Invite Committee

William Barnett, Ph.D. is a professor of Business Leadership, Strategy, and Organization and co-director of the Center for Global Business and the Economy (CGBE) at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  An advocate of environmental sustainability, Barnett is a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the leader of an executive education course called Business Strategies for Environmental Sustainability.   He has devoted time and research to coastal tourism development in Costa Rica and to the impacts of certification processes on ecotourism performance and competition. 

Roger Lang's professional experience spans a variety of high-tech industries. In 1986, he co-founded a financial software company and worked as vice president of client services. In 1989, he founded and ran Infinity Financial Technology, which grew to become the world's leading supplier of derivatives trading and risk management software. As founder/CEO, he led Infinity through its initial public offering on NASDAQ in 1996 and its subsequent merger with SunGard Data Systems in 1998. Lang remained at SunGard until July 1999. Lang was named one of the 50 most influential people in the history of the financial risk management by the industry's flagship publication, Risk Magazine. Subsequently, Lang has moved to Montana, founded TransAria, Inc. (www.transaria.com), a rural broadband company for businesses, and Sun Ranch (www.papoosecreek.com), and a leading eco-lodge adjoining his cattle ranch in Southwest Montana. His current endeavors center around building a fully sustainable “eco enterprise”, built around sustainable practices in real estate, agriculture, recreation and scientific research.  He currently sits on several boards of both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Lang holds a BA in Anthropology and MA in Latin American Studies from Stanford University.

Antonio Pares is a principal and lead designer with Mithun in Seattle working on projects in Mexico and the southwest.  His work integrates regional modernism with principles of sustainability and social consciousness as exemplified by a new masterplan for the San Francisco Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm and a 500-acre ecological resort community in Ensenada, Mexico.  Other projects include a new sustainable master plan for Miraval-Life in Balance in Tucson, and the Galisteo Basin Preserve outside Sante Fe, New Mexico. Before moving to Seattle in 2006, Pares and his wife established van amburgh+pares+co, bringing together a project with award winning residential, affordable housing, and small commercial projects dedicated to sustainability and modernism in the southwest.  Pares also served as Staff Architect for the state of New Mexico under Governor Bill Richardson where he helped establish green building standards and LEED Silver requirements for all state buildings.

David Sklar has a multi-faceted background, with the experience in resort, residential and commercial design projects of all sizes.  Sklar’s work has been featured in numerous publications and he has received several design awards, including his most recent Lighthouse Award for the 2005 Best Overall Custom Home on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  Sklar is recognized most often for his innovative design solutions.  He has recently shown his unique approach to architecture in his creation of Sky Beach Club located in Governor’s Harbor, Eleuthera of the Bahamas, where he served as Executive Principal and Designer.  Sky Beach is a project founded and created by Sklar and is already receiving international attention for its original style. Sklar began his career at an early age working in many fields of construction where he attained valuable hands on experience that he continues to draw from today.  After receiving his Professional Degree in Architecture from the University of Tennessee, Sklar returned to the Washington D.C. area, where he worked as Director of Design for Dr. Peter D’Antonio, the foremost acoustician in the world.  During his tenure with Dr. D’Antonio, Sklar traveled widely to concert halls and recording studios to design state of the art acoustically correct spaces.  In 1993, Sklar established a design/build firm on Maryland’s east coast  that specialized in custom homes and small developments.  In 2002, Sklar relocated to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and joined a large developer/builder as Director of Design and Project Manager.  From 2003 to 2005, Sklar successfully owned and operated Artisan Architecture Group where he created numerous landmark designs.  In late 2005, Sklar was invited to merge resources of his Artisan firm with the long established Architecture firm of KRA, Inc.  The combining of resources available at KRA, Inc., allow Sklar to pursue the creation of cutting edge projects in the Bahamas which is now where he focuses his attention.

Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, concurrently serves as the Executive Director of the St. Kitts Foundation and the Fundación Bahía de Loreto A.C.  Both of these subsidiary foundations are the philanthropy arms of sustainable resort developments.  Spalding has also served as a consultant to Rancho La Puerta spa/resort and its foundation regarding the conservation of the Tecate River Valley, and as an advisor to Kerzner International Limited to assist its formation of the Kerzner Marine Foundation.  Spalding is the co-author of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation's Study on Ecotourism, and has conducted green hotel evaluations in India.  Spalding chairs the Council of the (US) National Whale Conservation Fund, and is an active member of the marine working group, Baja California group, and coral reef group of the funders' organization, the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity.  Spalding has served as a member of the Environmental Grants Advisory Committee of FINCOMUN (Tijuana’s Community Foundation).  Spalding was a professor of international law and policy at UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies for 10 years before bringing his extensive experience with the legal and policy aspects of ocean conservation to The Ocean Foundation, where he currently focuses on the grantmaking strategy, evaluation process, and development of sustainability standards for coastal development.