People

Dr. Gary Wolff, P.E.

Environmental Engineer and Resource Economist

Dr. Gary Wolff is an environmental engineer and resource economist with vast experience in the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors.

His formal training was at Stanford University (M.S., 1984) and University of California at Berkeley (M.S., 1995, Ph.D., 1997). His career has included service in the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors. He founded and later sold a consulting engineering firm specializing in solid waste management and recycling. He served on the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California State Water Resources Control Board, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger and confirmed by the California Senate.

He has taught resource economics at the graduate level and was the Principal Economist at the Pacific Institute for Studies in Environment, Development, and Security. He has served on several non-profit or government boards and advisory commissions, including as Chair of WaterKeepers of Northern California (now San Francisco BayKeeper).

POLAR EXPERT

Professor Robert Dunbar

Professor Robert Dunbar

Rob Dunbar, whose research interests span climate change, marine ecology, oceanography, glaciology, and conservation science, heads a Stanford research group that works on past, present, and future climate change and its impacts on oceanic and coastal environments.

He is the W.M. Keck Professor of Earth Sciences and a Senior Fellow of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. He works regularly with governments as well as the United Nations and several NGO’s to help develop and implement solutions to environmental and resource problems. Dunbar is an experienced field scientist and has led over 70 research expeditions and cruises since 1980, with the majority to ice covered regions of the Antarctic. He has studied the impact of sea ice on local and regional climate as well as unique microbial communities that exist within and beneath sea ice. In 2016, he was awarded the Medal for Antarctic Research by the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR). Dunbar is an avid nature photographer and mountain climber.

POLAR PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHER

Professor Lars. H Smedsrud

Professor Lars Smedsrud

Professor Smedsrud from the University in Bergen, Norway, is an innovative Polar physical oceanographer with a broad international network. He has many months of field-work experience from Svalbard, the Barents Sea, the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica, and have authored a large number of well-cited peer-reviewed papers, of which several were cited in the last IPCC report(s). He has worked with field observations, laboratory experiments, theoretical scaling as well as column, regional, and fully coupled climate models. Smedsrud leads a network for polar researchers at the University in Bergen and is a professor II at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). He is a member of the Scientific Steering Group in CliC (Climate and the Cryosphere) and World Climate Research Programme, is one of the coordinators in Arctic ECRA (European Climate Research Alliance) and was the Fulbright US-Norway Arctic Chair for 2019-2020. He has given a number of invited talks at several workshops and conferences. Smedsrud has a broad scientific interest and love cooperating with researchers in other fields. He has as an enthusiastic drive for teaching, observations, simple models and communicating climate dynamics. Growing up in a mountain town inland Norway he grew up with a love for snow and skiing and has a continued enthusiasm for all polar and cryospheric research. Professor Lars H. Smedsrud. Here pictured close to the Norwegian Research station Troll in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during fieldwork in December 2010.

INTERNATIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY EXPERT

Pam Hirtzer

Pam Hirtzer

Pam’s career is in biotechnology where she works with young companies to take novel compounds from research into pharmaceutical development and clinical trials. Pam was last the associate director of pharmaceutical development for Elan Pharmaceuticals in South San Francisco. At Elan, Pam’s group was responsible for providing timely development – solve the problems and know which ones needed to be solved; regulatory compliance and information – make drugs that are safe for patients; and clinical trial supplies – making sure seriously ill patients in clinical trials have their drugs on time. For the past 15 years, Pam has been a consultant, and has worked with over thirty companies on numerous drugs, often embedded within or managing projects for multiple years. She has extensive experience in technical operations, managing projects against budgets, risks, corporate and most important, patient needs; and working internationally and with high performing technical groups composed of multiple experts. This early space in development is so special: across these biotech companies, again and again, she sees teams that work with passion and dedication so that we can save the world, one person at a time. The shared passion makes both the people and the work incredibly rewarding, so it’s no surprise she ended up working with the Arctic Ice Project.

Anthony Strawa

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Anthony W. W Strawa, Ph.D.

Dr. Strawa retired from NASA where he was an Atmospheric Scientist specializing in the effects of aerosols (particles in the air) on climate and air quality and a manager for over 30 years. He presently consults with several non-profits on climate, air quality, and energy issues. He is Chief Scientist for Sustainable Silicon Valley and a commissioner on the San Jose Clean Energy Advisory Commission. He received a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from Stanford University in 1986 and a BS degree from the US Air Force Academy in 1973. He flew as a Weapons Systems Officer on F-4 Phantom aircraft for 7 years while in the Air Force. He taught Environmental Science at Santa Clara University, lead the Diocese of San Jose Green Initiative and is a Catholic Climate Ambassador. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publication and has spoken extensively in various venues on air quality and climate issues.

SINTEF Ocean

Dr. Mimmi Throne-Holst

Dr. Mimmi Throne-Holst

Dr. Throne-Holst is the Research Director for the Department for Climate and Environment at SINTEF Ocean in Trondheim, Norway. She holds a PhD in microbiology from the University of Lund, Sweden. Her main research interests are in how different stressors, including climate change effects marine life and development of marine environmental technology to mitigate adverse effects. She is passionate about the sustainable development of the ocean economy and always try to see the big picture across environmental, economic and social interest. In that respect Throne-Holst enjoys working interdisciplinary and her department is comprised of scientists, engineers and technicians spanning fields from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and oceanography to economics and political sciences. The department also has extensive laboratory facilities and long experience in field work, development of marine environmental models and conducting sustainability analyses.

