Background

Understanding changes to animal and plant species and their environments is crucial to the long-term well-being of our planet.  Minor changes in habitats, consumption, and industrial “pressure” can have a profound impact on multi-billion dollar industries including food production, resource management, navigation and recreation to name a few. The current methods for recording and publishing conservation data are antiquated, proprietary and expensive. Correspondingly, in many cases, the data driving conservation policies is sparse and the means to comply and enforce those policies is prohibitively complex. All of this directly affects how well we manage the conservation of living resources, the impact of development, our food supply and ultimately, our ability to live sustainably. 

To address this challenge, the founders of EarthNC have formed a new venture called Conserve.IO with the singular focus of bringing conservation into the 21st century. We are deploying a mix of mobile, web and crowdsourcing technology to simplify and scale the collection of conservation data and to make that data more actionable. By doing so, we will better understand changes to our environment, enact better policy, and facilitate consensus action on that policy, leading to more sustained and prosperous existence for all of us. 

We don't know all there is know about this market yet, but we do know we're on to something. We believe we are just bumping against the tip of the iceberg with our mobile platform and are looking forward to the amazing opportunities in front of us -  whether its achieving standardizing on conservation collection effort, harnessing crowd-sourcing as a true compliment to scientific research, or innovative new aproaches to big data challenges such as a world-wide species photo matching database. The world is ("ahem") our oyster, and we love be involved in work that could help us all.

-The Conserve.IO Team

Conserve.IO is made up of a growing network of software developers, geo-data and mapping experts, business folk and academics...all with a passion for understanding all how technology can help protect the environment.

Team

Brad Winney, Founder, Director

Brad’s role is as primary head-cheerleader. Ok, his role is not that thin, but in large part what Brad does is rally us around an idea and get people involved. We all feed off each other’s vision and energy, but Brad’s constant nagging and cajoling is certainly a large part of how we got here today.  Brad was project co-lead for the the Whale Alert initiative coordinating efforts across multiple agency lines including federal, state and local, non-profit, industry and private sector (NOAA, Stellwagen, MassPort Authority, IFAW, Cornell, University of New Hampshire Center for Oceanographic Mapping, Apple, Google). During..and after, Brad became particularly invested in better understanding the role private technology companies could play in interdisciplinary solutions development for all things "conservation".

Brad is the co-founder of several successful start-ups including most recently, EarthNC, a leading provider of geo-spatial software and mobile applications to the marine industry. Earlier Brad co-founded and ran Panopto,  a Carnegie Mellon spin-out delivering lecture capture software and cloud infrastructure to over 500 universities world-wide, and ClariFI a portfolio construction software concern (sold to S&P / McGraw-Hill NYSE: MHP). Brad also served in various corporate capacities in the enterprise software sector highlighted by his roles as CEO of Electrifier (rich media streaming);  SVP of Business Development of Personify (click-stream analytics and data warehousing); EVP and Chief Operating Officer of USConnect (system integration services) and as Channel Sales Manager and Director of Strategic Business Development at Novell (NOVL:US) 

Brad is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Computer Science program. 

Virgil Zetterlind, Co-Founder, Director, Lead PM - Architecture, Data Services

Virgil Zetterlind brings a wealth of technological and practical experience to Conserve.IO - at home both in the field and in front of the computer solving difficult geo-spatial data management problems.

He is the co-Founder and Chief Technologist of EarthNC, Inc a leader in mobile/web mapping and remote sensing.  He leads EarthNC’s effort in the development of complex iOS, Android, and Google Earth visualizations, geospatial displays, spatial data processing, and mapping for a wide range of customers including the recent Shark Net and Whale Alert projects with a conservation focus. In addition to his industry leading expertise in geospatial data processing and GIS visualization design, Virgil also has a strong background in video and LADAR processing for remote sensing applications.   Virgil has provided direct support as a co-PI on government geo-visualization and remote sensing projects for the DoD, FAA, and NASA.  His work credits also include high-profile Google Earth design projects for Google and the National Geographic Society.

