BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John O’Keeffe serves as the Vice President of Business Development for Waterson Terminal Services. John joined WTS from Blue Water Shipping, where he was Head of Renewables, Americas. John started in offshore wind with Deepwater Wind, where he served as Manager of Operations & Maintenance and Head of Marine Affairs for the company. His portfolio included overseeing the Block Island Wind Farm, the United States’ first offshore wind farm. Following Deepwater’s acquisition by Ørsted, the Danish energy company, John served as Head of Marine Affairs North America for Ørsted Offshore Wind. Before his career in offshore wind, John spent well over a decade as a professional mariner, deck officer, teacher, and captain. He has also worked for several maritime organizations, including the Sea Education Association (SEA) in Massachusetts and Port Captain at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) in St Georges, Bermuda. John is an eight-year veteran of the United States Army, where he served as a sergeant in armored reconnaissance. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Southern Vermont College and a graduate degree from the University of Rhode Island’s Marine Affairs program. He also earned a Certificate in Leadership for Global Business and Politics from the Yale School of Management Executive Education. John was the recipient of the Propeller Club of Narragansett Bay Maritime Person of the Year Award in 2019. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island, Rhode Island Flagship and is currently the VP of the Narragansett Bay Propeller Club. John has represented himself on numerous offshore wind committees, interviews and speaking engagements.

Dr. Austin Becker is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. His research and teaching focus on coastal resilience and adapting to climate change. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked on sail training vessels, including five years as captain of the Sloop Providence. He is a Sloan Foundation Research Fellow in Ocean Sciences, earned a PhD in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, and maintains his 500 Ton USCG Captain’s License.

Lisa retired from owning a national award winning and published interior design firm. As a member of the USCG Auxiliary , she teaches boating safety and is National Branch Chief of Academics for their Auxiliary University Program. She hold a USCG 200 ton Ocean license. When not sailing tall ships, she single hands a 30 ft. Cape Dory cutter, bringing along with her two boat kitties. Lisa has been a volunteer on OHP since 2015.