PANGEA WORLD is the creation of its President, Dr. Hana Ayala, formerly on the faculty of the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Ayala is the originator of the TCR economic-development model (see Foundations) and the architect of PANGEA WORLD’s mission.
Governing Board
The company is governed by a Board of Directors.
Hana Ayala, Founder Director (Co-Chair) and Chief Executive Officer
Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M., Director (Co-Chair)
Mr. Douglas Freeman is former Chairman of First Foundation Advisors and former Executive Vice President and Director of Consulting and Trust Services at First Foundation Bank.
Albert F. Bennett, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Al Bennett is former Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and was the Inaugural Hana and Francisco J. Ayala Dean of the Ayala School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.
Michael T. Clegg, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Michael Clegg is the Chair of the Council of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Donald Bren Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, former Foreign Secretary of the United States National Academy of Sciences (for three terms, 2002 – 2014), and former Co-Chair of the Inter American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS).
John R. Evans, Director
Mr. Evans is former Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director of Wells Fargo Bank, whose global assignments included those of Manager of European Continental Corporate Banking (Brussels) and Middle East Managing Representative (Tehran).
Donald G. Saari, Ph.D., Director
Don Saari is a Distinguished Professor of Economics and of Mathematics and Director Emeritus of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He is the Pancoe Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Distinguished Science Advisor
John C. Avise, Ph.D., Distinguished Science Advisor
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, and award-winning author of more than thirty trend-setting books for popular as well as professional audiences, Dr. John C. Avise is credited with launching one of the major scientific revolutions in the late 20th century.
PANGEA WORLD Fellows
have profoundly contributed to the shaping of the TCR model and have lent their expertise to the corporation’s flagship projects.
Richard S. Nicholson, Ph.D., Honorary President and Fellow
Dr. Richard Nicholson was Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Publisher of Science-the world’s leading scientific journal (1989-2001).
Dr. Milan Konečný, Fellow
Dr. Milan Konečný is a Professor and the Head of the Laboratory on Geoinformatics and Cartography of the Faculty of Science of the Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, former President of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) and now Chairman of ICA Commission on Cartography on Early Warning and Crises Management. He was also Acting President and Vice-President of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) and Academician and Vice-President of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences.
Donald B. Lehr, Fellow
Mr. Donald Lehr is President of the Nolan/Lehr Group, a media communications consultancy firm.
Marjorie Reaka, Ph.D., Fellow
Dr. Marjorie Reaka is a Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland, Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, and co-editor (with E. O. Wilson and D. E. Wilson) of the book Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting Our Natural Resources,published by the National Academy of Sciences’ Joseph Henry Press.
Ceferino Sánchez Jorquera, Ph.D., Fellow
Dr. Ceferino Sánchez is former Dean of the School of Medicine and former Rector of the University of Panama. He was the first National Secretary of Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Republic of Panama.
Winston Thompson, Fellow
Mr. Winston Thompson is the former Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Council of the University of the South Pacific, former Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji to the United States and the United Nations, and former Senator and Permanent Secretary of Fiji Government Ministries.
Adam S. Wilkins, Ph.D., Fellow
Dr. Adam Wilkins, the former editor of BioEssays (1990-2008), is currently editor of the commentaries (“Perspectives”) section of Genetics and is affiliated with the Institute of Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin.
In Memoriam
Pangea World remembers and celebrates the lives and legacies of the late George R. Angehr, Ph.D., Fellow, and the late Anthony G. Coates, Ph.D., Fellow.
Honorary Founding Fellows
In 2011, the world lost two extraordinary individuals, Don Fernando Eleta Almarán and Dr. Rodrigo Tarté Ponce. These two distinguished Panamanian citizens profoundly enriched and accelerated the Pangea World journey, embracing it as part of their own. They were passionate champions of this journey-igniting TCR Action Plan for the Republic of Panama, and—since the birth of the Pangea World corporation in 2001—tireless advocates of the Pangea World mission’s promise for Latin America and other parts of the world. Pangea World is honored to recognize the late Don Fernando and Don Rodrigo for their vision and contribution as Honorary Founding Fellows of Pangea World, as announced at a press conference held by Pangea World’s Board of Directors and hosted by the Miramar InterContinental Panama on January 20, 2012.
Fernando Eleta Alamarán, (1921-2011), Honorary Founding Fellow
Don Fernando Eleta, honored with decorations from 13 countries, was media and finance pioneer, Panama’s Minister of Finance and Treasury and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Co-Founder of the Inter-American Development Bank, Founder and Honorary President of The City of Knowledge, and so much more.
Rodrigo Tarté Ponce, Ph.D., (1936-2011), Honorary Founding Fellow
Dr. Rodrigo Tarté was Director of Sustainable Development and Academic Director of The City of Knowledge Foundation, Director General of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Education Center (CATIE, Costa Rica), consultant to numerous bodies of the United Nations including FAO and UNEP, an artist, and much more.
Ambassadors
Mary Roosevelt, PANGEA’s World Ambassador
Mrs. Mary Roosevelt, the widow of the late James Roosevelt, son of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, has spent all of her professional life as an educator, with a passion for international educational experiences for all students.
Her designation as PANGEA’s World Ambassador recognizes and formalizes Mrs. Roosevelt’s pivotal role in championing international awareness of PANGEA WORLD’s mission.
Jana Šancová, Pangea World Ambassador for the Czech Republic
Mrs. Jana Šancová is the former Vice-Director of Foreign Relations Department at the Brno City Municipality in the Czech Republic. She had been working for local administration for 25 years.
PhDr. Mojmír Jeřábek, Founding Ambassador of UNESCO World Heritage Villa Tugendhat (Brno) to Pangea World
Dr. Jeřábek is the former Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Brno City Municipality in the Czech Republic and, formerly, was also a journalist, a cultural attaché to Germany, and a media and public relations manager of Brno Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
Director of Artistic Photography
Ing. Libor Teplý, Pangea World Director of Artistic Photography
Ing. Libor Teplý is a freelance art photographer with a focus on architecture and fine arts. He has published more than 30 photographic publications and organized 57 author´s exhibitions both in the Czech Republic and abroad. His greatest inspirational sources include the Villa Tugendhat in Brno, which he has photographed for more than 25 years.
Protocol Coordinator
Nancy J. Gould, Protocol Coordinator
Ms. Gould retired from the University of California, Irvine, where she worked for 25 years as a human resources administrator.