Board

Judy was elected to CORAL’s board in 2023 after several years’ involvement as a member of the Advisory Council. An avid scuba diver and PADI instructor, she has volunteered with numerous marine nonprofits, including over 15 years on the dive team at the Downtown Aquarium in Denver.

Judy has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, launching companies in the software and financial services industries. After selling her financial advisory firm to Mercer Advisors, she became its first Director of Corporate Responsibility. In this role, she established the firm’s award-winning program for sustainable growth and development based on the UN SDGs, and led its effective ESG/Sustainable investing programs.  She published numerous articles on ESG reporting requirements, governance and risk, and how the effective integration of these issues across an organization can enhance company performance. Currently she is involved in research on companies leading their industries in transitioning to more sustainable business practices. She has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and has contributed to the WSJ, Kiplinger’s, Money Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report.

Judy is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and serves on numerous industry advisory boards.  She received MBA and BA degrees in economics and geography from the University of Colorado/Boulder and an MS in Personal Financial Planning from the College of Financial Planning. She and her husband, Scott, have been married over forty years and have three adult children, all of whom enjoy scuba and skiing.

María José González is a biologist from the Del Valle University of Guatemala with a Master’s degree in Wildlife Management. She served as an advisor to the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) where she worked on several wildlife regulations, including the first Red Lists for vertebrates in Guatemala. After CONAP, she worked as Executive Director of the Fundación Interamericana de Investigación Tropical (FIIT), while also serving as a research fellow for the Wildlife Conservation Society Vertebrate Ecology Project in Tikal National Park, Guatemala. María José served as Executive Director of the Fundación para la Conservación de los Recursos Naturales y Ambiente en Guatemala (FCG) from 1996-2004. She participated in the design and establishment of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC), and served on the RedLAC Executive Committee twice.

Jeff retired as a trial lawyer at Keker, Van Nest & Peters but continues to take on environmental cases pro bono. He has been diving for over 50 years, since age 10. He helped certify over 200 of his classmates at Brown University (before the advent of pressure gauges and inflatable BCDs), then turned his attention to dive travel and underwater photography on reefs throughout the Caribbean and Coral Triangle. Jeff enjoys spending his leisure time with the amazing inhabitants of these far-flung places, both above and below the surface. Two decades past, Jeff started to notice that many of the coral reefs he had previously visited were beginning to decline. In contrast, he witnessed the continued vitality and diversity of the corals and marine life within two areas managed by CORAL and its partners—the Namena Marine Reserve in Fiji, and the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras. So in 2012, Jeff sought out CORAL to offer his support. During 2013-14, Jeff served on CORAL’s International Council, where he helped launch the CORAL Conservation Prize. He joined the Board in 2015, chairing the Development Committee and serving on the Marketing and Program Committees. Jeff hopes to help CORAL champion the cause of its most deserving clients—the world’s coral reefs.

Jim joined Coral’s Board in July of 2022 after being involved on CORAL’s Council for about a year. He is an Investor, Active Board Member and CEO Coach, with a passion for people and business. He currently serves on a half dozen corporate boards, as well as several not for profits. More at J.E.Minark, LLC. Prior to his current role, Jim had an exceptional 25-year record as a CEO of growing, managing and ultimately realizing value from U.S. and foreign public, private and private equity owned consumer technology businesses. This included Directed Electronics which he and the team he put in place built from a modest automotive aftermarket business to Sound United, the world’s leading consumer audio business with $1 Billion+ of annual revenue. Committed to “paying it forward,” Jim is the Founder and Chairman of the Forte for Children Charitable Foundation, and he serves on several charitable organization boards including The Boys and Girls Club of Vista, CA Foundation. An avid scuba diver, he has a passion for the work of the Coral Reef Alliance and also works with the Wyland Foundation and The MAR Alliance. Having already visited nearly 90 countries, he and his wife Megan enjoy spending time exploring the world and its oceans on The World where they have a Residence.

Lorraine is a dedicated not-for-profit lawyer with over 30 years of experience advising public charities and private foundations, including serving as General Counsel at the National Audubon Society and Senior Counsel at Princeton University. She has also served on, chaired, and advised numerous boards, including the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Watershed Institute. Earlier in her career, she worked as a tax lawyer at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, following clerkships with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

At Princeton, Lorraine handled a wide range of nonprofit matters, including development, and represented the Princeton University Art Museum in negotiations with the Italian government over alleged looted antiquities. At Audubon, her passion for conservation drove her to revive the environmental litigation program, collaborating with other organizations to stop clear-cutting in the Tongass National Forest and prevent Shell Oil from drilling in the Arctic. Although not a litigator, her governance expertise and deep commitment to the environment guided her efforts. Lorraine’s love for nature was nurtured by summers spent on Peconic Bay, Long Island, which inspired her lifelong mission to protect the sea and wildlife. Fun fact: she once applied for a job because it required “a sense of humor.”

Chris Winterhalter is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hotel Rehabs, LLC, a nationally recognized full-service hotel renovation contractor with locations in Chicago, Cincinnati, Phoenix, and Mexico City. Under his leadership, Hotel Rehabs has completed over 100 hotel renovation projects, encompassing more than 13,000 guest rooms. The company specializes in mid-scale to upper upscale properties for industry-leading brands like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt.

Leveraging his experience as an investor in distressed housing, Chris co-founded Sustainable Ventures, LLC in 2009. The company now owns 120 apartment units and has completed numerous residential property transactions. Chris’s dual perspective as an owner and investor allows him to understand his hotel clients’ needs deeply, making strategic decisions that positively impact their bottom lines.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Operations Management, Chris concentrated on Entrepreneurship and Spanish. Conversationally fluent in Spanish and an avid traveler and scuba diver, Chris is passionate about exploring new places across Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond. He resides in Chicago’s vibrant Wicker Park neighborhood with his amazing wife, Brooke, and their curious and adventurous daughter, Saige.

Elizabeth was elected to CORAL’s board in 2007. She is the Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International Business Division in Washington D.C. Before joining the IRS, Elizabeth served as director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), where she managed the interaction of NABL with the federal government. Elizabeth has also worked in the national tax offices of KPMG, LLP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP, and for the Department of the Treasury and law firm Latham & Watkins. She earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas, a master’s degree in accountancy/taxation from the University of Houston, and a law degree from The University of Texas. A certified scuba diver for almost two decades, Elizabeth volunteers as a diver and underwater presenter at the National Aquarium (NA), has participated in NA fish exploration and collection trips and has conducted REEF field surveys. She serves on the Board of Directors of the NA.  She currently resides in Washington, D.C.