Albert Marshall

Albert is a leading environmental voice in Unama'ki Cape Breton. He is advisor to and is a highly regarded spokesperson for Mi'kmaq natural resources and environmental issues. Albert advises and lectures internationally on a wide range of topics:
* The environment
* Tribal consciousness collaboration with non-Aboriginal society
* Traditional healing, traditional teachings
* Mi'kmaq orthography and language
* First Nations' vision of science

He is also the creator of the "Two Eyed Seeing" concept–Balancing Traditional Aboriginal Knowledge and Contemporary Science. Albert works to further positive work within Mi'kmaw communities, to seek preservation and understanding of cultural beliefs and practices among all communities and to effect a strong vision for his people and the future.

Minister Smith

Rear-Admiral Josée Kurtz, Canadian Armed Forces

Rear-Admiral Josée Kurtz was born in Joliette, Québec, and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1988 as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. Following initial naval training leading to her bridge watchkeeping certificate, she specialized in navigation. She navigated frigates and deep draught vessels and had the privilege to share her interest and knowledge as a navigation instructor. On graduating from the year-long Operations Room Officer Course in 1997, Rear-Admiral Kurtz served in HMCS Vancouver as Weapons Officer and Combat Officer. She was Executive Officer in HMCS Ville de Québec from 2007 to 2009. During this period, the ship deployed with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and was diverted on short notice for an anti-piracy escort mission with the United Nations World Food Programme off the Horn of Africa. Immediately following her second-in command tour, she was appointed as Commanding Officer of HMCS Halifax from 2009 until 2011. The ship's operational programme included a tasking to the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief mission in Haiti following the devastating January 2010 earthquake. Her major warship command was followed by an appointment as Commandant of the Canadian Forces Naval Operations School from 2011 to 2012. In addition to service at sea, Rear-Admiral Kurtz has gained staff experience from Desk Officer up to Director General level – on the coast, with the Naval Staff, and at National Defence Headquarters, in the areas of operations, personnel, and security. Rear-Admiral Kurtz was Commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), the Alliance fleet in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, from June until December 2019, Commander of Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers in 2020-21, and Commandant and Vice Chancellor of Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Kingston from 2021 until 2023. She was appointed Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic and Joint Task Force Atlantic on 20 June 2023. Rear-Admiral Kurtz holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa (2005) and a Masters in Defence Studies from RMC Kingston (2007). She is a graduate of the National Security Programme (2013) at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. Rear-Admiral Kurtz dedicates her free time to family activities. She enjoys photography and watching the Toronto Blue Jays.

Moderator

Justin Manley, Founder, Just Innovation, Inc.

Justin Manley is an innovative technologist and executive with experience in commercial, academic, and public sectors. He has been working with marine technology, especially unmanned systems, since 1990. He worked with autonomous vehicles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1993 to 2002. Between 2002 and 2009 Mr. Manley provided marine technology consulting services, primarily to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In 2009 Mr. Manley transitioned to the private sector, joining Liquid Robotics during its startup phase. There he was responsible for developing new commercial and scientific programs. In 2011 he joined Teledyne Benthos where he managed a diverse product portfolio and led the development of a networked systems strategy across Teledyne Marine Systems (Benthos, Webb Research, Gavia, and SeaBotix). Drawn back to entrepreneurial endeavors, Mr. Manley founded Just Innovation Inc. in 2015. He supports clients from startups to multi-national corporations with core technical specializations in unmanned vehicles, robotics, sensors, and undersea systems. Mr. Manley offers clients support with strategy and innovation, business and product development, evangelism, and marketing. Mr. Manley is extensively involved in the marine technology profession. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Life Member of MTS, a Fellow of the Institute for Marine Engineering Science and Technology (IMAREST) and was a founding member of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Advisory Committee. He is dedicated to innovation, mentoring startup companies, and serving as a judge for the XPRIZE Foundation. He holds two patents in the area of unmanned systems oversight and security. Justin Manley has actively supported the Marine Technology Society for more than 20 years. He has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles including:
Chair of the AUV Professional Committee
Editor of the MTS Journal
Vice President of Government and Public Affairs
He has also actively supported MTS conferences with significant roles, including:
Student Program Chair, OCEANS 2005
Technical Program Chair, OCEANS 2011
Technical Program Chair, Underwater Intervention 2009

Speaker

Carl Gouldman, Director, U.S Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

