Mike Papantonio
Mike Papantonio is a senior partner of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Echsner, Rafferty & Proctor, P.A., one of the largest plaintiff's law firms in America , having handled thousands of cases throughout the nation including Asbestos, Breast Implants, Pharmaceutical Drug Litigation, Factory Farming, Securities Fraud, the Florida Tobacco Litigation, and other mass tort cases. "Pap" has received numerous multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate malfeasance.
Papantonio is listed in the publications, Best Lawyers in America and Leading American Attorney. He is also a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. Both organizations invite only 500 trial lawyers throughout America to participate as members. Papantonio is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates; the American Association for Justice (formerly the ATLA); the Southern Trial Lawyers Association; and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers ; where he served on the Board of Directors for five years. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer who has authored and co-authored instructional articles on handling complex litigation for trial lawyers. In 2008, Papantonio was selected by the Public Justice Foundation as a finalist for its Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.
An author of four motivational books for lawyers, Papantonio regularly lectures at trial seminars throughout America . He is also the co-author of Air America : The Playbook; listed by The New York Times as a Political Best Seller.
Mike Papantonio and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., also currently host Ring of Fire, a nationally syndicated radio show, which airs on the Air America Radio network, and has conducted hundreds of recorded interviews with guests such as Dan Rather, Helen Thomas, Howard Zinn, Arianna Huffington, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Crosby, Merle Haggard, Morgan Spurlock, John Edwards, Bill Moyers, Rickie Lee Jones, Alanis Morissette, Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Henry Rollins, Ted Sorensen, and Elizabeth Kucinich, to name a few.
Papantonio is also the founder of Goleft.tv, an innovative, multi-media Internet television and video-sharing portal which provides an outlet for news, political commentary and special reports on the major issues facing Americans from the Progressive point of view. Papantonio has frequently discussed and debated these issues also on national television programs such as Good Morning America, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News.
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Bill Stone
William H. Stone, co-founder and president of Main Energy, Inc., received his bachelor’s degree from LSU in petroleum engineering in 1966. Upon graduation from LSU, Stone was employed with Union Oil Company of California where he held various drilling and production positions from 1966-1981. In 1981, he became General Manager of Oilfield Consultants International in London, England. Two years later, he founded Star Oilfield Services, Inc., an international oilfield consulting company in London, which provided technical drilling expertise and personnel to operating oil companies.
In 1987, Stone, and his partner Don Hecker, who is also a LSU petroleum engineering graduate, founded Main Energy, Inc., an oil and gas property acquisition company in Houston, Texas. They quickly led the company to become a profitable enterprise using funds from managing properties for overhead and using innovative deal-making to acquire assets. By tending to all aspects of the business, Stone and Hecker drove the company’s growth in value. The company has had production in 13 states and has operated more than 900 wells.
Stone is a member of the Society of Professional Engineers, for which he was a distinguished lecturer on deep water subsea completions in 1978-1979. In 1980, he taught cementing and casing design in an Advanced Drilling course in petroleum engineering at the University of Texas. He has been a member of the Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering Industry Advisory Committee since 1993, and previously served as chairman. In 1994, Stone co-founded the Houston LSU Petro-Tigers, an organization for LSU petroleum engineering alumni living in the Houston area, and he has served as president since the organization’s inception.
He was appointed Honorary Colonel by former Louisiana Governor David Treen, and has also served as a four-time delegate to the Texas Republican State Convention.
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Dr. Riki Ott
A community activist, a former commercial salmon "fisherm'am," and has a degree in marine toxicology with a specialty in oil pollution. She experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill—and chose to do something about it.
She is the author of Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Not One Drop: Promises, Betrayal, and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (Chelsea Green, 2008). She is also the founder of three nonprofit organizations that deal with lingering harm from man-made environmental disaster.
Has made media appearances to discuss the effects of oil on the environment and public health on, MSNBC, NBC, and the Documentary “Black Wave” - The legacy of the Exxon Valdez as well as written countless articles.