Prior to founding EarthNC, Virgil served as a developmental engineer and program manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory-Munitions Directorate and as a senior engineer for the MITRE Corporation.  While at AFRL, he led the vision-aided navigation research thrust, planned and conducted Video and LADAR airborne data collections, and provided program management on SBIR and DARPA projects including the Exploitation of 3D Data (E3D) LADAR algorithm program.At MITRE, Virgil continued his sensor focus as part of the Air Force Command and Control FFRDC.  His projects included small UAV video and target geolocation, moving target extraction from video, video metadata archiving and retrieval, and the development of sensor event ontologies and metadata standards for video. Many of these projects included live testing at field events such as Empire Challenge, JBD2/JFEX, & Navy TNT. The MITRE Kaleidoscope IR&D effort included significant work on geodata ontologies, processing, and query for moving target tracking from UAV video (http://www.mitre.org/news/events/tech06/briefings/2162.pdf).

Virgil holds a Masters of Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri - Rolla (Missouri S&T).  Graduating 1st in his class at both schools.

Outside of work, Virgil is an active boater on the Gulf Inter-coastal Waterway and the northern Gulf of Mexico and saw first-hand the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill on local wildlife and the local economy.

Advisors

Dr. Randy Kochevar, Science Communications Officer at Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University - Science Advisor 

Randy was born and raised in Colorado, and received his Bachelor’s degree in biology from the Colorado College in 1987. He received his Ph.D. from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1992, where he studied the physiology of deep sea hydrothermal vent and hydrocarbon seep organisms. Randy continued his research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where he studied the physiology of cold seep organisms in Monterey Bay.

In 1995 Randy accepted a Research Scientist position at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where he served as manager of the Deep Sea Research and Development program and led the live animal portion of their award-winning “Mysteries of the Deep” exhibit. Once the exhibit opened to the public, Randy’s focus shifted to the aquarium’s education and outreach programs, including web, publishing, and public relations. As the Science Communications Manager for the aquarium, Randy was involved in developing education and outreach programs for collaborative research programs in which the aquarium is involved, and served as the primary media spokesperson on the aquarium’s research activities.

In July, 2006 Randy left the aquarium to join ad2, an interactive agency based in El Segundo, CA. He worked with a variety of clients including Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, Robb Report Magazine and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – helping them to develop interactive Web, CD-ROM, multimedia presentations and custom software applications to meet their individual communications needs.

In October, 2008, Randy rejoined the scientific community full-time when he accepted a position in the laboratory of Dr. Barbara Block at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. In his role as Science Communications Officer, he oversees all public education and outreach programs for the lab, as well as managing a variety of research initiatives including the GulfTOPP animal tracking program and the IGFA Great Marlin Race, which he co-founded.

David McGuire, Marine Biologist, Director, Shark Stewards.org - Outreach advisor

A marine biologist and ocean adventurer, David McGuire is the founder of the ocean conservation organization Shark Stewards. Shark Stewards is a non profit project of the Earth Island Institute dedicated to restoring ocean health by saving sharks and protecting critical marine habitat.

As a research associate of the Department of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Sciences, he is participating in a long term study of sharks in the San Francisco Bay. A naturalist and educator David leads ocean expeditions ranging from the San Francisco Bay to the South Pacific which are featured in his travel blog Ocean Voices and documentary films.

David has also received numerous awards for his conservation documentary work including an Emmy for the documentary Reefs to Rainforests on the California Academy of Sciences Philippines Biodiversity Expedition.  He sits on several boards including the San Francisco Green Film Festival and the Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation. A dedicated shark conservationist,  he is also an active  teacher and lecturer at numerous public events at schools, aquaria and universities.

Andrew Johnson, Co-Founder, CEO  TrailBehind, Inc. - Mobile, GIS 

Andrew has written code, authored prose, and played strategy games professionally since the age of 14. Most recently Andrew was the director of marketing at SureLogic, where he worked on all aspects of marketing strategy and execution, bringing software development tools to market. Prior to that, Andrew worked as a writer and strategist, focused on tech clients, at Elias/Savion Advertising.

Andrew earned a B.S. in business from Carnegie Mellon University ('03). During college, he served as news editor and then editor-in-chief of CMU's student newspaper and worked as a student programmer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center for three years.

