Andrew Sharpless

Andrew Sharpless General Information

Description

Mr. Andrew Sharpless serves as Chief Executive Officer & Executive Committee Member at Oceana. He is an Angel Investor. He has led Oceana since 2003 as its Chief Executive Officer. Oceana, founded in late 2001, has grown in that time to be the largest international conservation organization fully dedicated to protecting the oceans. Under his leadership, Oceana and its allies have protected nearly 4 million square miles of habitat and won more than 275 significant policy victories that will protect and restore the world's oceans. Oceana campaigns have banned bottom trawling and offshore oil exploration in Belize, helping to protect the world's second-largest barrier reef system. Other victories have preserved unique habitats in Chile, made the seafood trade more transparent, and helped combat illegal fishing around the globe. With campaigns underway in Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the European Union, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Oceana is fighting for policies that will restore oceans to abundance and biodiversity in countries responsible for about one-quarter of the wild fish catch each year. Sharpless also helped lead the development and launch of Global Fishing Watch, an online platform that offers the first free near real-time global view of commercial fishing, in partnership with SkyTruth and Google. Sharpless is on the Board of Directors for this now-independent organization, where he serves as treasurer. Sharpless holds degrees from Harvard Law School, the London School of Economics, and Harvard College. A National Merit Scholar, he completed college in three years of study and won the Knox Fellowship. He previously served in leadership roles at Discovery Communications, RealNetworks, and the Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. Early in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company, the Center for Study of Responsive Law, People for the American Way, and Wisconsin's Citizens Utility Board. His volunteer work includes serving as trustee and treasurer of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.