Sherwood Named Director of Tampa Bay Estuary Program
He will succeed Holly Greening, who is retiring after 26 years with the program.
ST. PETERSBURG – Ed Sherwood was selected a the next executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program by the group’s policy board.
He will begin his new job in February. Sherwood succeeds Holly Greening, who is retiring after 26 years with the program, the last 10 as director. Longtime Outreach Coordinator Nanette O’Hara retired in November.
“Holly Greening’s leadership has been instrumental in bringing a variety of local governments and organizations together to bring about positive change for Tampa Bay. Her efforts have led to our Bay, our estuary being in the best shape it has been in decades,” said Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice, chair of TBEP’s policy board. “We are confident that Ed Sherwood will continue her science-based approach to the decisions that have to be made for the next decade. We know that he is dedicated to continuing this important work.”
Ed joined TBEP as the program scientist in February 2008. In that position, he was responsible for the technical assessment and analysis of projects to protect, restore, and sustain the bay’s ecosystems. His experience included grant proposal preparation, estuarine monitoring design, implementation and interpretation, database quality control, environmental impacts review, and statistical and geo-statistical analysis. Ed also coordinated our technical advisory committee and nitrogen management consortium.
As only the third executive director since TBEP’s creation in 1991, Sherwood said he is committed to maintaining the strong regional partnership that has made the program a model for science-based community restoration.
“I look forward to working closely with our partners to continue the program’s fine work. The immediate challenge for our region will be sustaining the great progress we’ve achieved in the Bay’s restoration as a direct result of the efforts of Holly and others, ” he said. “Continuing to build momentum for bay restoration activities and supporting a community of informed citizens that live, work and play in Tampa Bay will be my initial focus.”
Before joining TBEP, Sherwood was a marine research associate with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and project manager with the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. He has worked on numerous research projects and resource management initiatives within the Tampa Bay watershed focused on protecting and improving estuarine water quality, fisheries, and coastal habitats.
Sherwood holds a bachelor of science degree in marine biology from the University of West Florida, and a master of science degree in marine fisheries and ecology from the University of Florida.
Greening is embarking on new adventures, including fishing, sailing, paddling, cycling, birding, traveling around the world and volunteering for a community garden in Manatee County, where she and her husband, Gerold, live. As one of the most respected coastal program managers in the nation, Holly already is in demand as an advisor to similar organizations who hope to learn from TBEP’s successes.
During Greening’s tenure, the program met one of its central goals – recovering 38,000 acres of seagrass habitat in Tampa Bay. The bay harbored more than 41,000 acres of seagrass as of early this year.
Greening was a chief architect of a public-private grant partnership, the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund, that has supported more than $3.7 million in habitat restoration, water quality improvement projects and cutting-edge research since 2013.
She also has worked closely with EPA and other Gulf National Estuary Programs to secure funds for regional restoration through the federal RESTORE Act (enacted after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill). Additionally, Greening led development of a Strategic Plan to keep TBEP on sound financial footing. Her watch also included a complete update to TBEP’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, along with regulatory recognition of TBEP’s nitrogen management strategy as compliant with both federal and state water quality standards for Tampa Bay.
O’Hara retired from TBEP in November after 20 years as public outreach coordinator. Among the best-known education programs she implemented were the Pooches for the Planet pet waste and Be Floridian fertilizer use campaigns. She also served as staff coordinator for the CCMP revision. A resident of Tampa, Nanette is launching her own communications business, O’Hara Communications, and also hopes to spend a little more time fishing, paddling, cycling and gardening.
For information about TBEP, go to tbep.org.
Tampa Bay Estuary Program | Ed Sherwood | Environment | Ecology | Holly Greening | Tampabay News
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