Anna Hentzel-Johnson, Co-Founder, TrailBehind, Inc.  - Back end, server design 

Anna is a veteran web developer who spent the last four years working at Google on a range of interesting technologies, including Orkut.com - a popular social network - and Google Desktop. She previously worked at Silicon Age as a Java Consultant.

Anna earned degrees in computer engineering and mathematics at Iowa State University ('03), graduating with honors. During college, she interned at Microsoft and IBM. Anna also holds a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.

Conserve.IO is a proud partner of a growing roster of public, non-profit and private sector organizations. We have learned and are continuing to learn how to best work in complex, interdisciplinary environments for the betterment of "smart" conservation - a goal that marries the interests of conservation and commerce at the same time.

Meet our Partners.

Interested in partnering with us or simply want to compare notes? We would love to hear from you. Simply fill out the form below and we'll get back to you asap! 

-The Conserve.IO Team

Thank you for choosing Conserve.IO products and...helping save the Planet! 

For SpotterPro - please check out our FAQ

For all other support requests....​

​Please fill out the simple form below. Before you submit your request please do us a solid and make sure you're a) using the latest version of the app and b) using the latest iOS version. We're constantly updating our apps (solving known problems along the way) and iOS upgrades always fix their fair share of random issues. 

​Thank you again and we look forward to hearing from you.

​-The Conserve.IO Team

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Background on Conserve.IO applications

Conserve.IO applications (including Whale Alert, Manatee Alert, “Alert”, “Spotter” and others) are designed to help the public and industry better understand in-place regulations and protective measures across a broad array of critically endangered species and habitats. Conserve.IO mobile applications also help the public report sick, orphaned, stranded or endangered animals or violations of posted ordinances protecting both endangered species and habitats. Data submitted via Conserve.IO mobile application  will help wildlife experts, volunteer stranding networks, government agencies and law enforcement personnel mobilize efforts to protect and save vulnerable animals and habitats.

What personal user information do Conserve.IO applications collect?

We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact within a Conserve.IO application. This includes a mobile phone identifier that identifies your mobile phone, but cannot be tied to your personal information (see Apple page). Optionally, you can also provide your name, contact phone number, and/or your email address. This information is stored securely in our database and released only to appropriate agency personnel who wish to contact you regarding your submitted data. Conserve.IO may track statistical information such as how frequently users use individual Conserve.IO applications, when you submit data, and from which locations you upload the data.

HOW SECURE IS INFORMATION ABOUT ME?

Security of your information is of paramount importance to us. We work to protect the security of your private information during transmission by using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts the contact information that we transmit from the app to our servers. The image files and geo-location information that you upload are not encrypted and could be accessed by a third party. Our servers are behind a firewall, and we secure it using the best available methods. Despite this, there are risks involved of computers being breached and your personal information being revealed but we are doing our utmost to minimize this risk. In the event that a third party (either known or unknown to you) gains access to our database, the types of information that may be available to that person are: a) any personal information that you submitted (name, number, email), b) the times of day and locations from which you submitted images, and c) the images that you submitted.

Does Conserve.IO share the data it receives?

All data submitted through Conserve.IO apps may be posted in the public domain and is intended to be kept indefinitely. Your contact information is only available to responsible authorities or researchers who wish to contact you for further information about your submissions if you explicitly allow for that when submitting such information.  

What about compliance with laws?

Consere.io applications may be used only for lawful purposes and in a lawful manner. You may not use Conserve.IO applications in any manner that violates any applicable law or governmental regulation. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, statutes, and regulations of any jurisdiction in which you request or perform Services.

What is Conserve.IO’s liability?

The Conserve.IO applications and data collections are for informational and educational purposes only. Conserve.IO assumes no liability for any actions resulting from the use of Conserve.IO applications. By agreeing to these user terms, you waive Conserve.IO of all liability, either in the event of injury or loss while using Conserve.IO applications, or in the event that your account and user information is accessed by a third party. We are not responsible for information accessed unlawfully from our servers.

​For more information on our Privacy Policy

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