Carl Nettleton

“At Nettleton Strategies, we try to create a sense of trust and a safe place for discussing and resolving issues.  Participatory mapping is often the starting point for a process that leads to positive dialogue and relationship building.”  

Throughout his career, Carl Nettleton has used joint fact-finding and visualization tools to resolve issues - his management consulting firm, Nettleton Strategies, is based on this process.  Since joining E2 in December 2010, he has brought this expertise to E2 and is currently helping to build the San Diego chapter by listening, fact-finding and facilitating discussions with chapter members and local experts.

As a delegate on the 2011 Washington, D.C. advocacy trip, Carl used his expertise to learn how individual elected offices viewed E2 issues while helping to highlight the need for using intelligent maps to create sustainably managed oceans that will benefit the economy for years to come.  He hopes the San Diego Chapter will be seen as a place where environmental issues can be resolved using sound business thinking.  

Carl has used intelligent maps to work on watershed and transportation issues, perhaps the most well-known being an effort to encourage development of an intermodal transportation hub at the San Diego airport.  However, Carl is most passionate about issues surrounding oceans and water.   He serves on the San Diego Chamber of Commerce Energy and Water and Transportation and Land Use committees, Co-Chaired the Tijuana River Valley Recovery Team until this year, was the past president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation - Pacific Region, was the founding executive director of the San Diego Oceans Foundation, and serves on the board of the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation.  Recently, Carl founded OpenOceans Global, which has a goal of aggregating and creatively presenting the world’s ocean data as a way to better understand the world’s oceans.  The organization has embarked on a multi- million fundraising campaign to advance this innovative initiative.  He is a long-time advocate for bringing people together to work on ocean issues. Two notable achievements include overseeing development of one of the first marine education curriculums in the 1980’s and producing a television show, “Its All of Us, Marine Pollution in San Diego,”  that aired in prime time on both the PBS and CBS affiliates and featured Walter Cronkite as the narrator.

Carl hopes his contribution to E2 will be his ability to bring together businesses, the environment, and the NRDC to foster better communication and understanding that will help solve the traditional economy-environment gap that exists in policy.  “We have to get to a sustainable place where we realize the benefit of the environment within the economy. We need to enable interest groups to work together with trust and respect.”

Carl’s favorite aspect of E2 is the opportunity to interact with like-minded people in such a collegial environment. “I’ve really enjoyed all the people I’ve met through E2. There is a great energy around this group.  They are forward thinking and open to change and new ideas.”

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