Douglas Woodring WG95

Founder, Ocean Recovery Alliance & Plastic Disclosure Project

Douglas Woodring is the founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing innovative solutions, technology, collaborations and policy together to impact positive improvements for the health of the ocean. Two of main projects of the group were announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2010, the Global Alert platform and the Plastic Disclosure Project, both of which are being incorporated into some of the programs of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Oceans.  Doug was the co-founder of Project Kaisei, which undertook one of the first science expeditions to the North Pacific Gyre in 2009. He has been on the advisory board of the XPrize and is an advisor to The Economist’s World Oceans Summit. In 2011, he co-authored the UNEP’s Yearbook chapter on the danger of plastic in the ocean. He is also the founder of Plasticity at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, a one-day business conference focused on the future of plastic in terms of solutions, innovations and opportunities, which has since also been held in Hong Kong at the Asia Society and which was held in New York City in June 2014. Doug has worked in Asia for almost 20 years, with his first job in Japan working as the first foreigner in one of the world’s biggest fishing companies, thus leading to his strong efforts for protection today. Prior to working with technology startups, while at Merrill Lynch Asset Management Hong Kong in 1998, he proposed the company’s first global environmental technology fund. He has a dual master's degree from The Wharton School and Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), as well as a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He has been nominated three times for Global Open Water Swimmer of the Year due to his contributions to the sport in Asia and the environment.