. She is the Marine Spatial Planning Manager at the Waitt Institute and works with partner countries to develop stakeholder-led plans to manage their oceans equitably and sustainably. Prior to joining the Waitt Institute, Emily worked with the Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition researching the scientific justification for and cultural significance of creating protected areas in the high seas around the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges, as well as the Pew Charitable Trusts as a campaigner for large-scale MPAs around the world. Emily received her master's degree in international environmental policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and her Bachelor's in Geography and Natural Resource Management from Western Washington University.

Nichola Clark is an international ocean governance expert specializing in the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. Nichola leads the high seas workstream as part of The Pew Charitable Trusts engagement on international ocean governance issues and also leads the High Seas Alliance (HSA’s) area-based management tool working group. Prior to Pew, Nichola worked on international fisheries issues at the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany. She received her Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong’s Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS).

Dr. Guillermo Ortuño Crespo pursued his interest in applied marine conservation through a B.A. in Marine Biology, an M.Sc. in Ecosystem-based Management of Marine Systems at the University of St. Andrews and a doctoral degree in Marine Science & Conservation at Duke University. His Ph.D. addressed challenges in High Seas fisheries, as well as topics related to the recent negotiations for a High Seas biodiversity treaty, for which he has led or co-authored a dozen information briefs and research articles that informed Parties at the UN headquarters. In 2019, he became involved in the UN Decade of Ocean Science and, alongside other early career professionals, helped create the Early Career Ocean Professional programme.