Carl Gouldman took the helm as director of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Program in February 2017. Prior to becoming the director, Carl served as the deputy director of the program since June 2014. NOAA is the lead federal agency for implementing the U.S. IOOS, as called for in the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. U.S. IOOS is a coordinated network of people and technology that work together to generate and disseminate continuous data on our coastal waters, Great Lakes, and oceans. Carl joined NOAA as a program coordinator at the Coastal Services Center in 2000 and then spent a year at the National Ocean Service headquarters staffing the NOAA Ocean Council during the 2003-2004 NOAA review of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy Report. He joined the IOOS program full time in 2004 as the first IOOS permanent employee. He has been a member of the IOOS leadership team since then and served as a Steering Team member for the U.S. IOOS Summit in 2012 and as acting deputy director for the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) for four months in 2013. Prior to NOAA, Carl worked in the coastal recreation sector teaching sailing, kayaking, and windsurfing before spending three years working to become an education senior manager at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where he led field programs teaching students about bay ecology and conservation. He holds a Bachelor of Science in political science from Duke University and a master's degree (Master of Engineering Management) in coastal environmental management from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. Carl lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, has two children, and enjoys spending as much free time outdoors as possible. He is a lifelong recreational boater, fisherman, surfer, and hunter, and he claims to have learned to read a "tide chart" by the age of 10 to plan fishing and crabbing trips in the outer banks of North Carolina. Carl grew up in Virginia and has called the following states as 'home' at some point during his journey to NOAA: Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Hawaii, and Colorado.

Speaker

Paul Snelgrove

Dr. Paul Snelgrove is a University Research Professor of Ocean Sciences and Biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. From 2008-2021 he led the (NSERC) Canadian Healthy Oceans Network, a national research network that developed new tools and approaches to support sustainable oceans. He currently serves as Associate Scientific Director of The Ocean Frontier Institute, which gathers researchers in Atlantic Canada and beyond to advance safe and sustainable ocean objectives. From 2003-2013, Dr. Snelgrove held a Canada Research Chair in Boreal and Cold Ocean Systems, following from an NSERC Industrial Chair in Fisheries Conservation. He led the synthesis of the International Census of Marine Life program, and was a member of the program's Scientific Steering Committee. His TED Global talk on that program has almost 375,000 views. He frequently participates in workshops and conferences around the world as an invited speaker. In 2013, he was awarded the Timothy Parsons Medal for Excellence in Marine Sciences in Canada, and in 2020 was appointed Departmental Science Advisor to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  He has published ~150 journal articles, 30 book chapters and 2 books on his research on sustaining marine biodiversity and functioning in seafloor ecosystems in all three of Canada's oceans.

Speaker

Ken Paul

Ken Paul is a member of the Wolastoqey First Nation at Neqotkuk, located in the community of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick.

Since 2021, Ken became the principle/owner of Pokiok Associates and as well as serving in the Lead Fisheries Negotiator and Research Coordinator for the Wolastoqey Nation of New Brunswick.

In 2012, Ken took on the role of Regional Director of Fisheries for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, and in 2018, the role of National Fisheries Director with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

Prior to 2012, Ken had worked for 10 years in with the Canadian Hydrographic Service as and Hydrographic Engineer and Hydrographer-in-Charge of field-based multibeam ocean mapping, and 10 years with Parks Canada as a Senior Policy Advisor in Atlantic Canada and the Field Unit Superintendent in the Northwest Territories.

He has also been active on the international front in Indigenous advocacy with the Post 2020 framework of the Convention of Biological Diversity, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Expert Working Group with Ocean Decade Unit of the UN IOC, and the Indigenous Peoples' Unit at the UN FAO.   He has been active in projects under the UN Ocean Decade (2021-2030) with Ocean Networks Canada and the Ocean Frontier Institute.

Ken is a board member of Marine Renewables Canada and the Foundation for Conservation of Atlantic Salmon, and a former board member of the Ocean Supercluster and the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) on tidal energy. He is currently involved in supporting offshore wind, tidal energy, ocean research, kelp aquaculture, Indigenous marine protected areas, fisheries mentorship for Inuit in Nunavut, and private partnerships.

Ken has advocated for First Nations and Indigenous Peoples regionally, nationally and internationally on all aspects relating to fisheries, aquaculture, ocean protection, economic prosperity and governance as they relate to inherent aboriginal and treaty-protected rights, legislation, and policy.

Ken has an MBA with St Mary's University and a BSc from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a part-time adjunct professor at Dalhousie's Ocean department.