The first IMBER International Project Office (IPO) was hosted at the Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM) in Brest, France and opened in October 2005. The IPO was supported by Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), the Université de Bretagne Occidentale, and Région Bretagne. Dr. Sylvie Roy was the Executive Officer, and she was supported by Deputy Executive Officer, Sophie Beauvais, and Administrative Assistant Elena Fily. In 2009, Sylvie returned to Canada and was replaced by Lisa Maddison, the current Deputy Director of IMBeR.
In April 2012, the IPO relocated to the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Bergen, Norway, with support provided by the Norwegian National Research Council from 2012-2020. The first Executive Officer of the IPO in Norway was Bernard Avril and he was succeeded by Einar Svendsen (2015-2016), then Gro van der Meeren (2016-2017) and John Claydon (2018 – present).
After eight years in Norway, the IPO moved in 2020 to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. The office was supported by the Ocean Frontier Institute, MEOPAR and the Government of Canada until 31 March 2024. IMBeR is extremely grateful for all the sponsorship.
Staff
John Claydon
Executive Director, IPO-Canada (now closed)
John has a background as a marine ecologist focusing on tropical marine systems, and has worked in a range of roles that includes research, teaching, management, policy, and governance. His most recent position was Director of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
Lisa Maddison
Deputy Director, IPO-Canada (now closed)
Lisa is a marine biologist who spent many years doing marine resource management on the west coast of South Africa. She swapped over to project coordination and joined IMBeR in 2009.
Paula George
Executive Assistant, IPO-Canada (now closed)
Paula joined the IMBeR IPO-Canada team in August 2022. Paula supports the IMBeR International Project Office-Canada and provides executive and financial assistance to the Deputy Scientific Director and Finance Manager at Ocean Frontier Institute at Dalhousie.
Sponsors
