SKYTRUTH...WHO WE ARE

WHO WE ARE

SkyTruth promotes environmental awareness and protection with remote sensing and digital mapping technology. We provide stunning images backed by scientifically robust information about our changing environment to stimulate changes in habitat protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable resource management. We design and conduct our projects in close partnership with environmental groups, local planners and resource managers to complement their work on a broad spectrum of environmental issues.

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learn more about what we do...

HISTORY

Throughout the 1990s, working in the private sector as a geologist who used remote sensing as an exploration tool, John Amos became increasingly concerned by the mounting evidence of human-caused changes to landscapes and ecosystems around the world. He began to think that images of habitat loss and the spread of human influence could be important not only as a source of scientific data on environmental change, but also as a powerful tool for communicating these changes to the public.

In 2001 John left the for-profit world to lay the groundwork for SkyTruth: meeting with environmental groups to learn more about the state of environmental remote sensing; talking to advocates about their communications needs and resource limitations; and presenting the capabilities of satellite and aerial images to environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), grassroots activists and government resource managers. A Board of Directors was assembled from friends having hands-on experience with environmental policymaking, communications and nonprofit administration, and SkyTruth was incorporated.

In 2002, SkyTruth was granted non-profit status by the US Internal Revenue Service and awarded a start-up grant from the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation. Projects soon followed, including the use of satellite and aerial imagery to study the landscape impacts of natural gas drilling on the Rocky Mountain west, reveal commercial fishing vessels "fishing the line" around marine protected areas, and show the growth of strip mining for coal and other minerals around the United States.

Aerial view of Wyoming gas field.
© Peter Aengst 2001.

KEY PERSONNEL: Staff and Directors

John Amos, President
John is an expert in the use of satellite images and other remote sensing data to understand and communicate local, regional and global environmental issues. Educated as a geologist (University of Wyoming - MS, Cornell University - BS) he spent 10 years applying image processing, image analysis, and digital mapping techniques to conduct environmental, exploration and resource assessment studies for the energy and mining industries and government entities. In 2001 John founded SkyTruth, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to strengthening environmental conservation by illuminating environmental problems and issues through the use of satellite images, aerial photographs, and other kinds of remote sensing and digital mapping. As President, he directs day-to-day operations, develops and manages projects and programs, and is responsible for fundraising and administration. Prior to founding SkyTruth, he worked as an exploration geologist for Advanced Resources International and Earth Satellite Corporation.

David Festa, Chairman
David is Vice President for Environmental Defense Fund’s west coast operations, which include scientists, economists and lawyers based in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. He recently served on the Obama transition team for the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he worked during the Clinton administration as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning. He won honors for leading agency efforts to end overfishing, help Central America rebuild after Hurricane Mitch (one of the most powerful hurricanes on record), promote electronic commerce and strengthen the National Marine Sanctuaries. David chairs the Conservation Committee of the SeaChange Investment Fund and serves on the board of the California League of Conservation Voters. His 25-year career includes working as a journalist for The Economist, where he covered business, technology and science, and was nominated for the Glaxo Award for Science Journalism. He has been a management consultant, analyst for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, and Deputy Director of the Center for Clean Air Policy in Washington, DC. David is a visiting scholar at Oregon State University. He has a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a BA from the University of Virginia, where he earned a Jefferson Academic Achievement Scholarship, was an Echols Scholar (the University’s top honors program) and graduated with distinction.

Dr. Elliott Norse
President and founder of Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) in Redmond WA, Dr. Norse has worked at the conservation science-policy interface for his entire career. After earning his B.S. in Biology from Brooklyn College, he studied the ecology of blue crabs in the Caribbean for his Ph.D. at University of Southern California and his Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Iowa. Starting in 1978 he worked at the US Environmental Protection Agency, President’s Council on Environmental Quality (where he defined biological diversity as conservation’s overarching goal), Ecological Society of America, Wilderness Society and Ocean Conservancy before founding MCBI in 1996. Elliott’s 140+ publications include 4 books: Conserving Biological Diversity in Our National Forests (1986), Ancient Forests of the Pacific Northwest (1990), Global Marine Biological Diversity: A Strategy for Building Conservation into Decision Making (1993) and Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea’s Biodiversity (2005). He is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation and Adjunct Professor of Marine Conservation Science and Policy at Duke University Marine Laboratory, served as President of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Marine Section, andreceived the Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Brooklyn College named him its 2008 Distinguished Alumnus.

