Board Bios

Chairman: Dr. Allen AllisonDr. Allen Allison, IPCA Chairman, ©IPCA

Vice President for Science, The Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, is responsible for a budget of $4 million and 100 research, collections and support staff. The Bishop Museum, established in 1889, is the fifth largest natural history museum in North America, and contains the world's largest collections of Pacific biota with over 23 million collections. Dr. Allison's 25 years' experience in the region includes field research on tropical ecology, vertebrate zoology, collections and databases design and management, fundraising, and institutional relations. Degrees: Ph.D. (Zoology), U. of California, Davis, 1975-1979. B.S. (Zoology), U. of California, Davis, 1972.

 

John Burke Burnett, IPCA Executive Director, ©IPCAVice-Chairman [and] Executive Director: John Burke Burnett

Burnett has over a decade of experience researching and managing conservation projects in the Asia-Pacific region. His focus is on the political economy of the timber and agro-industries, and conservation-oriented land-use systems and parks and protected areas in Indonesia and Melanesia. His experience also includes strategic design and implementation of conservation projects, regional conservation priority-setting exercises and biological and social/anthropological field surveys. Degrees: M.A., (International Economics), Johns Hopkins University/School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), 1991. B.S., Southern Methodist University, 1987.

Treasurer: Dr. Scott E. MillerDr. Scott Miller, IPCA Treasurer, ©IPCA

Senior Program Officer for Science, Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Miller manages the broad scope of science, including zoological research and specimen collections for the Smithsonian Insitution, the world's largest museum complex. He also maintains a research program on using museum collections and related data to help understand and manage biodiversity, and has published over 110 research publications in systematics, biogeography, and ecology. Previously, he led the Natural Science Department at Bishop Museum (Hawaii) and the Biodiversity and Conservation Programme at International Centre of Insect Ecology and Physiology (Kenya). Dr. Miller has been involved in New Guinea since 1983, including an international collaboration in ecology research. He is committed to applying biodiversity information to development, and has participated in major reviews of biodiversity related to conservation planning, including co-editing the "Papua New Guinea Biological Diversity Country Study." Degrees: Ph.D. (Biology), Harvard University, 1986. B.S. (Biology), University of California at Santa Barbara, 1981. Dr. Miller has been involved in New Guinea since 1983, including an international collaboration in ecology research. To learn more about this project click here.

Secretary: Dr. Dan PolhemusDr. Dan Polhemus, IPCA Secretary, ©IPCA

Head Administrator, Division of Aquatic Resources, Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii. Former Curator of Heteroptera, Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Polhemus specializes in the study of tropical aquatic insects and their biogeography, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific region. He is the author of over 90 scientific publications, including several books, is the current editor of the Journal of the New York Entomological Society, and also serves on various editorial boards. He has conducted extensive scientific field research throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands during the last 15 years. Degrees: Ph.D. (Biology), University of Utah, 1984. B.S. (Entomology), Colorado State University, 1980.

 

Ms. Patti Seery, Consultant
Indonesian Insights & Indonesian ExplorerPatti Seery, ©D.B. Seery

Patricia Joy Seery, President of Indonesian Insights, has over 20 years of experience in South East Asia and specializes in cultural programs and ethnographic textiles with a particular focus on Indonesia. She is currently sits on the Board of the American Museum of Asmat Art and on the advisory council of Lembaga Mushyawarah Adat Asmat (LMAA). Recently she curated and produced a special exhibition of Asmat art entitled, Journey to Asmat, which involved a 5 week program throughout the USA with six visiting Asmat leaders and carvers. In 1991 she worked as a Facilitator for the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the National Mall in Washington and the Festival of Indonesia. She also is a consultant to Geographic Expeditions and runs tours for GeoEx in Indonesia. Most recently, she helped design and build the Si'lolona, a 5-star sailing vessel based on both traditional Bugis design with modern amenities that is used for diving and ecotourism excursions in the Indonesian, Malaysian, and Thai archipelagos. She now manages and runs tours on the Si'lolona. Ms. Seery is also directing and implementing Boats for Aceh. Degrees: M.A. South East Asian Textiles, University of Baroda, Gujerat, India, 1976, B.S. (Architecture and Education), Montana State University, 1974.

Dr. Anthony J. WhittenDr. Tony Whitten, ©PBS

Senior Biodiversity Specialist, The World Bank, oversees the World Bank's policies on environmental and biodiversity issues in Asia. Also affiliated with Cambridge University in the U.K., he first visited Indonesia in 1976 to conduct dissertation fieldwork on Siberut Island. His publications include The Gibbons of Siberut, The Ecology of Sumatra, The Ecology of Sulawesi, The Ecology of Java and Bali, Wild Indonesia, and many others. Degrees: Ph.D. (Biology), Cambridge University.

IPCA Advisory Committee:


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