Below, find biographical information for each presenter at the marine economy forum. As additional speakers are confirmed, bios will be added.

James T. Brett

James T. Brett, President and Chief Executive Officer of The New England Council, was appointed to those positions by the Council's board of directors in October 1996. Under Mr. Brett’s leadership, the Council has recorded major policy successes. Its efforts on Capitol Hill have also helped secure a five-year high level of federal research and development funding for New England institutions, with consistent increases in the health and science areas.

The Council’s membership and financial growth have been impressive under Mr. Brett’s leadership.  In the past four years, revenues have doubled and net assets have significantly exceeded historical levels.

Before joining the Council, Mr. Brett served for more than 15 years as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He held a succession of important leadership positions, including the chairmanship of two of the most significant committees in the Massachusetts legislature.

In addition to a Bachelor's degree from American University, Mr. Brett holds Master's degrees in Public Administration from both Suffolk University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He and his wife Patricia reside in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Charles Colgan

Charles Colgan currently holds the Russell Chair in Education and Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine and is a Professor of Public Policy and Management in the Muskie School of Public Service where he teaches economics, policy analysis, economic development and courses in analytic methods. He is chair of the Community Planning and Development Program and Associate Director of the USM Center for Business and Economic Research and the University of Maine System Center for Tourism Research and Outreach.

He also currently holds positions as a Research Fellow at the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and Chief Economist for the National Ocean Economics Program. Dr. Colgan is also Chair of the State of Maine Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission.

Prior to joining USM, he served 12 years in the Maine State Planning Office, including positions as Maine State Economist and Special Assistant to the Governor for International Trade. Dr. Colgan earned a B.A. from Colby College in 1971 and a Ph.D in Economic History from the University of Maine in 1992.

Michael Goodman

Michael Goodman serves as Director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. In this capacity, he works with clients, staff and faculty to conduct customized studies that highlight aspects of the Massachusetts economy, with the goal of making university-level research available to local and state policymakers as well as business and labor leaders.

He is also the Managing Editor of MassBenchmarks, a quarterly journal that presents timely information concerning the performance of the Massachusetts economy, including periodic economic analysis of major geographic regions within the Commonwealth and an array of key industries that make up the economic base of the state. MassBenchmarks is published by the University of Massachusetts in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Dr. Goodman also serves as a member of the Board of Directors and as Massachusetts Forecast Manager for the New England Economic Project.

Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Goodman was the Research Manager for the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development and a Research Associate at the Worcester Municipal Research Bureau, where he founded the Center for Community Performance Measurement. Dr. Goodman received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Boston University.

Megan Higgins

An alumna of the Juris Doctor/Master of Marine Affairs program offered jointly by Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island, Megan Higgins now serves as Research Counsel for the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams, capitalizing on her expertise in environmental, maritime and admiralty law.

Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Higgins served as a Coastal Policy Analyst for the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, the state's coastal zone management agency. For more than four years, she oversaw the state's Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Program and Trust Fund, administering $250,000 on a yearly basis to restoration projects throughout the state. Ms. Higgins also conducted research for policy issues affecting CRMC's mandate to protect and restore the state's coastal resources.

Ms. Higgins earned her bachelor of science in environmental studies from the University of Vermont.

Timothy Keeney

Timothy Keeney is the deputy assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At NOAA, Mr. Keeney is responsible for environmental policy, strategic planning and program analysis. His major responsibilities include cross-cutting programs such as coral reefs, invasive species, habitat restoration and observation systems.

During his career, Mr. Keeney has held several environmental management and regulatory positions, including NOAA general counsel and director of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at NOAA's National Ocean Service. He served as commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Mr. Keeney was also president of Dufrane Nuclear Services in Avon, Conn.

Mr. Keeney has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. degree from the School of Law at the University of Connecticut. A retired captain in the United States Navy, Mr. Keeney’s last duty assignment, which concluded in June 2005, was commander of Naval Reserve SEAL Forces, Naval Warfare Command, at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base in San Diego, Calif.

Jody F. King

Jody F. King is the Vice President of the Rhode Island Shellfishermen’s Association and has served in that capacity since 1997. As Vice President, Mr. King has had the opportunity to work on many environmental issues. One ongoing project involves partnering with Sen. Reed on an aquaculture project working with Roger Williams University, the University of Rhode Island and Save the Bay. This project was designed to raise juvenile shellfish with the intention of reseeding the bay with these shellfish for public benefit while enhancing the wild stocks.

In 2003, Mr. King was appointed to the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council by Gov. Donald Carcieri; on the Council, he served on both the shellfish and lobster advisory panels. In 1996, he was appointed to the Warwick Harbor Commission, where he now serves as Chair helping to regulate the 39 miles of coastline in Warwick and its watershed. In this role he had the opportunity to work with Lincoln Chafee, then mayor of Warwick, on a variety of projects for the city.

