PEMSEA Welcomes New PRF Staff

Quezon City, Philippines — PEMSEA welcomes Ms. Maida Aguinaldo, Mr. Renato Cardinal, Mr. John Eric Dylan Saet and Mr. Andre Jon Uychiaoco to the PEMSEA Resource Facility.Ms. Maida Aguinaldo joins PEMSEA as Technical Assistant of the Learning Center. Prior to joining PEMSEA, Ms. Aguinaldo worked as Coastal Resource Management/Collection Area Management Planning Specialist at Reef Check-Philippines. Maida has a degree in Community Development from the University of the Philippines. As Technical Assistant, she will provide support to the establishment and mobilization of the regional and national task forces including periodic review of task force applications, updating and maintaining the task force database. She will also be assisting in the design and packaging of learning materials and the design, development and standardization of training modules.Mr. Renato Cardinal is Audit/Certification Officer. Mr. Cardinal has a degree in Metallurgical Engineering and brings to PEMSEA over 14 years of experience in audit and systems review of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and IMS requirements from Neville Clark Philippines Incorporated. As Audit/Certification Officer, Ato will be responsible for overseeing the development, testing and verification of the ICM code in selected countries, including the formulation of a recognition and certification system that conforms to ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) certification standards, among others.Mr. John Eric Dylan Saet joins the PRF as Webmaster. Jed has a Bachelor's Degree in Library Science from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining PEMSEA, he worked for the Ayala Foundation, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Organization for Migration. Jed is currently developing the East Asian Seas Congress website as well as enhancing the current PEMSEA website into an information one-stop-shop.Mr. Andre John Uychiaoco is the Technical Officer for Project Development and is responsible for providing technical assistance in the implementation of the SDS-SEA and related coastal strategies and action plans in the region. He will particularly support the development of the State of Coasts, as well as preparations in the development of several manuals and guides, case studies and project proposals. Andre obtained his doctorate in Ecology and Evolution at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Masters in Community Development from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining PEMSEA, he worked with the UP Marine Science Institute, handling projects on the development and implementation of a common database of marine protected areas.Maida, Ato, Jed and Andre join other staff as PEMSEA enters its new phase focusing on the implementation of the SDS-SEA.