William Precht

Since completing his graduate degree from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, Mr. Precht has specialized in the assessment, monitoring, restoration, and rehabilitation of various coastal resources, especially coral reef, seagrass, mangrove, and marsh systems. His contributions to the professional and academic ecological sciences community are nationally and internationally recognized, particularly in regard to historical ecology, disturbance ecology, ecological monitoring, and the application of ecological principles to coastal restoration. Bill’s work draws upon significant, state-of-the-art research experience in field studies and theoretical analysis.

Mr. Precht is currently the Director of Coastal and Marine Science Programs for the environmental consulting company Bio-Tech Consultants in Miami , Florida. In addition, he serves on the Science Advisory Committee for the non- profit Reef Renewal, USA in Tavernier, FL. He is also currently an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Marine Science at Nova Southeastern University. Bill has also been a Visiting Faculty in Northeastern University's Three Seas Marine Biology Program where he taught courses in ocean & coastal processes and coral reef ecology (33 courses taught since 1988). Through this program, he trained many of the world’s preeminent coral reef scientists, marine ecologists, coastal specialists, and conservation biologists. As well, he regularly performs research through the Smithsonian Institution’s Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Program in Belize and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Bocas del Toro, Panama (Since 2011).

In 2006 he completed the first-ever book on coral reef restoration, entitled Coral Reef Restoration Handbook – The Rehabilitation of an Ecosystem under Siege, published by CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. The late Senator Bob Graham (FL) wrote the foreword for this volume. Bill has also been featured in two award-winning nationally broadcast documentaries on coral reefs and has been interviewed dozens of times by the media on a host of environmental issues.