Seafood Choices Alliance

Melanie, formerly Director of the Seafood Choices Alliance program, joined SeaWeb in 2006 to lead the development of Seafood Choices in the United Kingdom and then took international leadership of the program in January 2009. During her time at SeaWeb Melanie has traveled extensively, developing a wide network of international relationships, speaking at events in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and using her corporate and strategic background to ensure a solid understanding of the seafood sector.

Prior to SeaWeb, Melanie, specialized working in natural resource industries such as agriculture, forestry and food. She has worked in a number of different countries including a period working with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developing international trade meetings on seafood in Europe, Japan, Russia and Indonesia. In addition, Siggs also served as Head of Communications for Finnish group UPM-Kymmene Group, one of the world’s largest forest products groups and acted as Head of Corporate Affairs for the Australian company Global Renewables. Melanie holds a master's degree in responsibility and business practice from the University of Bath in England and brings to the organization a breadth of business experience, strong skills in strategic positioning and corporate affairs, as well as a personal passion for responsible business. She is based in SeaWeb's London office.

Ned Daly, North American Director

Ned Daly is the Seafood Choices Alliance North American Director. In this position, Ned will support the Alliance’s corporate sustainable seafood initiatives in the North American marketplace and work to find global solutions to threats facing ocean ecosystems, communities dependent on those resources and the industries they support.

Ned has previously worked on developing sustainable markets in some equally challenging industries. Previous to joining SeaWeb, Ned was Director of RugMark International, a certification program for child-labor free rugs coming from Southeast Asia. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer for the Forest Stewardship Council – US, managing relationships with industry leaders and a diversity of key stakeholders including conservation NGOs, policymakers and industry trade associations. Ned has also worked on sustainable markets in the agricultural sector and the relationship between resource extraction and ecosystem health.

Ned lives in a coastal Maine community where the impact of fisheries management and dwindling resources is felt directly.

Email Ned

Elisabeth Vallet, European Director

Elisabeth joined the Seafood Choice Alliance in October 2006 to work with industry leaders and NGOs across continental Europe to increase the market for sustainable seafood. Elisabeth comes from a communications, policy and trade association background. She spent nine years as the Communications and Project Manager of the European Council of Young Farmers, an association based in Brussels that represents young farmers throughout the EU member States. In that role, she worked with private industry, policymakers, consumers, NGOs and other associations. She implemented a pan-European educational project, which aimed to raise the awareness of schoolchildren concerning European agriculture. Most recently, Elisabeth worked for the European Commission at DG Environment. Before her Brussels work, she helped to establish a trade association on biofuels in France.

Email Elisabeth

Nadine Bartholomew, Business Outreach & Development Manager

Nadine Bartholomew is the Business Outreach and Development Manager for the Seafood Choices Alliance. Prior to joining SeaWeb in 2006, she worked at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) where she developed and implemented programs that promoted the community relations, supplier diversity and urban affairs initiatives of food retailers and wholesalers including FMI’s Neighborhood Partnership Awards program (NPA). Bartholomew began her career in the supermarket industry at Giant of Maryland (an Ahold USA subsidiary). As the Marketing Specialist, Bartholomew was responsible for developing marketing campaigns to promote all consumer-based initiatives for the 192-store chain including Giant’s award winning Healthy Ideas program. She has a master's in business administration from Loyola College of Maryland and is based in the Washington, D.C. area.

Email Nadine

Philip Chou, Conservation Outreach Manager

As Conservation Outreach Manager, Philip helps marine conservation NGOs to identify and implement strategies toward greater environmental sustainability in the global seafood industry. Prior to joining SeaWeb in 2007, he served as China Program Officer for Conservation International, linking businesses, NGOs and governments through biodiversity conservation partnerships in China. A native of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Philip has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Russia and a forest restoration volunteer in Kenya with A Rocha International. He is fluent in Chinese and conversant in Russian and Spanish. He holds a M.A in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a B.S. in Biology from Guilford College.

Valerie Craig, Senior Project Manager

Valerie Craig is a Senior Project Manager with the Seafood Choices Alliance. Craig works to bring a diverse array of stakeholders from the seafood industry together to promote sustainable use of ocean resources, most notably through her management of the annual Seafood Summit. She is also responsible for a variety of other convenings, primarily pertaining to issues of climate change, traceability in the seafood supply chain, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. She also works on development and production of publications and Web content.

Craig began working with SeaWeb in 2004 shortly after completing her master's degree in environmental management from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. While at Yale, she focused on economics, policy and law, and was most interested in the use of economic tools in making environmental policy, in particular for fisheries management. Craig holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis, where she focused on international environmental policy. Craig enjoys traveling with her family and exploring new places. In her free time, she enjoys trying new recipes in the kitchen and spending time in the sun or by the sea.

Stephanie Faison, Public Relations

As the publicist for Seafood Choices Alliance, Stephanie has helped create the current social movement towards seafood conservation. She is also the President and founder of Restaurant PR, a firm enabling industry professionals to customize their own individual public relations programs, and is the President of SCO Communications, a public relations and marketing firm with an emphasis on hospitality, food and beverage. Stephanie speaks fluent French, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ithaca College.

Emily Howgate, UK Program Coordinator

In April 2007 Emily joined the London office of Seafood Choices Alliance and is responsible for helping develop relationships with a broad range of sustainable seafood stakeholders and providing logistical support to the UK program. Prior to joining the Alliance, Emily worked in the marine programs of several conservation organizations. In particular her experience relates to the impact of unsustainable fisheries on marine flagship species, including sea turtles and albatrosses. Through social research she conducted, Emily has a strong comprehension of sustainable seafood and consumer and retailer knowledge associated with this in the UK. Emily is passionate about sustainability and has been involved with environmental education initiatives in the UK. Her commitment to the environment, and particularly the marine realm, was honed through her Ecology degree at the University of East Anglia, UK and also a stint studying in California.

Julia Roberson, Senior Project Manager

Julia is the London-based representative for Seafood Choices Alliance in Europe, and she also coordinates SeaWeb’s “L’autre Caviar” and Caviar Emptor campaigns, which call for a halt to the international trade of beluga caviar and urge consumers to choose environmentally friendly alternatives. Julia has worked in Europe for six years in public relations, marketing and journalism. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications and English from Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

Lacey Schmeidler, Program Associate

Lacey is the Program Associate for Seafood Choices Alliance and is based in the Washington, DC office. In her role she provides support on a number of Seafood Choices’ sustainable seafood initiatives including assisting with the organization of the annual Seafood Summit. Lacey came to Seafood Choices after completing her Masters in International Development and Political Economy from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands, where she lived near the ocean for the first time, in the Scheveningen beach community. She also holds bachelors degrees in Political Science and German from Kansas State University.

Cecilia Talopp, European Program Coordinator

Cecilia Talopp, European Program Coordinator, joined the Paris office of Seafood Choices Alliance in October 2008. Cecilia is responsible for helping develop relationships with a wide range of stakeholders from the seafood industry and providing support to the European Program. Prior to joining Seafood Choices Alliance, she worked in a French environmental association, where she helped develop an ecodesign handbook and provided communication support. Cecilia graduated in 2008 with a master's degree in environmental science from La Sorbonne, Paris, and holds a Bachelor's in foreign Languages from Nanterre University. She is fluent in French, Spanish and English, and spent one year studying in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Cecilia is passionate about wildlife, traveling and sports, especially horse riding.

Staff

Melanie Siggs, Vice President of Sustainable Markets