Since 1996, Mr. King has taught high school juniors and seniors from the United States and around the world each summer in collaboration with Save the Bay and Brown University. He introduces students to the science of shellfishing and environmental issues in Rhode Island. He also lends his expertise to classes at the University of Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Program.

Mr. King is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island in 1983, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in Agricultural Resource Technology. He is a lifelong resident of Warwick, R.I., and is currently a commercial offshore fisherman and shell fisherman.

Hauke Kite-Powell

Dr. Hauke L. Kite-Powell is a Research Specialist at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a Lecturer in the Ocean Engineering/Ocean Systems Management Program in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds degrees in naval architecture, technology and policy, and ocean systems management from MIT. Dr. Kite-Powell’s research focuses on public and private sector management issues for marine resources and the economic activities that depend on them.

Current research projects include work on:

• Costs and benefits from improved ocean observing activities.
• Economics of nautical charting.
• Effectiveness and cost of measures to reduce ship strike risk to the North Atlantic Right Whale.
• Economics and development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping market.
• Policy issues surrounding use of ocean “space” for non-traditional activities, such as aquaculture and wind power.
• Potential of shellfish aquaculture to contribute to nutrient level management in coastal water bodies.
• Economics and management of marine aquaculture operations.
• Environmental and ecological implications of long-term growth in marine aquaculture industries.

James Luyten

James R. Luyten is the Acting President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. A physical oceanographer, Dr. Luyten has had a long career with WHOI, first coming to the Institution in 1968 as a summer fellow in geophysical fluid dynamics and joining the staff as an assistant scientist in 1971.

Before his current appointment, Dr. Luyten served as WHOI Director of Research from 1994-2006 and was responsible for working with the scientific and technical staff to improve research opportunities and to develop long-range strategies. His personal research pursuits are in the observation and modeling of ocean currents, including the general circulation of the North Atlantic, the Gulf Stream and equatorial current systems. Dr. Luyten holds an A.B. degree from Reed College (Portland, Ore.) in chemistry and physics, and a master’s degree in physics and Ph.D. in chemical physics from Harvard University.

Roy J. Nirschel

When Dr. Roy J. Nirschel became President of Roger Williams University in August 2001, the Rhode Island liberal arts institution had been poised for growth. Since then, President Nirschel has profoundly transformed the University. He introduced the first participatory planning process in Roger Williams history, and he became the first University president to formulate and articulate the institution's core values and clarify its mission.

In the past five years, Roger Williams has:

• Increased enrollment by 50 percent.
• Nearly doubled the number of applicants.
• Lowered acceptance rate by 22 percent.
• Improved graduation rate by 50 percent.
• Grown the endowment from $38 million tonearly $100 million.
• Hired a record number of faculty members, over 40 percent of the total faculty.

Citing the extraordinary growth of Roger Williams under his command, University Business magazine named President Nirschel one of five "Rising Stars" in higher education in November 2006. The magazine-a respected publication targeted to university presidents and higher education administrators across North America-recognized President Nirschel for his vision and leadership during the University's remarkable transformation since he arrived in 2001.

President Nirschel is the first person in his family to attend college. Prior to joining Roger Williams, he served three years as President of Newbury College in Brookline, Mass. From 1991 to 1998, he was Vice President for University Advancement at the University of Miami. There he was instrumental in increasing private philanthropy to $84 million and created an international advisory board that included the chief executives of Bacardi and Goya Foods and former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, among others.

President Nirschel also led the "branding" and institutional repositioning effort at Miami. He previously served as an Assistant Vice President and Director of Development and Aumni Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Hartford. President Nirschel earned a Ph.D. in higher education and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Miami and a bachelor's degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

Leon E. Panetta

Leon E. Panetta has had a long and distinguished career in public service, ranging from his duty in the U.S. Army to his service as the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States.

Born in Monterey, California, of Italian immigrant parents, Mr. Panetta worked on his family's farm in Carmel Valley, where he lives today with his wife, Sylvia. He earned a B.A. magna cum laude from Santa Clara University and his J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School. After serving in the army, Mr. Panetta worked in Washington and New York in legislative aide positions before returning to California to practice law.

Mr. Panetta was a U.S. Representative from California from 1977 to 1993. He left Congress in 1993, at the beginning of his ninth term, to become Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the incoming Clinton administration and was appointed Chief of Staff to the President in 1994. Mr. Panetta is currently co-directs with his wife Sylvia the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, based at California State University, Monterey Bay. Among a huge variety of other appointments, Mr. Panetta serves as Chairman of the Pew Oceans Commission.