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Billy Nungesser
Parish President in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. He has a distinguished resume of service that goes back to 1983 when Governor David Treen appointed him to the Lake Pontchatrain & Maurepas Study Commission. In 1985, he served on the levee board and was awarded Crimestopper’s “Citizen of the Year” award. In 1986, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Republican Presidential Task Force. He also served on the Governor’s Advisory Board to the international Special Olympics. In 2004, as Chairman of the Plaquemines Parish United Way, Billy led a record breaking fund raising campaign. The Nungesser team raised more than $237,000 for the people of this parish. Billy subsequently accepted the annual Leipzig Award for Outstanding Achievement. In 2005 and 2006, Billy worked diligently with other key leaders in Plaquemines Parish to form the Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry. He served on the Board of Directors throughout the organization’s formative years and remains involved as a charter member.
Following a successful election bid, President Nungesser took office sixteen months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated Plaquemines Parish. As Parish President, he has worked closely with local, state and federal officials, receiving record amounts of capital outlay money as well as record amounts of state and federal grant monies.
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Darryl Bourgoyne
Instructor, Director Well Facility Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering Louisiana State University and recently testified Before the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
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Chasidy Hobbs
Chasidy Fisher Hobbs draws daily inspiration from Margaret Mead's famous words, "Never underestimate the power a few dedicated citizens have to change the world; indeed that is all that ever has."
Evidence of Chasidy's belief in that concept and her passion for protecting the environment dates back to the early 1990s, when a local newspaper printed a picture of her holding a sign that read, "NO Valdez in Gulf Breeze." Since those early days of concerned activism, she has earned a master's degree in Environmental Science, provided environmental consulting services to Northwest Florida governments and businesses, was Director of Earthday Pensacola, and has dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours on projects ranging from environmental justice to education and outreach to ecosystem restoration.
Chasidy has served as Secretary for the Northwest Chapter of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals and vice chair for the Environmental Education Coordination Team. She currently serves on the City of Pensacola Environmental Advisory Board and Escambia County Citizens Environmental Committee. Chasidy is also an instructor and advisor in the Environmental Studies Department at University of West Florida and Coastkeeper for Emerald Coastkeeper, a proud member of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
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Dr. G. Paul Kemp
Vice President, Louisiana Coastal Initiative. He has an extensive background in coastal restoration and policy, and plays a key role in Audubon’s larger conservation initiative along the Mississippi River. Based in Baton Rouge, he leads a team that includes Timmy Vincent, manager of the Paul J. Rainey Sanctuary; Melanie Driscoll, Director of Bird Conservation; and Carla Landry, administrative manager.
Before coming to Audubon in January 2007, Dr. Kemp was associate research professor in Louisiana State University’s School of the Coast and Environment. He has also been affiliated with the school’s Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes. In the early 1990s, he served as the first executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, a nonprofit organization dedicated to returning Louisiana’s Mississippi River Delta to environmental and economic sustainability. Among other activities, Dr. Kemp led a multi-disciplinary effort to characterize Louisiana’s Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries; worked with the Louisiana Governor’s Office to help shape coastal restoration policy; and served as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fellow on the staff of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
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Karen A. Westphal
Over 30 years of field and research experience in coastal Louisiana. Artistic talents combined with scientific training aids in habitat delineation by photo-interpretation, computer graphics, and technical illustrating. Naturalist tendencies are focused in the identification of coastal vegetation and its interaction with the environment, including restoration. Gratis appointment at UNO as Manager of the Aerial Videotape Survey Program. Now with National Audubon Society Gulf Coast Initiative, making use of my background and knowledge through conservation and advocacy.
Member of: Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences (PIES), University of New Orleans (UNO) National Audubon Society Gulf Coast Initiative
Area of Expertise / Interest: Coastal Vegetation and Geomorphology; Coastal Change; Hurricane Impact Effects; Shoreline Aerial Video Surveys; Ecology; Coastal Development; Ecological Indicators; Endangered Species; Habitat Loss; Restoration; Geographic Information Science (GIS)
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