Jo Ruxton MBE
Chris Goldsworthy CEng CMarEng FIMarEST
Jennifer Gómez Molina CSi CMarSci MIMarEST
Stephen Hall FIMarEST
Del Redvers
Max Smith
Jo is the founder of Ocean Generation, a UK charity (1139843) that brings the Ocean to everyone, everywhere by translating complex science into engaging content, programmes and practical actions. Jo is an engaging speaker and passionate campaigner for the Ocean. She has addressed audiences from schools to corporations, parliaments and governments throughout the world after producing her award-winning Netflix documentary, ‘A Plastic Ocean’.
After achieving her BSc Hons in Biological Sciences from the London University, Jo’s career in conservation took off in the 1980’s when she started the first marine programme for WWF in Hong Kong. During those 14 years, Jo was a key advocate for the establishment of the first marine protected areas there. Jo has been producing and directing underwater sequences since the first days of filming on the award-winning Blue Planet series in 1997. During her 12 years at the BBC, Jo was a lead member of the BBC Natural History Unit’s diving team and was involved in numerous underwater films from Antarctica to the pristine reefs of the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
Jo recognised the need to increase conservation messages in the films she worked on and decided to leave the BBC to work independently. She knew she had to tell the story of the Ocean as it really was, and not how the beautiful wildlife documentaries portrayed it to be. Jo began to raise the funds needed to make the film ‘A Plastic Ocean,’ taking 2 years just to get the filming going. It was 8 years before ‘A Plastic Ocean’ was finally released in 2017 in more than 70 countries and in 15 languages.
Jo’s expertise in Ocean health is anchored by a 3-decade long career in marine conservation and her travels to 22 locations around the world, where she’s met with scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying the environmental and human impacts of Ocean threats like plastic pollution. Jo raises awareness about the human-made threats our Ocean faces and empowers captivated audiences to take their own Ocean action and restore the ecosystem responsible for every second breath we take.
Chris Goldsworthy CEng CMarEng FIMarEST is Chief Executive at the IMarEST, a position he's held since January 2024.
Chris' career started at 19 years old after A-levels as a cadet with P&O Containers while attending South Tyneside Marine College for the three-year Higher National Diploma (HND) course. Spending 16 years at sea before transitioning to ship management ashore, Chris counts himself very fortunate to come through his sea time at the time that he did, from experiencing the traditional watchkeeping on motor and steam vessels, to Unattended Machinery Spaces (UMS).
After 20 years in ship management, Chris has embarked on a new chapter with the IMarEST after 30 years of membership, now leading the HQ Team as Chief Executive.
Jennifer Gomez Molina CSci CMarSci MIMarEST AMEI is a project management specialist with a career spanning over 15 years acquired in engineering research and development and management roles in subsea hardware and marine renewable energy. With extensive experience in project coordination and relationship management of multidisciplinary personnel, clients and subcontractors, Jennifer has led project controls disciplines for technical feasibility studies, demonstrator and commercial projects. She has most recently led the implementation of the project management and governance framework for two offshore wind construction projects in North West Europe at Vattenfall Wind Power.
Beyond her role at Vattenfall, she is committed a a green and just transition as evidenced by her volunteer work as Co-Chair to IMarEST's Technical Leadership Board and as a member of the of Science Strategy working group and Offshore Renewables Special Interest Group. Here she lends thought leadership in renewables and expertise in interdisciplinary team management to develop and deliver the technical plan on current and emerging marine and maritime STEM topics. She is also an advocate for a diverse and inclusive marine workforce and as a member of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal People and Skills Gender and Ethnicity workstream, she presented at the 2022 COP26 Energy Transition Hub “Ensuring the UK’s workforce has the skills to take advantage of new roles in clean energy”.
Del is BMT’s Global Sustainability Director with nearly three decades of professional experience across different aspects of sustainability from cities to oceans, from shipping to energy and from global mega-corporations to small NGOs. He’s a TEDx speaker and passionate about the need for purpose driven businesses and working across sectors to deliver change.
Del also chairs the board of Changeworks, one of the UK’s leading social enterprises and independent environmental charities that applies innovation to programme delivery at scale to achieve net zero.
Max Smith is the Founder & Managing Director of Content With Purpose (CWP), a strategic content creator that works in partnership with leading member bodies and associations; engaging professionals on their industries' role in creating a better tomorrow.
Max has over a decade of experience in building strategic partnerships with industry leaders across the globe, including consulting for ITN.
Driven by his dedication to sustainability, Max founded CWP in 2020 to focus entirely on purpose-led storytelling. He leads the company in uncovering, creating and sharing stories that inspire action, cultivate hope, and pave the way for a future where every individual and organisation recognises their potential to contribute to a better society and a healthier planet.
Max is also Co-Founder & Board Trustee of Montagne Verte, a non-profit based in Morzine, France, which was established in 2019 and aims to help the local community transition towards low-carbon living.
Dr. Philomène Verlaan JD PhD FGS FIMarEST FSUT is an oceanographer specialising in the biogeochemistry and related ecology of deep-sea ferro-manganese nodules and crusts (PhD, Imperial College, London). She has participated in 26 oceanographic research expeditions (most recently September 2024), as well as in nine research submersible dives (to 2000m water depth), so far. She is also an attorney (JD; Florida Bar) specialising in international law of the sea, with a particular focus on the marine environment and marine scientific research. She is the author of 65 refereed (many invited) international publications in her two professional specialties.
These complementary qualifications enabled her to build a career assisting international public and private entities in negotiating the complex interface between marine science and law of the sea to achieve environmentally and commercially responsible uses of marine resources through the development and implementation of legally binding international instruments that are governed by sound science and the rule of law.
She currently serves as a Special Advisor to the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (www.acops.org.uk), and as a Visiting Scientist with the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai'i (www.hawaii.edu).