Jim Gossen, President – Former Chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafood – Houston, Texas
Jim Gossen has been an innovative and tireless leader for the recovery and improved sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico’s seafood industry. His 45-plus-year career in the restaurant, seafood processing and distribution business includes owning and operating six restaurants in Louisiana and Houston and founding Louisiana Foods Global Seafood Source, Texas’ largest seafood processing and distribution Company. After Sysco Corporation purchased his company, he served as chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafood until his recent retirement.
Gossen has been the recipient of numerous accolades including; EPA’s Gulf Guardian Award, My Table’s Legends of the Industry, Southern Living’s Heroes of the New South Awards and is one of Cooking Light’s 20 Food Heroes in America.
He is chairman of Louisiana Fine Foods and a board member of Oyster South, a member of Southern Foodways Alliance and a founding member of the advisory board of Foodways Texas.
Raz Halili – Vice-President – General Manager of Prestige Oysters – Dickinson, Texas
As general manager of Prestige Oyster, the world’s largest oyster shipping company located on the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas, Raz Halili operates a business that grew from a one-boat operation into a successful seafood distribution business with a focus on oysters.
Halili, a graduate of Houston Baptist University, works with an in-house team of more than 50 professionals, spread between two processing plants and several dock operations. Prestige offers fresh and frozen oysters to customers all over the United States, and sells oysters under the company’s flagship brand, as well as to other processors.
Over the years, Prestige Oysters has developed a reputation for taste, quality and food safety.
Frank Randol, Secretary – Owner of Randol’s Restaurant and Seafood Processing – Lafayette, Louisiana
The spirit of Randol’s Restaurant is deeply rooted in the values and traditions of Cajun culture and known worldwide as a Gulf Seafood haven. Accord to Frank Randol, taking care of the food we eat takes cares of us.
In addition to his restaurant he is a crawfish and crab processor. Each day trucks deliver fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico to his restaurant, as well as the crawfish and crabs he raises.
Randol currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Crawfish Processors where he has very involved with H-2B legislation. He has also served on the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board representing the crawfish, as well as the boar of the Gulf Seafood Institute.
Jennifer Jenkins, Treasurer – Manager of Crystal Seas Seafood – Pass Christian, Mississippi
As manager of Crystal Seas Seafood in Pass Christian for the past 12-years, Mississippi, Jennifer Jenkins knows seafood – especially oysters. Her fast-growing business, which has operations in both Mississippi and Louisiana, processes oysters to sell to distributors both nationally and internationally.
Since Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, she has been a strong voice for her industry and Gulf of Mexico seafood. Whether testifying at town hall meetings held by Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker or giving interviews to National Public Radio, Jenkins know the importance of keeping the Gulf seafood messaging on track and in the public eye.
Jenkins spend time working on H2B legislation, the U.S. program for temporary employment by foreign nationals, what she calls “her passion”. She is graduate of East Carolina University and has served on the Pass Christian Chamber of Commerce.
Ed Chiles – Founder, The Chiles Group – Anna Maria Island, Florida
An internationally recognized leader in sustainability, Florida’s Ed Chiles, founder of The Chiles Group and son of former Florida Governor and Senator Lawton Chiles, has been a driving force for best sustainability practices in his Anna Maria Island community, his state, across the Gulf of Mexico and around the world.
A pioneer in the sustainable tourism industry his three waterfront restaurants on Anna Maria Island – the Sandbar, the Mar Vista and The Beach House – feature the finest locally sourced Gulf seafood and Florida fare, as well as products from around the country and world.
Working closely with the United Nations World Tourism Organization on the issue of sustainability, his restaurant group has become part of a group designated as the first Global Observatory for Sustainable Tourism in North America.
Beth Walton – Executive Director of Oyster South – Auburn, Alabama
As the Executive Director of Oyster South, Walton leads an organization whose mission is cultivating a Gulf of Mexico that encourages and includes successful oyster farms, healthy waters and the birth of new traditions.
Education is the cornerstone of Oyster South’s ability to achieve this mission. Educating each other, partners and the general public on the significance of regional oyster farms. In addition, Oyster South is a celebration of Southern oysters and an opportunity to raise funds so that we can improve access to training and grants.
Holding a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire, before joining Oyster South she served as Engagement Coordinator for the Alabama Coastal Foundation cultivating relationships with chefs, local community groups, and the state’s artisans and food producers.
The organization has offices in Daphne, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia.
Father Sinclair Oubre – Treasurer of the Port Arthur Shrimpers Association – Orange, Texas
A Catholic diocesan priest in the Texas town of Orange, Father Sinclair, as he likes to be known, serves as the director for the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea Ministry for the Diocese of Beaumont serving seafarers including the families of fishermen, as well as cargo ship crews. He has served numerous positions on the board of the Port Arthur Area Shrimp Association, which works tirelessly to educate members on fishing issues.
A member of the United States Merchant Marine and holding merchant marine commercial captain’s license, he is committed to better safety education for Gulf fishermen, as well advocate for best practices on the handling of shrimp. With the aging of Gulf fishermen, he is investigating ways to bring a new generation into the fishing community.
Father Sinclair attended the University of St. Thomas in Houston and Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he received his bachelor degree. He did his graduate theological studies in Leuven, Belgium, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1986.
Geoffrey Stewart, Ph.D – The Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair – Moody College of Business – University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Dr. Geoffrey Stewart is The Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development in the Moody College of Business at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. His research includes public-private partnerships, customer value determination, business relationship development, and the role of marketing in economic development.
In 2010, Dr. Stewart received the Hormel National Meritorious Teaching Award from the Marketing Management Association and the 2009 John T. and Sandra B. Landry Endowed Teaching Award in the Moody College of Business. A native of Lafayette, LA., he received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and his B.S. and M.B.A. from the University of Louisiana.
He is a co-founder of the National Incident Management Systems and Technology Institute and leveraged service learning projects to assist in post hurricane recovery efforts in Louisiana.
Ewell Smith – Executive Director of the North Carolina Loggers Association – Raleigh, North Carolina
As the former executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Ewell Smith has found himself in the eyes of hurricanes and the public eye for the last 12 year
Large-scale crisis communications. High-profile issues management. Post-disaster rebranding. Smith has handled them all. Currently he serves as the executive director of North Carolina Loggers Association.
His expertise is sought by government officials, industry leaders, business people – and on occasion, even royalty. Sometimes, they travel thousands of miles to Louisiana to learn firsthand.
He has served as a legislative liaison among industry, state and federal officials and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of New Orleans and a Bachelor’s Degree in Science from Louisiana State University.
Harlon Pearce – Owner of Harlon’s LA Fish – NOAA Advisory Council Member – New Orleans, Louisiana
Adversity is no stranger to Harlon Pearce. As the former chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board he successfully navigated disaster after disaster for the state’s 12,000 commercial fisherman, seafood processors and the Louisiana Seafood Brand. He has been a powerful force in unifying the diverse interests of Louisiana’s commercial fisheries and ensuring their future prospects in the marketplace.
The Bayou state native has worked tirelessly in the position as co-chair of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition since Hurricane Katrina, securing aide and funding for restoration of the seafood industry, and its fishermen, in the state of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
Pearce is the managing member of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans. He serves on the executive committee of the Gulf Coast Marketing Coalition and is a former member of the Gulf Council.