AT THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON COUNCIL MEETING IN PALM BAY ON DECEMBER 11, 2015, the Council Board of Director unanimously approved the appointment of Duane DeFreese, Ph.D as Executive Director.

Mr. DeFreese holds a Ph.D. in Marine Biology and an M.S. in Marine Biology from the Florida Institute of Technology, as well as a B.S. in Zoology, University of Rhode Island.

Formerly the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, run by the St. John’s River Water Management District, the Council will now operate as a separate entity, which will enable them to lobby for State and Federal money.

Indian River County previously chose not to join the Council by a unanimous vote of the County Commissioners.

Dr. DeFreese was a approved for a three-year contract starting October 1, 2015 at an annual base salary of $ 100,000.

Dr. Duane DeFreese

Dr. De Freese currently serves as a Senior Science & Sustainability consultant to HydroPro-Tech LLC.  HydroPro-Tech manufactures a waterproofing technology with over 30 years of use in the South African construction market, used in the Australian and European construction markets for the last decade and is now available in the USA and the Caribbean.