James Richard is the Principal of Forest Heights Academy in Marsh Harbour, where he has served for over 20 years. He has also taught at the Bimini All Age School and S. C. Bootle High School as well as in Jamaica and Haiti.  Born and raised in Michigan, he has been living and teaching in the Caribbean since 1995.  
Mr. Richard’s passions are the environment, education and social justice. He served as a unit leader and island coordinator with the Governor General’s Youth Award for over 20 years and has been a Board member and volunteer with Friends of the Environment since 2004. He helped to write the Bahamian Marine Science curriculum, chairs the Abaco District Education Awards committee, and worked with both One Eleuthera Foundation and the National Food Distribution Task Force serving Abaconians affected by Hurricane Dorian.  
He has two children: Donte, an environmental engineer in Michigan, and Khalea, a pre-school teacher in Charleston, South Carolina.

David is originally from Nassau and has lived in Abaco for the past 7 years. David was the first Abaco Park Warden for The Bahamas National Trust in Abaco, and now works as Chief Park Warden for the country. He previously worked as the Agricultural Officer in charge of Abaco for the Department of Agriculture and has extensive knowledge of the terrestrial environment in The Bahamas. He and his wife and three children live in Marsh Harbour.

Lory is a Hope Town resident, and past President of Friends of the Environment. She was instrumental in helping FRIENDS become a formalized organization and has been involved in many important marine outreach and conservation projects. During Lory's previous tenure we received a capacity building grant from the Nature Conservancy which facilitated hiring the first staff member and opening our office in Marsh Harbour. Lory brings a wealth of knowledge in business and non-profit operations. 

Diane was born and raised in Nassau. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science in 1988 from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida and completed an Overseas Research degree to fulfill requirements for a Master’s degree in Zoology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 2006. Diane received her PhD in biology focusing on Spatial processes in the population ecology of beaked whales at St. Andrews University in Scotland. In 1991, Diane began the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization where she currently serves as Project Director and principle investigator.

Reg is a long time Abaco resident and is the proprietor of Lucayan Surveying in Marsh Harbour. As a land surveyor, his profession has provided him with extensive knowledge about The Abaco’s.  He currently lives in Marsh Harbour, but also enjoys traveling in North America. He is an avid birder and leads many of FRIENDS’ bird walks; he now offers tours through his company Lucayan Nature & Birding Tours. Reg possesses extensive terrestrial knowledge, as his father, Jack Patterson, was the author of the book Native Trees of The Bahamas, which many consider to be the premier book on native plants in The Bahamas. Reg has also been a dedicated Rotarian for many years and is excited about sharing his knowledge and time with FRIENDS.

Joy Chaplin is a retired school teacher, who taught students both in Nassau and Abaco. Joy came to FRIENDS as a volunteer and helped to get the Discovery Club, an environmental education after school program up and running. She ran the Discovery Club for three years, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with countless students before moving onto a position on the Board. She lives in Leisure Lee.

Justin Higgs currently works as the Principal and Grade 5 & 6 teacher at Hope Town Primary School. He and his wife Amanda live in Hope Town, with their daughter Journey. His class has submitted winning projects at FRIENDS’ Science Fair multiple times. One of the projects was an experiment about how mangroves help fight against global warming. Justin was also the recipient of the 2008 FRIENDS scholarship to the Island School. Justin has a master’s in Education from Florida Atlantic University.

Denise is a resident of Bahama Palm Shores and a former educator and a certified dive instructor. Denise is a Marine Mammal Educator and Outreach Coordinator for the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization and is very knowledgeable and passionate about the marine environment and involving young Bahamians in science and conservation.