NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has welcomed veteran Bahamian executive Vaughn Roberts to its Board of Directors as the international non-profit organization continues to strengthen efforts to restore and conserve the coastal flats in The Bahamas and across the hemisphere.
As Senior Vice President for Government Affairs & Special Projects at Atlantis Paradise Island, Roberts joins the BTT board with more than 25 years of corporate leadership experience in the areas of government affairs, finance, and management of multi-faceted projects.
“Atlantis and flats fishing are two cornerstones of the Bahamian tourism product and we are excited to be allies in efforts to preserve and protect our natural wonders. I am honored to join the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust board and to support the organization’s important mission to conserve marine habitats here in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean,” said Roberts.
“The importance of BTT’s work to identify, research and conserve shallow water habitats essential to our fisheries and economy cannot be overstated. Atlantis is proud to support the current mangrove restoration project as well as the remarkable past research that focused on bonefish spawning.”
Prior to Atlantis, Roberts served as Senior Vice President of Finance, Administration and Capital Projects at the Ocean Reef Club in North Key Largo, Florida.
Earlier in his professional career, Roberts held financial management, investment banking, consulting, and accounting positions with More Development Company, Baha Mar Resort, KPMG, Lehman Brothers, Bank One and Dresdner Kleinwort. He holds an MBA degree in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Florida International University.
Roberts serves as chairman of the board of Friends of the Arts in The Bahamas, Inc. and on the boards of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pension Fund, the Charitable Arts Foundation, and the Downtown Nassau Partnership.
“We are honored to welcome Vaughn to the Board of Directors,” said Jim McDuffie, BTT President and CEO.
“His leadership, knowledge and commitment to the cause will greatly benefit our mission at a pivotal moment in The Bahamas.” BTT’s mission is to conserve bonefish, tarpon and permit — the species, their habitats and the larger fisheries they comprise. BTT pursues this mission across the southeastern US, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea through science-based conservation, education and advocacy.
BTT has partnered for many years with a number of Bahamian conservation groups, including the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), whose new Executive Director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle spoke at the organization’s recent Board Meeting and 10th Annual Florida Keys Dinner and Awards Ceremony, to promote mangrove restoration across The Bahamas.
In her remarks to a room of over 300 BTT supporters, Anderson-Rolle said: “In reflecting on the past 15 years of the partnership between BNT & BTT and all of the great things we did together, from conducting research to inform new protected area designations, to supporting flats conservation educational programmes, to restoring mangroves in heavily degraded and impacted by major hurricanes, to the reopening of blocked creeks that supports the fly-fishing industry – I am more than hopeful for the future.”
Another key initiative for BTT is the Bahamas Mangrove Alliance (BMA), a new multi-sector coalition dedicated to protecting and restoring mangrove habitats across the archipelago. Announced on Earth Day 2023, the BMA’s other founding members are local nonprofits the Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS) and Waterkeepers Bahamas (WKB).
The Alliance will focus on mangrove protection, restoration, science, prevention of loss, grassroots advocacy, and raising awareness through education. These founding groups aim to grow the BMA to include other nonprofits, national park and other fisheries managers, island communities, community leaders, sustainable businesses, and where possible to align and support Government priorities at national and international scale. Atlantis Paradise Island has supported the effort by collecting and donating propagules to mangrove nurseries established by BTT.
BTT President McDuffie added: “Vaughn has the relationships and passion to be a crucial asset to all of our conservation efforts in The Bahamas and the region – those that are currently in operation and those which we hope to launch in the future.”
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