News

Stephen Formel joins the OBIS secretariat

30 April 2025

We are delighted to announce that Stephen Formel has joined the OBIS Secretariat as a Data Officer. He will focus on the EU-funded MARCO-BOLO project, a major initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme to advance coastal biodiversity monitoring and forecasting. MARCO-BOLO (Monitoring and Assessment of Regional COastal Biodiversity) brings together crucial stakeholders to develop tools and strategies for assessing coastal biodiversity to better support informed decision-making for coastal conservation.

Before joining the OBIS Secretariat, Stephen Formel worked as a biologist at the Science Analytics and Synthesis program of the United States Geological Survey. He was the node manager for the Ocean Biodiversity Information System - USA (OBIS-USA) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility US (GBIF-US). “I’m extremely excited to join the OBIS Secretariat and get involved in the MARCO-BOLO project,” Stephen says. “A few years ago, I had the opportunity to read an early version of the project’s data management plan, and I was struck by its cohesion, transparency, and huge potential. I now have the opportunity to contribute directly to the project’s impact!” As Data Officer, Stephen will support data management activities within MARCO-BOLO and the OBIS Secretariat’s helpdesk services. He will focus on bridging the project’s outcomes with the broader OBIS network, ensuring that the project’s innovations benefit the global marine biodiversity data community.

Stephen Formel will remain one of the community leaders of the Standardizing Marine Biodiversity Data group, as well as the Co-Chair of the OBIS Products Coordination Group.