About Us

The Co-Founders of I-SEA

Margery Moore spent many wonderful summers as a young girl on Salt Spring Island, after her family moved there from Ontario in the early 1980s. She relocated permanently to Salt Spring Island at age 18 with her mother to work and live on the island between semesters at the University of Victoria, where she received her B.Sc. in Natural Resource Management, and later her Masters in Environmental Management Information Systems (EMIS). After receiving her Masters, Margery pursued her environmental career in the United States, where she met Mark Starik, and in 1999, they were married on Salt Spring Island. After seven years, once again she calls Salt Spring home, but now with Mark Starik and a vision to continue their environmental work through the Salt Spring Institute for Sustainability Education & Action (I-SEA), of which she is President. While building I-SEA, she is also consulting with several organizations internationally on environmental information management research design and development. As President of I-SEA, Margery has facilitated sustainable tourism workshops and is developing a sustainability data inventory for the Salt Spring Official Community Plan (OCP) process.

Mark Starik married Margery Moore on Salt Spring Island in July of 1999, after visiting the island with her many times. He is a Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy, Chair of the Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy, and Director of the Environmental & Social Sustainability Initiative (ESSI) at the George Washington (GW) University Business School in Washington, D.C. USA. Mark is a co-founder of I-SEA and currently serves as its Secretary/Treasurer and acting Academic Director. Since 1991, he has developed programs leading to the creation of ESSI, an effort to advance sustainability research, teaching, and service activities among faculty, students, administrators, and other stakeholders in and beyond GW.

One of these programs, called the Sustainable Communities and Organizations Consulting Program, is bringing sustainability-oriented graduate students from GW to the Gulf Islands for the third consecutive summer, both to learn from and to consult with local organizations on a variety of sustainability topics. In addition to the Islands Trust and the Capital Regional District, these organizations have included the Earth Festival Society, the Chamber of Commerce, Artspring, and the Core Inn, as well as I-SEA, all on Salt Spring Island. I-SEA is expanding this program to include students from other educational institutions and from the general public and encourages other sustainability-oriented organizations and individuals to work with our program and students.

Margery and Mark thank I-SEA’s 3 other current (and co-founding) Board members, Marion Pape of the Earth Festival Society, Peter Allan of the Chamber of Commerce (both of whom are I-SEA co-Vice Presidents), and Patti Speed of Royal Lepage Realty, all of Salt Spring Island, for their dedication, vision, and support. Other members of the Gulf Islands sustainability community are welcome to join us in any of several capacities by e-mailing us at sustain@saltspring.com or call 250-537-4400 (I-SEA, 124 Lower Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, V2K 2S8 Canada).

I-SEA Background (pdf)