Please meet our Board of Directors

Mr. Benskin has been a significant presence on the Canadian and International cultural landscape for over thirty years. A former Artistic Director of Black Theatre Workshop, Canada's longest running Black theatre company, Tyrone is an award winning Actor / Director with well over 150 film, television, and theatre credits. He is also as a published composer, song-writer and recording artist. Tyrone recently starred in NBC's hit series Debris as well as appearances in the acclaimed films Pieces of a Woman and Death of a Ladies Man.  For over two decades Tyrone has also been a vocal advocate of the importance of the arts as a social pillar.  To that end, he has served as National-Vice President of ACTRA and several other augural advocacy organizations.  As a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons he was appointed Official Opposition Critic - Canadian Heritage and Deputy Critic –  Official Languages. He was appointed to the Sub-committee on International Human Rights. From hearing testimony of international human rights abuses to working on issues such as food security and access as well as the issue of the lack of availability of clean water on Canada’s First Nation’s and Inuit Reserves. “Climate change isn’t simply an election banner, it’s a human rights issue.” 

 Rear Adm (Ret). David Duryea is a native of Orchard Park, New York. He graduated from the University of Rochester earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Geomechanics. A retired Submarine Officer, Duryea’s served on 4 submarines including Commanding Officer of the USS Florida Gold (SSBN 728). Shore duty assignments include a tour at the United States Strategic Command and Force Engineer, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. As an Acquisition Corps member, he served as Program Manager, Advanced Submarine Systems Development Office, Program Manager, Submarine Imaging and Electronic Warfare Systems (PMS 435) and Program manager, Special Operations Forces Undersea Mobility Program Office (PMS 399). As a Flag officer, he served as Naval Sea Systems Command, Deputy Commander for Undersea Warfare and Commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC)/Director, Undersea Technology (SEA 073).  He retired from the Navy on Nov. 1, 2014. After retirement, he was the Vice President for Finance and Management at the State University of New York at Cortland from 2015–2018. He is currently the Director, Naval Initiatives at Systems Planning and Analysis in Alexandria, VA.   

 Dr. Robyn Hannigan is the President of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. She has served as the Provost of Clarkson University since August 2019. Dr. Hannigan is recognized globally as an innovative leader, and her passion for higher education and research, coupled with her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion has transformed the institutions where she has served, including at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she was the Founding Dean of the School for the Environment. She has translated her spirit for invention into two start-up companies and continues to be an active, prolific researcher and mentor, garnering over $30 million in external funding and producing over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Hannigan has been a stalwart supporter of the vision behind the Blue Institute and has been as one its four key academic advisors since Incorporation in 2016. Dr. Hannigan has an undergraduate degree of science in biology from the College of New Jersey, a masters in geology from SUNY-Buffalo, and a masters and Ph.D. in earth and environmental science from the University of Rochester. She has held many previous positions in her career including Program Officer at the National Science Foundation, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at GeoMed Analytical, and several faculty appointments at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Arkansas State University.   

 Dr. Michael Passow is a Principal Member of Technical Staff in Data & Analytics Solution Architecture at GlobalFoundries in Malta, NY. From within the corporate IT organization, he leads a global program in AI and Machine Learning development and deployment of manufacturing applications in GF semiconductor chip factories in the US, Europe and Asia. Of particular interest is the advancement of sensors and edge computing which enable distributed ML from the cloud to the device in the field. Prior to joining GF in 2020, Dr. Passow spent six years as a Senior Technical Staff Member and Research Scientist at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Laboratory in Yorktown Heights, NY. There he co-developed the Environmental Monitoring and Management cyberinfrastructure for The Jefferson Project at Lake George, NY, a state-of-the-art systems approach which supports environmental monitoring, modeling, simulation, forecasting and experimentation. This solution was designed to inform smart decision-making for ecosystem resilience in the face of long-term pressures from climate change and intensifying human use. Prior to this, Dr. Passow led the development and deployment of advanced sensors, real-time analytics, and advanced process control systems at IBM’s semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities in the US. Michael Passow received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering (plasma physics) from the University of Michigan, along with a MS and BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Judith Underwood is the founder of the Blue Institute and is a social entrepreneur, environmentalist, and an educator who is dedicated to supporting sustainable practices for equitable and accessible economic development. Judith also founded the Blue Institute Labs, a public benefit corporation designed to support later stage entrepreneurs.  Both the Blue Institute and the Blue Innovation  Labs are mission driven to support clean water, climate resiliency, and healthy & secure oceans.  Judith has 15+ years of scientific development, and technology transfer work at research and educational institutions including MIT, the United Nations, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. She has taught at all levels and to all ages and was the first woman in Massachusetts to start a solar company - second in the US. She was a long-time board member of the Pleasant Bay Community Boating playing a key role in that organization's success in establishing a permanent waterfront campus.  Judith has a Master’s from New York University, a BA from UMass Boston, and has additional environmental graduate studies from Antioch.  Judith is from Cape Cod where she is raising her two children, writes poetry & short plays, and serves her community as a Water & Wastewater Commissioner overseeing the award-winning Harwich Water Department.