Alan Critchley
Alan Critchley is currently a Research Fellow at the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and Environment, Cape Breton, Canada. Previously, he was Vice President of Research at Acadian Seaplants for 10 years (2005 – 2016). He has published over 250 seaweed-related papers and has recently led the Global Seafood Alliance – Seaweed Farm Standard Best Aquaculture Practices Certification Standard.
Mélanie Cueff
Mélanie Cueff is the Scientific Officer for the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC). The GSC is a global partnership established to support the safety and sustainability of the seaweed industry as it scales up and to unite a fragmented market through a unified vision and goals. Previously, she has worked for ADEME, coordinating the harvest, storage and valorisation of Sargassum for the French Caribbean islands and Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Martin and St Barthelemy and for WEALSEA, where she developed new business opportunities for valorising seaweeds at large scale and in value-added products.
Ayla de Heney
Ayla de Heney is the seaweed sourcing and commercial account manager at Notpla. Notpla is a company based on producing regenerative packaging materials, made from seaweed and plants. In 2022, Notpla was a winner of the Earthshot Prize to ‘Build a Waste-Free World’ and they are deeply committed to making the planet a healthier place.
Maria Honig
Maria Honig is an experienced leader, strategic thinker, and effective advocate with a passion for working with teams to develop and advance innovative solutions to tackle some of society’s most intractable social and ecological challenges. With deep expertise in Conservation, Climate Change, Environmental Governance, Policy, and Management, Plastics, and Sustainable Blue Economy, she brings experience in developing and implementing methodologies to measure impact and progress, evident in her work on human-centred capacity development and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems. Maria also leads WWF’s Coastal Communities Initiative which focuses on strengthening governance, amplifying voices, improving resource access, supporting conservation efforts, and integrating local solutions into policies. With over 700 local and international partners, there is a shared commitment to translate words into action.
Alessandro Lovatelli
Maria Potouroglou
Dr Maria Potouroglou is a biologist by background whose work has focused on understanding the effects of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems. Maria has over 15 years of professional experience across different sectors, including international think tanks, academia, the not-for-profit and the public sector, on climate, biodiversity and nature finance initiatives. In 2020, she led the first ever global seagrass report ‘Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People’, initiated by UN Environment Programme, acting as Editor-in-Chief and coordinating a collaborative effort of over 60 experts from academia, NGOs and governmental agencies across the globe. Subsequently, in 2022, she also led UNEP’s global kelp report ‘Into the Blue: Securing a Sustainable Future for Kelp Forests’. Maria also worked with the government of Sri Lanka to table a resolution to the UN General Assembly, which led to the official adoption of the 1st of March as the World Seagrass Day, and she is regularly involved in various advisory groups, such as coordinating the expert pool of the 2030 Seagrass Breakthrough, with the remit to ensure the goals are based on robust evidence and science.
Jacqui Pocklington
Jacqui Pocklington is an Australian Marine Ecologist, with particular interest in the coastal and marine ecosystems found in temperate climates. She is passionate about marine conservation, working for many years in Marine Protected Area management. Her research ranges from understanding how damage to marine habitat-forming plants impacts their function; the best ways to monitor the health of marine ecosystems; to habitat restoration. Jacqui also volunteers as the Co-Chair of the Seaweed Specialist Group, an IUCN Specialist Species Group undertaking red list assessments of seaweeds and advocating for their conservation and appreciation.
Dr Melba Bondad-Reantaso
Wasina Rungruang
Wasina Rungruang is the founder and CEO of Wasina Farm, La Ngu District, Satun Province in Thailand. He is a seaweed cultivation entrepreneur and brings to the project daily experience of the impacts of climate change on his business, livelihood and the local community. He is keen to ensure that this project is as relevant as possible for seaweed farming communities including through knowledge exchange to ensure a restorative and resilient seaweed industry at the local level and that the knowledge gained is disseminated more widely. Through his role as a young community leader within La Ngu District he aims to encourage as many seaweed farming entrepreneurs and members of his local community as possible.
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