Senator Jack Reed

In 1996, the people of Rhode Island elected Jack Reed to succeed Claiborne Pell as Rhode Island's 47th U.S. Senator. A leader on defense, education and health care issues, Sen. Reed is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and a former Army Ranger.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Sen. Reed was a three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure in the House, Reed championed child health care, public libraries and campaign finance reform. He also helped strengthen our national defense and found innovative ways to promote Rhode Island's economy. As Rhode Island's senior senator, Sen. Reed continues to work tirelessly to secure federal funding for the Ocean State, such as mass transit funding and community development projects. He has also played a pivotal role in safeguarding our nation.

Sen. Reed was born and raised in Cranston, Rhode Island. He graduated from West Point and completed an active duty commission in the army, before earning a Masters of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1979, he resigned from the Army as Captain and enrolled at Harvard Law School, then worked as an attorney before embarking on his political career as a Rhode Island state senator.

Lowell L. Richards III

As chief development officer, Lowell Richards is responsible for Massport’s agency-wide strategic and master planning activities, including the airports, seaport and Tobin Bridge, as well as the agency’s private commercial and residential real estate development in South Boston, East Boston and Charlestown.

Mr. Richards joined Massport in the spring of 1999. Under his direction, Massport received MEPA certification of the Final EIR for the Commonwealth Flats Development Area, authorizing development of over 3 million square feet of hotel, office, retail and residential development.  This EIR was one of the first to be approved under MEPA’s area-wide regulations. During his tenure, construction has commenced on more than 3 million square feet of maritime industrial, commercial office and apartment development on Massport property leased to developers. An additional 2 million square feet is in the preconstruction pipeline.

Mr. Richards previously was an assistant secretary of administration and finance and chief development officer for the Commonwealth, and deputy mayor for fiscal affairs and collector-treasurer in Boston. His private sector experience includes senior responsibilities at Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, a national commercial real estate development company based in Boston. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a master’s in city planning from M.I.T., and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

John Riendeau

For the past three and a half years, John Riendeau has been the Defense Industry Manager for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), and has been with the Corporation for 18 years. He was part of the U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) team that successfully saw the local Navy and Guard commands gain billets.

As the Defense Industry Manager, Mr. Riendeau coordinates and facilitates business development opportunities between out-of-state companies and Rhode Island companies, as well as higher education institutions for both the defense and homeland security sector. Previous experience at RIEDC includes marketing and planning functions and serving as the Director of Sales Development at the Quonset Davisville Port & Commerce Park for six years.

Mr. Riendeau has personally contributed to in-state company growth and successful out-of-state business recruitment over his tenure. Working directly with businesses, higher education institutions, private nonprofits and federal labs, Mr. Riendeau has been responsible for creating new business incentives and development programs for Rhode Island businesses. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Resource Development/Urban Affairs.

Timothy Scott

Dr. Timothy M. Scott is the Forrest C. Lattner Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Center for Economic and Environmental Development at Roger Williams University. He currently oversees the University's shellfish hatchery, the only such facility in Rhode Island, as well as an intensive tropical marine ornamental research program.

Dr. Scott earned his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1990, and spent several years teaching oceanography and sailing as Chief Scientist with the Sea Education Association of Woods Hole, MA. His research interests include the physiological genetics of marine invertebrates, and the development of ecosystem management techniques for habitat restoration and conservation.

Extremely active in environmental organizations, Dr. Scott is a member of the Board of Directors of the Narragansett Bay Foundation, the Executive Committee of the Rhode Island Aquaculture Initiative and the Advisory Board of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. He serves on the Bay Trust, a sixteen member commission set up by the R.I. House of Representatives to assess economic and environmental development in Narragansett Bay, and is a member of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Panel of the Governor's Narragansett Bay and Watershed Planning Commission.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

On November 7, 2006, Rhode Islanders elected Sheldon Whitehouse to the U.S. Senate. A veteran prosecutor and problem-solver, Sen. Whitehouse has been a hard-working and effective champion for Rhode Island families. Throughout his 20-year career in public service, he's fought for solutions to tough challenges: reforming government, fixing the health care system and standing up for our environment.

Sen. Whitehouse was born on October 20, 1955 in New York City. The son of a diplomatic family—his father, Charles Whitehouse, was a Marine Corps pilot in World War II who later became U.S. Ambassador to Laos and Thailand—Sen. Whitehouse  grew up all over the globe, experiencing firsthand the power of American statesmanship to foster better relationships throughout the world.

He graduated from Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He spent several years as a policy advisor and counsel in the Office of the Governor before being nominated by President Bill Clinton to be Rhode Island's U.S. Attorney in 1994. He was elected Attorney General in 1998, where he served from 1999-2003.

Sen. Whitehouse and his wife Sandra, a marine biologist and environmental advocate, reside in Providence with their two children, Molly and Alexander.