DOUG WOODRING
Mr. Woodring is the Founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance, which is focused on bringing innovative solutions, technology, collaborations and policy together to impact positive improvements for the health of the ocean. In 2018 he received the Prince’s Award for Innovative Philanthropy by Prince Albert of Monaco, and has been recognized as a UN Climate Hero and a Google Earth Hero for his efforts. Ocean Recovery Alliance is one of the first NGOs to be working with both the United Nations Environment (UNEP) and the World Bank.
Two global preventative projects on the issues of plastic waste were announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2010: the Plastic Disclosure Project, and the Global Alert platform. He is the founder of the Plasticity Forum, which was first launched in Rio de Janeiro, and has since been held in Hong Kong, New York, Portugal, Shanghai, London, Dallas, Los Angeles, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur. The event is unique globally, and focuses on the future of plastic, and where the leaders are going with design, innovation, materials, recycling and solutions, for a world with a reduced waste footprint.
Doug co-founded Project Kaisei which led a science expedition to the North Pacific Gyre with Scripps Oceanography in 2009, and was recognized as a UN Climate Hero and a Google Earth Hero for its efforts. He is an advisor to the Economist's World Oceans Summit.
Doug has worked in Asia for over 25 years in a number of industries which have been at the forefront of technology within their sectors, mainly related to the environment and new media platforms. He also spent four years in the asset management industry, and also set up the framework for a Global Environmental Technology fund in 1998 with Merrill Lynch.
Born in Northern California, Mr. Woodring has a dual masters degree from The Wharton School (MBA) and Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.