Board of Directors

Florida SEEFFl
Florida SEE is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, which advises, governs, oversees policy and direction, and assists with the leadership and general promotion of the Florida Society for Ethical Ecotourism to support the organization's mission and needs.

If you are interested in joining the Florida SEE Board of Directors, please review the job description below and complete/return the application form to info@floridasee.org

Florida SEE Board of Directors Job Description: click here

Florida SEE Board of Directors Application Form: click here

2023-24 Board Meeting Dates:
FL SEE board meetings usually occur on the second Tuesday of every other month at 5:30 pm via ZOOM meetings unless otherwise stated below. They are open to the membership. Please email info@floridasee.org to participate as a member guest.

September 10th, 2024
October 8th, 2024
November 12th, 2024
December 10th, 2024

2023-24 Board of Directors:

Pete Corradino, Board Chair
Certification Committee Chair
Certification@floridasee.org
Southwest Region

Pete was born and raised northwest of the Everglades in Venice, Florida. He grew up at the Florida Monkey Sanctuary, a 10-acre, private non-profit organization owned and operated by his parents from 1968 to 1988.
His experience at the sanctuary involved not only working with hundreds of primates of various species but also providing the opportunity to become immersed in the natural history of the area, where the sanctuary alone was home to Sandhill Cranes, Wood Storks, Indigo Snakes, River Otters and abundance of other native wildlife. Leaving the subtropics for colder climates, Pete attended the University of Vermont and graduated with a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. He returned to southwestern Florida and guided for the Everglades Day Safari from 1998-2000 before trading sandals for snowshoes in Vermont, where he worked for six years as a Park Ranger at Lowell Lake State Park in Londonderry, VT.

Pete later worked his way up to become the Director of the environmental education organization, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Manchester, VT, teaching natural history and encouraging ecological conservation to students of all ages. He returned to his native state of Florida in 2007 to become the Director of Operations of Everglades Day Safari. Later that year, he joined the board of Florida SEE and, in 2009, began co-developing the Florida SEE certification program. In 2016, Pete became the owner of Everglades Day Safari.
 

Dr. David W. Randle, Vice Chair
Business Development Committee Chair
wavesofchange4@me.com
Central West Region

David Randle holds a B.A. from California Lutheran University, an M-Div. from the Iliff School of Theology and a doctorate in Spiritual Disciplines, Wellness, and Environmental Concerns from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO. He currently directs the Sustainable Tourism concentration for the USF College of Global Sustainability and serves as president and executive director of the WHALE Center, and Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute Waves of Change initiative. He serves on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council International Education & Training Committee.

As the first ordained environmental minister in the nation, Dave has successfully coordinated a national campaign to preserve water, wildlife, and wilderness areas on behalf of the Pitkin County Commissioners, served as political and environmental advisor to John Denver, and initial program development coordinator for John Denver's Windstar Foundation. Dave was selected as one of the five lead-off witnesses for hearings by the U. S. Presidential Commission for a Peace Academy & Conflict Resolution and helped lead a team of 150 persons at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the Salt Lake Olympics, Dave worked with UNEP & URI to develop the Earth and Faith Leadership Development Program piloted in the Olympic Village in Salt Lake City and received an Olympic Award and an award at the United Nations.
 

Nancy MacPhee
Treasurer/Marketing Committee
Treasurer@floridasee.org
Southwest Region

Nancy has been a member of Florida SEE for almost 25 years. She is the Tourism Development Manager for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau in Fort Myers. Previously, she worked as a parks & recreation professional developing and managing outdoor recreation programs and facilities in Lee County, FL, and Monmouth County, NJ. She has a degree in Parks & Recreation Resource Management, is certified as an Outdoor Leader by the Wilderness Education Association, is a Florida Master Naturalist, and is an AHLEI Guest Service Professional. She also serves on the board of directors for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association and Barrier Island Parks Society/Friends of Cayo Costa State Park.

Dr. Carolin Lusby
Marketing Committee
Clusby@fiu.edu
Southeast Region

Dr. Carolin Lusby is an Assistant Professor at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate-level courses in tourism, research methods, and leadership. She received her doctoral degree in Tourism and Recreation and Sport Management from the University of Florida in 2007. Furthermore, Dr. Lusby holds a master’s degree in Tourism and the Environment from the World Leisure Center of Excellence at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. 

Before beginning her career in academia, Dr. Lusby worked in the tourism industry, where she found her passion for approaching touring and using tourism as a tool for personal transformation. Among others, Dr. Lusby was a youth travel guide for Europe’s biggest teen travel company, worked for a teen adventure travel company, and developed skills and training in adventure and experience-based learning. Ultimately, she became a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and a Ropes Course Facilitator.

In her first academic teaching endeavor at California State University Long Beach, Dr. Lusby assumed the role of head of the tourism program. As a lifelong learner, Dr. Lusby became interested in sustainability and became a Green Globe-certified auditor. Seeing tourism’s potential for negative impacts on people, culture, and the environment, Dr. Lusby focused on the sustainable development of tourism and incorporated community-based tourism in her study tours. Dr. Lusby speaks German and French and firmly believes in the value of meaningful study-abroad experiences to foster the development of global citizens.

