Last Updated
Friday September 29, 2006

D. RICK VAN SCHOIK

     Mr. Van Schoik is the Managing Director of the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP), which is a consortium of five U.S. and five Mexican Universities.
He is also a Professor of Environmental Security: Science, and Policy at the International Security and Conflict Resolution Program in San Diego State University
      Since 1998, Mr. Van Schoik has served as the first Managing Director of SCERP. His experience in developing, funding, and managing environmental programs enables SCERP to pursue complex, interdisciplinary, binational research and policy programs and projects. As Managing Director, he is responsible for:
-overall selection, administration, management, and reporting of programs;
-development of overall research agenda and design of specific inquiry;
-conduct of annual topic-specific think tank known as the Border Institute;
-translation of regional needs into applied science and that into public policy;
-support of the SCERP Management Committee and Advisory Council;
-liaison with international, federal, state, and local environmental and sustainable economic development agencies - public, private, and philanthropic;
-press, media, public relations, and general outreach including a monograph series;
-supervision of Directorate staff, office, contractors, and functions;
-preparation of annual and quarterly budget, financial statements, and technical reports;
-coordination and collaboration with all partners, binational and trilateral commissions, states tribes, local jurisdictions, non-governmental advocacy organizations, and especially to national, state, tribal council, and local governments.
      He received a B.S. in oceanography and engineering from the U. S. Naval Academy and was a Navy SEAL until returning to school and acquiring a M.S. from San Diego State University in biology. He conducted post-graduate studies in Philanthropy at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Sustainable Development at Tufts, and attended the first Natural Resources Leadership Institute in North Carolina.
      Prior to serving with SCERP he had positions as:
-Adjunct Professor at University of California at San Diego, University of Redlands, Palomar Community College, and Nassau County College;
-Environmental consultant with Southwest Research Associates, Inc., CA;
-Aquatic conservation biologist with The Nature Conservancy, NY and the Naval Ocean Systems Center, CA;
-Sustainable economic development CEO at the Partnership for the Sounds, NC; and
-Environmental Fellow at the Surdna Foundation in NYC.
      He has serves as a Trustee or on the Board of Directors of several educational and environmental organizations and co-chaired the binational Environmental Education Council of the Californias and the City of Encinitas Blue Ribbon Environment Committee.