Our board of directors comprises a passionate and supportive group of professionals from many industries who are dedicated to achieving CORAL's mission in its project sites throughout the world and expanding CORAL's work significantly in years to come.

Lyn Ciocca (Board Chair)
Lyn was elected to CORAL’s board in 2002 and currently serves as its board chair, its executive committee chair, and as a member of the development committee. She is president of Wellness Resources Co., a marketing consulting firm that specializes in strategic, business, and marketing planning and qualitative research, particularly in the health-care area. Lyn earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of business administration in marketing from New York University. A long-time scuba diver, Lyn currently resides in New York City and Boulder, Colorado.

H. William Jesse, Jr. (Treasurer)
Bill currently serves as CORAL's treasurer and as a member of the executive and programs committees. He is chairman and CEO of Modern Yachts, Inc., and currently resides in San Francisco, California.

Mark Rovner (Secretary)
Mark was elected to CORAL’s board in 2007 and is currently serving as its secretary. He is founder and CEO of Sea Change Strategies, a research and strategy company serving charities and nonprofits. A frequent writer, speaker, and blogger, Mark is one of the pioneers of using the Internet for fundraising, organizing, and strategic communications. Over the past ten years, he has consulted on behalf of World Wildlife Fund, Amnesty International, the Christopher Reeve Foundation, and the International Campaign for Tibet, among others. Prior to this, Mark served as vice president for communications at World Wildlife Fund, and has helped guide branding, integrated marketing, and fundraising strategies for The Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense, and the National Wildlife Federation. As part of his midlife crisis, Mark took up scuba diving last year. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University, and currently lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Linda Cain
Linda was elected to CORAL’s board in 2007 and currently serves as a member of the development and governance committees. She is the principle of Cain Travel, the fifth largest travel management company in Colorado and one of the fifty fastest growing businesses in the state, a company she cofounded with her late husband, David. Former owner of Scuba Joes Dive Shop, Linda is an expert in both travel and the dive industry. She has served on the board of Hertz, the United Airlines Travel Agency, and other industry-related organizations, and is currently a member of the Sutherland Foundation's board of directors. Linda began her career in the travel industry in 1967, after attending the University of Colorado. She currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.

James Foght, Ph.D.
A long-time CORAL donor, James was elected to CORAL’s board in 2006. He is a principal at Kidd and Company, a private equity firm focused on health care and alternative energy, and managing partner for Foght Enterprises LLC, providing international business advisory services. He is a member of the investment committee for Vector Later-Stage Equity Funds; serves as chairman of Illinois Ventures LLC, a seed and early-stage technology investment firm focused on research-derived companies in information technologies, physical sciences, and life sciences; and is formerly the cofounder and president of Vector Securities International, Inc., a full-service investment bank dedicated exclusively to the life sciences and medical industries. James was also senior vice president and co-head of Kidder Peabody's Life Sciences/Medical Products Specialty Group and spent more than twenty years with E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. James serves on the board of directors for many young pharmaceutical companies, on the board of trustees for African Wildlife Foundation, and is a board member for TurtleWill. Married with three children, James currently resides in Barrington, Illinois.

Rod Fujita, Ph.D.
Rod was elected to CORAL's board in 1998 and currently serves as its scientific liaison and a member of the program committee. He is a senior scientist and director of ocean innovations for Environmental Defense Fund and has particular expertise in coral reefs, fisheries, and marine protected areas. Rod helped establish the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and its unique water-quality protection program, and played a key role in creating California's growing network of marine protected areas, including the Channel Islands. He earned a doctorate in marine ecology from the Boston University Marine Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Rod currently resides in Oakland, California.

Paula Hayes
Paula was elected to CORAL’s board in 2000 and currently serves as a member of the development committee. She has led Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)’s fund-raising efforts for more than twenty years. When she joined the organization in 1986, the budget was around $3 million; today EDF is raising more than $100 million annually. Prior to joining EDF, she served as a consultant and chief fundraising counsel for UNICEF and Women's World Banking, and helped raise money globally for UNDP. A founding member of Earth Share, a consortium of environmental organizations, Paula has served on the boards of Oxfam and many other organizations. She currently resides in New Rochelle, New York.

Leah Bunce Karrer, Ph.D.
Leah was elected to CORAL’s board in 2006. Formerly employed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Leah recently accepted a position with Conservation International (CI) in its marine program expertise on marine protected areas. Before joining CI, Leah worked for the National Ocean Service (NOS) program office, where she coordinated efforts to improve international capacity to protect, conserve, and restore coastal habitats; to mitigate the impacts of climate change; to ensure safe, efficient, and environmentally sound maritime navigation in U.S. waters and beyond; and to improve international capabilities to reduce impacts from natural disasters on coastal resources. Leah has also developed a series of monitoring protocols for coral reef regions worldwide. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Katheryn Patterson Kempner, Esq.
Katheryn was elected to CORAL’s board in 2005. Currently a full-time parent, she was previously a partner with Coudert Brothers, a large international law firm. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, and is a member of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, a trustee and chair of the audit and building committees of The Juilliard School, a member of the national board and executive committee chair of the Federal Judiciary Task Force of the Republican Majority for Choice, and a teaching volunteer focusing on earth sciences, paleontology, and biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History. Katheryn is married to Thomas Kempner; they have three children and currently reside in New York City.

Dennis H. Liberson
Dennis was elected to CORAL's board in 2002 and currently serves as its development committee chair and as a member of the executive, program, and governance committees. Dennis retired as executive vice president of human resources at Capital One Financial Corporation to focus his time on underwater photography and travel writing. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations from Michigan State University. Dennis currently resides in Great Falls, Virginia.

Elizabeth Ulmer, Esq.
A former board chair and vice chair, Elizabeth was originally elected to CORAL's board in 1996 and currently serves as a member of the executive, development, and governance committees. Elizabeth is a nonprofit development consultant and currently works with Island Press. She has consulted for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and Greenpeace USA, and serves on several nonprofit boards. Elizabeth earned a law degree from the University of Texas–School of Law and currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Wagner, Esq.
Elizabeth was elected to CORAL’s board in 2007 and currently serves as a member of the governance committee. She is the senior advisor to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large and Mid-Size Business Division in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the IRS, Elizabeth served as director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), where she managed the interaction of NABL with the federal government. Elizabeth has also worked in the national tax offices of KPMG, LLP, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP, and for the Department of the Treasury and law firm Latham & Watkins. She earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas, a master’s degree in accountancy/taxation from the University of Houston, and a law degree from The University of Texas. A certified scuba diver for more than a decade, Elizabeth volunteers as a diver and underwater presenter at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (NAIB), has participated in NAIB fish exploration and collection trips, and has conducted REEF field surveys. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Gilbert P. Williamson
Gilbert was elected to CORAL’s board in 2006 and currently serves as a member of the program and development committees. He is retired from NCR, where he was chairman and CEO. He became a member of AT&T's board of directors following the merger of AT&T and NCR in 1991, and currently serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards including the Fifth Third Bank of Western Ohio, Dean Investment Associates, The French Oil Mill Machinery Company, the Sinclair Community College Foundation, the Dayton Area Progress Council, the United States Air and Trade Show Board, and the Dayton/Montgomery County Scholarship Program Executive Council. He earned a degree in industrial management from San Jose State University. Gilbert and his wife, Joyce, divide their time between Dayton, Ohio, and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.