Collaborators from multiple disciplines and nations.
Gulf of Tomorrow launched in January with three founding board members who have deep experience working across a wide range of issues facing the Gulf. Under their guidance, we will recruit our founding CEO, add directors from Mexico, Cuba, and the U.S., and hire a lean finance and administrative staff in 2026. Over the next five years, we will build a mature board of 18-24 members, with roots across all three nations, who represent diverse marine stakeholders and cultures, and bring a rich mix of expertise and insight.
Founding Board of Directors
Donald W. Perkins, Jr.
President/Treasurer
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Serves as the Executive Director of the Harte Charitable Foundation, Managing Director of Merraform, and director of MMG Insurance. Don previously served as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Executive Vice President of Binax, Inc. Don was the founding Chair of Texas Water Trade, a director of Vida Water LLC, and is currently a director of Maine Farmland Trust.
David L. Sinak
Vice President – Tax
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Serves as a Director of the Harte Charitable Foundation and a Trustee of the Harte Research Support Foundation. David previously served as a partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, a leading global law firm, where he worked with both non-profit and corporate clients. At Gibson Dunn, David served as CoChair of their Tax Practice Group. David has over thirty years of experience working with nonprofits that focus on the issues facing the Gulf of Mexico.
Sarah Rountree Schlessinger
Secretary
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Serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Water Foundation, a statewide nonprofit that works in water policy, workforce development, and public education. Sarah previously worked in groundwater policy and regulation and has experience with international nonprofits and disaster response. Sarah served as an appointed member of the Water Conservation Advisory Council for ten years and is currently a director of Open ET.
Daniel Whittle
Director
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Serves as Associate Vice President of the Environmental Defense Fund where he works to advance conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems in Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico. Dan previously served as Senior Policy Advisor at the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources. Dan was a founding member of the Research Initiative for the Sustainable Development of Cuba, a co-founder of the Tri-National Initiative on Marine Sciences and Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Study Group on Marine Disaster Preparedness and Prevention in the Gulf of Mexico.