Rich Wilson, CPF
Rich Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of Seatone Consulting, is an award-winning consultant, trainer, and IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with over 30 years of experience in resource conservation, sustainable business practices, and public engagement in natural resource management planning. Rich is skilled in a range of collaboration tools and techniques. His work commonly lands him within the science-to-policy-to-management interface. He thrives when helping groups do their best work together in ways that are inclusive, strategic and produce high impact results. Check out Seatone’s Featured Cases to learn more.
Rich and the Seatone team’s projects have spanned all regions of the United States and more than 20 tropical countries in the Caribbean and Western Pacific, producing a variety of impactful work products. These include broadly supported and technically robust fishery management plans and fishery research programs, coastal and marine science syntheses in multiple regions of the United States and its Territories, organizational governance structures, protected area management effectiveness evaluations, multi-country marine recreation standards, and coastal development policy recommendations.
Seatone has delivered agency reports on marine spatial planning, aquaculture, fishery-independent surveys, and protected species, among other topics. Our team supported a state-federal interagency working group in their efforts to develop the Guide to Leasing, Permitting, and Authorizing Commercial Aquaculture Operations off the California Coast. Seatone’s mediation services helped tribal communities and county supervisors in the Klamath Basin to forge memoranda of understanding that guide communication, information sharing and, when requested, government-to-government consultation.
Prior to founding Seatone in 2010, Rich served as an international program manager with the Coral Reef Alliance, a dive team leader with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, and a park ranger with the U.S. National Park Service. Beyond his Seatone work, Rich is dedicated to pro bono causes that promote collaborative solutions to pressing natural resource management challenges.
Countries of Experience
Anguilla, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Fiji, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Montserrat, Micronesia, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States and its Territories
Education and Affiliations
- Bachelor of Arts, History – California State University, Chico
- Certified Professional Facilitator – International Association of Facilitators
- Roster Member – US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution
- Certificate in Public Participation – International Association of Public Participation
- Negotiation and Mediation Training – Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution
- Marine Protected Area Design and Management – Florida International University
Seth Theuerkauf, PhD
Dr. Seth Theuerkauf is a marine ecologist and conservation leader with over 15 years of experience advancing science-based, community-driven solutions to complex marine resource challenges. His core expertise spans coastal habitat restoration, sustainable aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, and marine spatial planning. Throughout his career, Seth has served in diverse leadership and advisory roles, including as a federal regulator for offshore wind with the U.S. Department of the Interior, a national science program manager with NOAA Fisheries, a special assistant to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, and an international aquaculture scientist with The Nature Conservancy’s Global Ocean’s team.
His work has consistently focused on the sustainable use and restoration of ocean resources through innovative, partnership-driven approaches. He is known for his ability to collaborate across disciplines—bridging scientists, practitioners, and policymakers—to translate extensive, often complex scientific research into clear, actionable guidance for resource managers. Seth brings deep scientific and technical expertise to the Seatone team, enhancing the value and rigor of our information synthesis and advisory products.
Countries of Experience
Belize, Palau, Romania, Tanzania, USA
Education
- PhD, Marine Conservation Ecology – North Carolina State University
- Bachelor of Science, Biology and Environmental Science, summa cum laude and Phi Betta Kappa – The College of William and Mary
Peter Adler, PhD
Peter S. Adler is a planner, mediator, facilitator, and a principal in ACCORD 3.0, a professional network of consultants specializing in foresight, strategy, and cooperative trouble-shooting. As a planner he works with organizations in the public, private and civic sectors on forward strategy and executive and board alignment. As a mediator, he assists groups to reach agreements on energy, environment, and health controversies. Peter has worked in the government, business and the NGO sectors and taught advanced negotiation courses at the University of Hawaii and California State University Dominguez Hills.
Peter’s prior executive experience includes nine years as President and CEO of The Keystone Center, Executive Director of the Hawaii Justice Foundation, and Founding Director of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is the author of four books and numerous academic and popular articles and lives and works in Hawaii. Recent projects include a negotiated “Joint Fact Finding” agreement on pesticides used by GMO corn seed producers and their critics and the acceleration of cooperation strategies for the ozone treaty under the UN Montreal Protocol.
Countries of Experience
Australia, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, South Africa, Western Samoa
Education
- PhD – Interdisciplinary Social Science (Sociology), The Union Institute
- Master of Science – Sociology and Community Development, University of Missouri
- Bachelor of Arts – English and History, Roosevelt University
Ramon de León, MSc
A native of Uruguay, Ramon de León first moved to the Caribbean in 1997. Prior to coming to the Caribbean he worked as a fisheries scientist, collaborating closely with fishermen along the coastal lagoons of eastern Uruguay and doing biophysical monitoring in France, Brazil and Chile. From 2004 to early 2015 he served as manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park, a world renowned dive destination recognized for its biodiversity conservation programs and pioneering “diver tag” user fee system. In this capacity he was responsible for all aspects of daily park operations. His duties encompassed management of staff, budgets and park resource conservation efforts; law enforcement; design and coordination of research and monitoring programs; coordination of outreach and education; and maintenance of the park. Ramon’s long-term involvement in the dive industry made him a good fit as manager of a multi-use marine park where the primary stakeholder is the dive industry. Ramon regularly supports professional development of other park managers in the Wider Caribbean as one of a small group of mentors leading the UNEP-CEP/CaMPAM Mentorship Program.
A long-time conservation practitioner, Ramon possesses expertise in marine protected area design, capacity building and management; sustainable financing mechanisms; biophysical and socioeconomic monitoring; management effectiveness evaluation; fisheries management; sustainable tourism and climate change adaptation. He has a keen understanding of how to effectively engage community stakeholders, resolve conflicts and promote alternative livelihoods that foster sustainable use of coastal and marine resources. Together with other key members of the management team of Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire)—the non-profit charged with managing the Bonaire National Marine Park and the Washington Slagbaai National Park—Ramon has played a leading role in shaping the foundation’s long-term vision, conservation policy and legislative priorities.
Countries of Experience
Brazil, Bonaire, Chile, France, Dominican Republic, Uruguay
Education and Affiliations
- Master of Science – Universidad de Concepcion, Chile
- Environmental Engineering training – Universidad de Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Mentor – UNEP-CEP/CaMPAM Mentorship Program
Meagan Wylie
Meagan is an experienced facilitator and project manager with nearly 20 years helping agencies, communities, and stakeholder groups navigate complex policy landscapes. Her work frequently sits at the intersection of science, policy, and public engagement, with a particular focus on coastal resilience, aquaculture, and marine spatial planning. She brings curiosity, clarity, and a collaborative spirit to every engagement, whether guiding climate adaptation planning, supporting groundwater policy, or designing stakeholder processes for marine resource management.
Meagan has worked extensively with ocean and coastal agencies on cross-jurisdictional initiatives and helped lead the designation of 37 marine protected areas along Southern California’s coast. Her work also includes supporting implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act across multiple basins.
Meagan’s facilitation style centers on building structured, inclusive processes that foster trust, encourage collaboration, and produce tangible results, especially in high-conflict or high-stakes environments. Whether she’s guiding a technical working group or leading a community workshop, she brings empathy, adaptability, and a sharp ability to connect the dots across diverse perspectives and priorities.
Countries of Experience
United States
Education
B.S. Marine Biology and B.S. Oceanography, Magnum Cum Laude – Hawai`i Pacific University
