Nikos Passas
Professor, Northeastern University
Senior Adviser, Oceans Beyond Piracy
Mr. Huggins joined One Earth Future Foundation in Denver, Colorado as the Director of Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) in September 2010. OBP focuses on promoting multi-stakeholder cooperation between industry, governments and civil society as the most effective and sustainable way to fight maritime piracy. In support of this goal, OBP has produced ground-breaking reports on the Economic and Human Cost of Piracy, has brokered agreements between leading Flag States for better reporting on the Human Cost, and promoted public-private partnerships to improve counter-piracy messaging. Recent OBP efforts have focused on supporting the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and working with Somali Federal and Regional authorities to develop the Somali Maritime Resource and Security Strategy.
Before arriving in Colorado, Mr. Huggins served as NATO’s Operational Liaison Officer to the European Union in Brussels, where he was responsible for coordinating interaction between NATO and EU missions in the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Mr. Huggins also served on the Operations Staff at NATO Headquarters, where he developed plans and policy recommendations for NATO missions. During his career in the US Navy, Huggins served as a Mission Commander on Naval Surveillance planes on missions over the Pacific Ocean, Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as major staffs in Japan and Washington, DC and was a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States.