Dear OSA Partners,
It has been an immense honor to serve as your Steering Committee Chair over the past two years, with a stint as acting ED for 8 months on the front end of my Chair term. As my term comes to a close, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside such a dedicated and inspiring group - staff, steering committee and the broader OSA partners. Together, we have achieved notable strides in furthering our mission to eliminate sewage pollution from our ocean, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished.
Reflecting on our work together, OSA staff, steering committee members, and partners have contributed to new research and publications like, “A Guide for Integrated Conservation & Sanitation Programs and Approaches”, produced collaboratively by the SNAPP working group, and publishing, for the first time ever in the Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science journal, a comprehensive chapter on the impacts of domestic wastewater pollution on estuarine and marine environments.
Most recently, we collaborated with the Economist ocean health initiative Back to Blue to release a new report, "Money Down the Drain: The Scourge of Untreated Wastewater," at the World Ocean Summit in Japan. The report calculated billions in economic losses resulting from inadequate sewage and wastewater treatment.
We’ve also had the privilege to present and attend several high-level global events from the United Nations Water Conference, SIWI, NY Water Week, WEFTEC, Clinton Global Initiative, UN General Assembly, Tomorrow.Blue Economy Congress, the Ethical Assembly Climate and Social Justice Summit, to Blue Week in Barcelona, as well as the most recent BEFF/UNOC3 in Monaco and Nice.
Our alliance has grown from 28 organizations, when I assumed the acting Executive Director role in early 2023, to 42 partners that continue to break silos, work across sectors, and implement innovative pollution solutions. Additionally, I was honored to sign on behalf of OSA as we joined the EPA Decentralized Wastewater MOU Partnership. This collaboration is a beacon of hope in the realm of decentralized wastewater systems, aiming to enhance their overall performance and management.
I also had the pleasure of welcoming Jasmine Fournier as the new executive director. She has done a spectacular job leveraging her rich background in public health research and passion for environmental policy to drive our mission forward.
And I especially enjoyed sharing my childhood story of exploring our watery world with my father, learning to spot the signs of water quality, and now, understanding its broad impact on our blue planet.
I am delighted to pass the Chair baton to Helen Fox, our present Vice Chair, whose leadership, vision, and expertise make her the perfect successor. Helen, as Conservation Science Director for the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and co-founder of OSA, has been an invaluable contributor to our committee(s), and I have every confidence that she will guide us to even greater heights. Please join me in offering her your full support as she takes on this role.
While I am termed out and stepping down as Chair, I remain committed to the success of OSA and look forward to continuing my involvement on the Steering Committee and in whatever capacity I can. Thank you all for your collaboration, trust, and friendship—it has been a privilege to get to know so many of you and serve the goals of OSA. Always feel free to reach out to me in my “day jobs” (all members/partners to OSA) or as part of my OSA role.
And remember, we are looking for new partners to join OSA and new Steering Committee members to grow the range of experiences and organizational types!
Warm regards,
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Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy
Outgoing Steering Committee Chair
World Ocean Council, stewart@worldoceancouncil.org
Okhtapus - اختاپوس, stewart@okhtapus.org
Precovery Labs, stewart@precoverylabs.com
Signal/Whatsapp: +1.605.430.9398