 

Dr. Taylor V. Stein
Education Committee member
taylorstein@floridasee.org
North Central Region

Taylor V. Stein, Associate Professor, joined the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation in 1998 with teaching and research responsibilities in ecotourism. His research efforts focus on the economic and non-economic benefits of natural or near-natural landscapes with an emphasis on the social sciences. Before joining the School, he served as a Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s College of Natural Resources. In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, Dr. Stein is the lead SFRC faculty in the USDA Forest Service/Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University cooperative degree program.

Britt Patterson-Weber
Education Committee Member
bpatterson-weber@naplesgarden.org
Southwest Region
 

Britt Patterson-Weber is the Vice President of Education & Interpretation at Naples Botanical Garden. Joining the Garden in 2009, shortly before the Garden opened to the public, Britt leads efforts to educate visitors, school audiences, and the community about plants’ value to all life on Earth through engaging, accurate, and impactful experiences and interpretation. Before joining the Garden, Britt earned a B.A. in Anthropology with an emphasis in Linguistics from the University of Montana and worked as an environmental educator and program director throughout South Florida and the Caribbean.
 
In 2018, Britt was recognized as one of Gulfshore Business magazine’s “40 Under 40.” In the community, Britt serves as the Vice Chair of the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee and chairs their Outreach subcommittee. Since 2021, she has volunteered as a high school mentor for the Champions for Learning Take Stock in Children program. Britt is a 2018 graduate of Associate Leadership Collier and a 2021 graduate of Leadership Collier. 

Carolyn Kovacs
Education Committee
Central East Region
 

Carolyn Kovacs is the Florida Sea Grant Agent with UF/IFAS Extension in Volusia and Flagler Counties.  As such, she provides community education programs and environmental literacy materials focused on healthy oceans and coasts. Carolyn holds a Master of Science in marine sciences from Savannah State University in   Georgia and previously taught marine science courses for university study abroad programs in Panama and worldwide on a sailboat. While in Panama, she also helped create an environmental educational training program for local boat drivers and tour guides.  She now enjoys teaching marine ecology and conservation to Florida residents through the Florida Master Naturalist Program and developing new educational curricula for youth and adults.  In her free time, Carolyn enjoys longboard surfing and exploring Florida’s waterways via stand-up paddleboard.
 

Mike Sipos
Education Committee
Southwest Region
 

Mike Sipos is a Marine Extension Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Collier County. He holds a M.S. degree in fisheries and aquatic sciences and a B.S. in zoology from the University of Florida. As a native Southwest Floridian, he developed a great interest in the marine environment from an early age through frequent exploration of coastal environments as a young angler and observing biological processes up close in his home aquaria. Mike’s previous professional experience includes working as a university biologist gathering data on barotrauma in grouper and environmental issues that may affect area fisheries. His interest in aquatic husbandry led him to further his education in aquaculture, and he spent a short time in the industry before becoming the Florida Sea Grant Agent. Mike focuses his educational programming on sustainable fisheries, invasive species, and environmental literacy/stewardship. In his free time, Michael enjoys kayaking, fishing, scuba diving, spearfishing, and maintaining his aquariums.
                             



 

Katherine Rose
Education Committee
Southwest Region

Katherine “Kate” Rose has served as the UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent for Charlotte County since January 2022. Although she grew up in New Jersey, Kate has been connected to Florida all her life. Kate completed her first open water dive in Key Largo and is a double gator, earning both her bachelor’s and her master’s in Fisheries and Aquatic Science from the University of Florida. She has experience with sponge restoration, disease ecology, finfish aquaculture, and crustacean fisheries, but her present role focuses on seagrass ecology, water quality, and citizen science.




 

Emily Dark
Certification Committee
edark@martin.fl.us
Southeast Region

Emily Dark is the Environmental Resource and Ecotourism Coordinator for    Martin County and leads the Explore Natural Martin program. Emily has worked for Martin County for two and a half years before which she worked for the State of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve Office for seven years.
   
Her current position is unique in that she works in the County’s Environmental Resource Division and the Office of Tourism and Marketing. As the Environmental Resource and Ecotourism Coordinator, Emily develops, organizes, and leads educational nature programs, including guided hikes and paddles. She also works to promote local eco-tour operators and responsible outdoor recreation through a partnership with Leave No Trace.
Emily has a M.S. in Environmental Studies, focusing on Conservation Biology, from Antioch University New England. At Antioch, as the Education Coordinator for the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation, she developed and led the annual symposium on Ecotourism and its synergy with conservation and community. Emily is a Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor and Florida Master Naturalist Environmental Interpreter and used to live in Vieques, Puerto Rico, where she led tours, including
snorkeling, horseback riding, and kayaking in the bioluminescent bay.