NASA Ames

Dr. Steve Zornetzer

Dr. Steve Zornetzer

Fmr Associate Director, NASA Ames Research Center

Steve and his wife, Lynn, live in Sunnyvale, CA. Steve serves as the Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Arctic Ice Project and as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board. He retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley where he served as the Associate Center Director for Research and Technology. Steve was recognized for his contributions to NASA by receiving the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in 2001 and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award in 2008 from President Bush. In 2010 he received NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal. While at NASA, Steve conceived of and led the team responsible for building, Sustainability Base, one of the greenest buildings in the Federal Government. Before joining government service, Steve was a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine. He has nearly 100 journal publications and has published 3 books.

Steve is an avid hiker and environmentalist. His concern for the world, his three grandchildren, and the world they will inherit motivates him to do what is possible to slow global warming now. Steve believes strongly we must quickly marshal the concerted efforts of science and society to effectively implement measures to protect future generations and the planet from what otherwise will be a more dangerous and unforgiving environment.

Board of Directors

Partner and Co-founder, Architect Partners

Steve Payne

Chair

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Steve Payne

Partner and co-founder, Architect Partners

Steve met Leslie when their kids were in school together, and has been on the Arctic Ice Project Board of Directors since 2012.

Steve has been a high-tech operating executive, a venture capitalist and an investment banker in Silicon Valley for over two decades. He co-founded Architect Partners, a tech M&A advisory firm, in 2009 and prior to that was Managing Partner of the Ignite Group, a trans-Pacific venture capital partnership with funds in Silicon Valley and Tokyo. Earlier, he was EVP Product Development and Marketing at SegaSoft. Two bubbles ago, Steve left management consulting to head product marketing for a Kleiner Perkins/Sequoia Capital startup. He has been a Director on private and non-profit boards and mentors startup CEOs via the CleanTech Open, the Global Social Venture Competition and the Harvard New Venture Competition.

Steve holds a BS in Engineering and Public Policy from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Steve races sailboats on the San Francisco Bay, cycles throughout the Santa Cruz mountains and follows his two kids to ultimate frisbee and lacrosse competitions around the country.

Fmr Associate Director, NASA Ames Research

Dr. Steve Zornetzer

Vice Chair

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Dr. Steve Zornetzer

Fmr Associate Director, NASA Ames Research Center

Steve and his wife, Lynn, live in Sunnyvale, CA. Steve serves as the Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Arctic Ice Project and as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board. He retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley where he served as the Associate Center Director for Research and Technology. Steve was recognized for his contributions to NASA by receiving the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in 2001 and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award in 2008 from President Bush. In 2010 he received NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal. While at NASA, Steve conceived of and led the team responsible for building, Sustainability Base, one of the greenest buildings in the Federal Government. Before joining government service, Steve was a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine. He has nearly 100 journal publications and has published 3 books.

Steve is an avid hiker and environmentalist. His concern for the world, his three grandchildren, and the world they will inherit motivates him to do what is possible to slow global warming now. Steve believes strongly we must quickly marshal the concerted efforts of science and society to effectively implement measures to protect future generations and the planet from what otherwise will be a more dangerous and unforgiving environment.

Dr. Gary Wolff P.E.

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Dr. Gary Wolff, P.E.

Environmental Engineer and Resource Economist

Dr. Gary Wolff is an environmental engineer and resource economist with vast experience in the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors.

His formal training was at Stanford University (M.S., 1984) and University of California at Berkeley (M.S., 1995, Ph.D., 1997). His career has included service in the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors. He founded and later sold a consulting engineering firm specializing in solid waste management and recycling. He served on the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California State Water Resources Control Board, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger and confirmed by the California Senate.

He has taught resource economics at the graduate level and was the Principal Economist at the Pacific Institute for Studies in Environment, Development, and Security. He has served on several non-profit or government boards and advisory commissions, including as Chair of WaterKeepers of Northern California (now San Francisco BayKeeper).

Secretary

Carol Sontag

Secretary

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Carol Sontag

Clinician, Palo Alto Unified School District

Carol Sontag is a governing board member at Arctic Ice Project, where she supports and shares her hope that we can make a positive impact on our climate. Carol has served the Arctic Ice Project through her work in development and communications. She was part of the 2018 team that helped retrieve data in the Arctic at Utviaquik, AK . She has worked for over 12 years as a Diabetes Nurse Clinician at Palo Alto Unified School District, caring for elementary school students with Type I Diabetes. Prior to this, her career was devoted to clinical research management at UCSF where she was responsible for the Hypertension Clinical Trials site and at the Palo Alto Center for Pulmonary Disease Prevention where she coordinated Smoking Cessation clinical trials. Her concerns about the environment include the desire to make sure that we have a planet that is habitable and healthy for future generations. She is an environmentalist and a wilderness and outdoor enthusiast who has taken her respect for nature and transformed it into her work towards preserving our climate.

Treasurer

Carl Hekkert

Treasurer

Our Team

These members play a crucial role in the advancement of research and policy to protect and preserve the Arctic.

Annette Eros

Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Strava

Technical Director

M. Jordan Payne

Marketing and Communications Manager

MEMBERS

Volunteers

Dr. Tony Manzara

INSTRUMENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS, TESTING

Dr. Doug Johnson

INSTRUMENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS, TESTING

Dr. Laura Nereng

INSTRUMENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS, TESTING

Tim Player

DATA ANALYSIS, PROGRAMMING, LIASON

Haider Sohail

DATA ANALYSIS

Arctic Resource Development Committee

Carol Sontag

CHAIR

Deb Smith

Meredith McClintock

Bo Magnussen

Heidi Magnussen

Kholoud Zaman

OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

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