Duane Silverstein is the Executive Director of

Seacology Seacology is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Berkeley, California, that works to preserve island ecosystems and cultures around the world. Founded in 1991, it began with the work of ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox, ...

, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Silverstein holds a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from the

University of New York There is no real institution in the United States that bears the exact name University of New York. However, it is possible that such a reference may be used for one of the following: In New York State * New York University, a private research u ...

at Stony Brook. Later Silverstein also graduated from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, receiving a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. Silverstein was born in November 1952.

History

Prior to heading Seacology, Silverstein served as Executive Director of the Goldman Fund, a

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

based

philanthropic foundation A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating di ...

. During his 18 years tenure at Goldman Fund, Silverstein oversaw the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

. Seacology operated as a volunteer-only organization until 1999 when Silverstein was brought on as its first employee and the group's headquarters was relocated to

, not far from his residence. For more than two decades he has served as Executive Director of the organization, which seeks to preserve island ecosystems, endemic species, and local cultures. In the course of his work, Silverstein has traveled to 184 islands in 74 countries.

Awards and recognition

In 2009, Silverstein was selected as an "All-Star Among Us" and honored at Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. Silverstein was a 2010 recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service in the San Francisco Bay area. Having worked in island and marine conservation for 30 years, Silverstein has authored 30 articles for newspapers and magazines such as: ''

Asian Geographic ''ASIAN Geographic'' is a geographic magazine that focuses mainly on stories about Asia. Its motto is "''Asia Without Borders''". First published in 1999, it contains articles on geography, culture, heritage, society, environment, exploration, co ...

'', ''Fathoms'', ''Ocean Geographic'', the ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

'', and other publications. He has appeared in ''Scuba Diving Magazine'', the ''Divers Alert Network'', and the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

.'' In 2022, Scuba Diving Magazine named Silverstein a recipient of its Sea Hero Award. During Silverstein's tenure as executive director, Seacology has won various awards including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Climate Secretariat's Momentum for Change climate action award. On behalf of Seacology, he received the

Prince Albert II Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

for Outstanding Innovation in 2015. While serving as executive director of Seacology, the non-profit was nominated for the 2020

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. In 2024 in a ceremony at the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

of Business on behalf of Seacology, Silverstein accepted the $250,000 Lipman Family Prize for outstanding vision, inspiration and impact.

References

External links

Seacology website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Duane Living people American environmentalists Year of birth missing (living people)