Seaworthy Conversations: Leadership for Ocean and Climate Impact

From leading the grassroots movement for The Green New Deal at Sunrise Movement to directing Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's cutting edge research for ocean discovery and exploration, Dr. Michael K. Dorsey and Dr. Mark Abbott have invaluable insights for environmental impact leadership. They have each had major roles in shaping the future of ocean and climate impact initiatives, and we're honored to have them both be part of our mentor network.

Join us for a conversation exploring their lessons learned, best practices for making tangible impact, outlooks for the ocean and climate impact landscapes, and much more. We will also set aside the last 15 minutes for Q & A so come prepared with your questions!

Ahead of Earth Day 2021, Seaworthy Collective is excited to provide this forum to not only inspire action, but actually take action by applying to co-found or grow your own ocean and climate impact startup through our Opportunities for Sea Change. Learn more and apply today!

About Our Panel:

Dr. Michael K. Dorsey

Co-Founder, Sunrise Movement

​Limited Partner, IberSun Solar 

Dr. Michael K. Dorsey is a recognized expert on global energy, environment, finance  and  sustainability  matters.  In  1997,  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  Dorsey  was  bestowed  Rotary International’s highest honor, The Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service  to  Humanity.  Dr.  Dorsey  is  a  “Full  member”  of  the  Club  of  Rome  and  in  2013  the  National  Journal  named  him  one  of  200  US  “energy  and  environment  expert  insiders”.  A  graduate  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  Yale  and  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  presently  Dr.  Dorsey is  a  JV  partner  in  the  Indian  based  panel  manufacturer  Pahal  Solar  and  a  limited  partner  in  the  Spanish  solar  concern  IberSun,  s.l.  In  fall  2020  Dr.  Dorsey  was  the  inaugural  Macmillan  Scholar  in Residence and  Global  Affiliate in  the  Gund  Institute  for  Environment at  the  University of Vermont.

Dr.  Dorsey  is  a  serial  organization  builder  and  leader  in  for-profit,  non-profit,  scholarly and governmental  realms.  In  the  for-profit arena, Dr. Dorsey is an active  investor  and  co- founder  and  principal  of  Around  the  Corner Capital—an  energy  advisory  and  impact  finance  platform.  Thru  Around  the  Corner,  Dr.  Dorsey  maintains active  relationships and agreements in  the US and  beyond with  various  partners  from  Barrett  Capital,  to  the  California  New  Energy  Nexus,  to  Silverleaf  Partners, Crede Capital Partners (South Africa), Univergy (Japan/Spain), the World  Bank and many other institutions and high net-worth individuals driving the global  renewable revolution.

In  non-profit  realms,  in  1997  Dorsey  helped  to  co-create  the  northern  California  headquartered Center for Environmental Health. In 2013 Dr. Dorsey and two former  student collaborators co-created  the predecessor  to  the Sunrise Movement.  In late  2018 the Sunrise Movement co-orchestrated launching the Green New Deal. Beyond  this Dr. Dorsey sits on several non-profit boards. He served 11 years on the national  board  of  the  Sierra  Club—one  of  the  largest  and  oldest  US  environmental  organizations. In academia, for the first decade of the 21st century Dr. Dorsey was a  professor in  the environmental studies program at Dartmouth College. He has also  been guest  faculty at Wesleyan University (USA),  the University KwaZuluNatal and  the  University  of  Witwatersrand  (South  Africa);  Kungl  Tekniska  Högskolan  (Sweden);  and  Erasmus  University’s  Erasmus  Research  Institute  of  Management  (ERIM) Sustainability Climate Change Research Unit (The Netherlands).

Dr. Dorsey’s significant government engagement began in 1992 as a member of the  U.S. State Department Delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment  and  Development,  “The  Earth  Summit.”  From  1994-96  Dorsey  was  a  task  force  member  of  President  William  Jefferson  Clinton’s  Council  on  Sustainable  Development.  From  April  2007  until  November  2008  Dorsey  was  a  member  of  Senator  Barack  Obama’s  energy  and  environment  Presidential  campaign  team.  In  2010  Lisa  Jackson,  the  US  Environmental  Protection  Agency  (US-EPA) Administrator,  appointed  Dr.  Dorsey  to  the  EPA’s  National  Advisory  Committee  (NAC).  Jackson  reappointed  Dr.  Dorsey  in  2012  and  Administrator  McCarthy  reappointed  him  again in  2014.  Further, in  2014,  after more  than  two  decades  of  collaboration and engagement with the United Nations NGLS—a specialized unit of  UNCTAD  (the  United  Nations  Conference  on  Trade  and  Development)  designated  Dorsey advisor on “climate, energy sustainability and SIDS (Small Island Developing  States)”.

