Sparkathon

Atziri Ibanez is the Chief of Staff for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Office of Education and previously the National Education Coordinator of 27 estuarine protected areas across the country with NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System. She manages a NOAA program to increase estuary literacy and has developed several projects to accomplish that. Ms. Ibanez has a Bachelor’s in Economics from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and a Master’s in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School. 

Dale Dougherty is the President of Make Community LLC. He first developed and launched Make:magazine in 2005 and Maker Faire in 2006, while at O’Reilly Media, where he had worked since 1984 as an editor of computing books. Mr. Dougherty’s vision and mission continue to be the guiding force for the maker movement and its personal impact on improving education and empowering more people to see themselves as creators and innovators using the tools and skills practiced by hobbyists, as well as professionals. He wrote the book Free to Make in 2016 to provide deeper insight into the ideas and people behind the maker movement.

Peter Arnell is a designer, branding executive, founder, and CEO of Intellectual Capital Investments — and a Dwight parent (Anita ’30). He has been on the forefront of creating, building, and transforming brands, corporations, institutions, and communities for more than 40 years. Mr. Arnell’s unique interdisciplinary approach unites graphic arts, communications, photography, filmmaking, experience design, industrial design, product engineering, architecture, and more to create holistic solutions that drive enduring brand value creation. He has worked in far-ranging industries, including consumer goods, luxury goods, fashion, style, furniture, architecture, automotive, technology, health care, and more. Mr. Arnell’s clients have included Donna Karan, DKNY, PepsiCo, Reebok, Samsung, Chrysler, Chanel, Fendi, Nespresso, Goop, Gucci, Alessi, and the Special Olympics, among others.

Sarah Weller has served on the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) team under Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Program® for nine years. She has the pleasure of working with a phenomenal network of coastal and waterway cleanup organizers worldwide, along with passionate educators and individuals who take action on the issue of plastic pollution in their own communities. Ms. Weller manages the creation and distribution of education and outreach materials for science-based solutions and maintains the organization’s cleanup data collection tools. She’s had the honor of representing the ICC at both national and international marine debris convenings.

Truett Sparkman is the Plastics Policy & Research Coordinator at Ocean Conservancy. He works to facilitate the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), support data collection by citizen scientists and inform members of the public, as well as policy makers about science-based solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Previously, Mr. Sparkman worked on research teams studying sea turtle habitats in the Caribbean and tracking whale sharks in the Pacific.