Dr. David Shearer
Dr. Shearer is co-founder and CEO of Full Circle Solutions, a new for-profit enterprise that is developing biochar products for global agricultural and carbon sequestration applications. At Full Circle Solutions, he is co-leading product and market development plans for gigaton scale carbon sequestration. Dr. Shearer is also crafting carbon accounting methodologies for these products. Prior to launching Full Circle Solutions in 2008, Dr. Shearer was Chief Scientist at California Environmental Associates where he worked in the next generation transportation, energy, carbon mitigation, and information technology space. In 2006/2007, he collaborated with Google.org in evaluating next generation plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and implementing a PHEV demonstration program. During the same time period, Dr. Shearer provided technical and policy guidance for Design to Win, a foundation based initiative that is creating a 10 year map for philanthropic investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation under the umbrella of ClimateWorks Foundation. Before joining California Environmental Associates in 2001, David was Principal Environmental Scientist for AeroVironment Inc. (1990-2001). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for SkyTruth and Black Rock Solar, both non-profit organizations. He is a member of the technical advisory boards for the Bay School of San Francisco, the Lindbergh Foundation, and As You Sow. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental epidemiology from the University of California, Irvine, a M.S. in environmental microbiology from the University of California, Irvine, and a B.S. in biology from the University of Oregon.

Vikki Spruill
Since December 2006, Vikki has been serving as president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy, becoming just the fifth person, and the only woman, ever to hold that title. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Ocean Conservancy – the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to restoring the health and resiliency of the ocean. Prior to her appointment at Ocean Conservancy, she was president and founder of SeaWeb, a non-profit organization that uses strategic communications techniques to advance ocean conservation. Vikki led a team that designed and executed countless important and innovative programs to promote ocean conservation and improve ocean governance. Prior to SeaWeb, she spent 15 years in public relations, including five years as a senior vice president at Ruder Finn, one of the largest independently held public relations firms in the world, where she was responsible for client management and new business development. Vikki is currently a director of COMPASS, the Communications Partnership for Science and the Sea. She serves on the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee for the Ocean Hall of the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, and the Conservation Committee of the SeaChange Investment Fund. She is a member of the Pew Fellows Advisory Committee and is the Ad Council Advisory Committee. Vikki founded FoundationWorks, a nonprofit organization working to enhance effectiveness for foundations and grantees. Spruill graduated cum laude from Loyola University in New Orleans with a Bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in religious studies. She received her Master's degree, also in communications, from the University of West Florida.

Paul Woods, Chief Technology Officer
Paul is a serial software entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in software development and software startup companies. Beginning at the University of Maryland before moving on to DC-area startups Compass Point Software and CareeerBuilder, Paul has worked with software and and the Internet since the early days of Internet commercialization. Paul is currently VP of Product Development for Intelligenx, a Washington, DC-area software company specializing in online search technologies. A lifelong commitment to the environment and a passion for improving the world via applied information technology solutions has led him to serve as a technology advisor to SkyTruth, with a particular emphasis on leveraging emerging online technologies to expand SkyTruth's reach and enhance its core mission of promoting environmental awareness.

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KEY PERSONNEL: ASSOCIATES

Amy Mathews Amos, Secretary / Treasurer
Amy Mathews Amos is an independent environmental consultant with more than 20 years experience working on a wide range of environmental issues for non-profit conservation and scientific groups and the federal government. She currently focuses on policy analysis, program evaluation, and project management for conservation groups and charitable foundations working on marine conservation issues. In previous positions she has served as Vice-President and Program Director for Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Policy Analyst for Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now Earthjustice), and Senior Evaluator for the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). In addition to serving as SkyTruth's Secretary-Treasurer, Amy is President of the American Conservation Film Festival based in Shepherdstown WV. She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University's Department of Natural Resources and holds graduate degrees in both environmental science and public policy from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Kevin Howald, GIS Technologies Associate
Mr. Howald is a specialist in geographic information systems (GIS) with extensive expertise in the areas of spatial data processing and customized digital mapping applications. He has over 15 years experience working with raster and vector based mapping systems, and has used satellite and aerial remotely sensed data for a wide variety of environmental mapping procedures. Kevin is also an active private pilot.

Andy Waxman, Application and Internet Technologies Associate
Andy is our geospatial application development expert. Over the past seven years he has worked with every major software package employed in this industry and is an experienced user of nearly 20 different analytical and image processing products. He focuses on creating integrated applications that are seamless and user-friendly. On a recent project for the US Department of Transportation, he built a web-based geospatial application that integrated multiple technologies to create user-defined, interactive maps using the DOT’s mapping application server.

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