Dr.  Dorsey  has  published  dozens  of  scholarly  and  lay  articles  on  a  variety  of  environment,  development  and  sustainable finance  matters.  In  2016  he  became  a  contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Over decades Dr. Dorsey has been featured or  provided  his  opinions in  the world’s leading lay  television,  radio and  print  outlets  from  Al  Jazeera,  the  Associated  Press,  South  Africa’s  Business  Day,  CGTN-America,  CNN,  Democracy  Now!,  The  Los  Angeles  Times,  The  New  York  Times,  the  Orlando  Sentinel,  The  Sacramento  Bee,  The  Thom  Hartmann  Show,  US  News  and  World  Reports and many others.

Beyond  boardrooms  and  multilateral  summits  Dr.  Dorsey  has  a  long  legacy  of  exploring, researching and working to protect biodiversity–in the US and abroad. He  has  solo  walked  across  Yosemite  and  Adirondack  National  Parks.  Dorsey  has  climbed  several  peaks  from  Canada  to  Patagonia:  Agassiz  (13,893’),  Chimborazo  (20,564’),  Cotopaxi  (19,347’),  Illiniza  Sur  (17,267’)  and  Norte  (16,818’)  and many  others.  In  2015  Dorsey  began  actively  skyrunning  and  has  since  completed  two  Norwegian arctic circle skyraces. As a trained social forester, in 1996, Dorsey began  research  in  the  upper  Amazon  basin,  in  Ecuador.  He  has  also  worked  in  the  sub tropical and  tropical  forests of Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and Brazil; as well as in  temperate  forests  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  and  New  England.  Beyond  his  publications, Dr. Dorsey’s conservation  research has long  been in cooperation and  collaboration  with  leading  scholars,  think  tanks,  advocacy  groups,  governments,  corporations,  multilateral  agencies  as  well  as  fence-line,  marginalized  and  forest  communities—and many more.

Dr. Mark Abbott

Past President and Director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Mark Abbott was the tenth President and Director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is presently on sabbatical. He received a BS in Conservation of Natural Resources from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis. His research focuses on the interaction of biological and physical processes in the ocean and relies on remote sensing and field observations. He advocated the inclusion of chlorophyll fluorescence bands in MODIS (the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s EOS Terra and Aqua satellites) and developed next-generation ocean primary productivity algorithms that used chlorophyll fluorescence data to estimate the physiological health of upper ocean phytoplankton. He deployed a wide variety of ocean color sensors in the upper ocean, including moored arrays at the Polar Front in the Southern Ocean and ocean drifters in the California Current as well as the Polar Front. Dr. Abbott has also advised the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation on issues regarding advanced computer technology and oceanography. He is the principal investigator on a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, formulating a new vision for the design, development and deployment of ocean sensors.

He is a member of the National Academics of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Ocean Studies Board and has served as chair of the Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space, and member of the Committee on Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support US Science. He was a member of the National Science Board and served as president of The Oceanography Society. In 2011, he received the Jim Gray eScience Award from Microsoft Research.

Daniel Kleinman

Founder & CEO, Seaworthy Collective

Growing up in South Florida, Daniel was surrounded by & captivated by the Atlantic Ocean. Daniel received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida, focusing on ocean technology. During his time as an undergraduate, Daniel interned with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as an Engineering Assistant and became a University Innovation Fellow. After graduating in 2015, Daniel spent two years as a Pilot & Test Engineer for Bluefin Robotics' Bluefin-21 unmanned underwater vehicles in Boston. Daniel spent the following three years in San Diego as a Contractor for the Navy contributing to mechanical engineering research & development for maritime systems.

After five years in the ocean technology industry, Daniel saw a missed opportunity in the lack of infrastructure to support the development of solutions to positively impact the ocean. Combining his passions for ocean science & exploration, innovation & entrepreneurship, & mentorship, Daniel founded Seaworthy Collective in 2020 to empower current & aspiring oceanographic changemakers. Daniel is thrilled to foster a community facilitating the growth of startups in the ocean science & exploration field. Daniel is also pursuing his Master's degree in Exploration Science at The University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine & Atmospheric Science, & was recently recognized as a Miami Global Shaper.