Teale Phelps Bondaroff
Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is an international relations scholar with a PhD in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge. He completed BAs in political science and international relations from the University of Calgary. His academic research focuses on the strategy of non-state actors, specifically the strategic use of international law by conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
His PhD research examined the strategy of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), a confrontational marine conservation organization, and involved 4 months of participant observation on board a SSCS vessel while it engaged in anti-whaling actions in the Southern Ocean. His ongoing research as a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Global Studies will involve the development of a typology of the application of direct action at sea, and other innovative marine-based activist strategies.
Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is also specialist in illegal fishing, and was the lead author of the recent The Black Fish and Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime report, which explored the illegal fishing-organized crime nexus, and argued that illegal fishing should be considered as a form of transnational organized crime.
Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is a partner with the Idea Tree Consulting, a consultancy which specialises in research, strategy and communications for environmental NGOs. The Idea Tree’s clients have included Fin Fighters UK, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, World Animal Protection, The Black Fish, the Sea Ranger Service, and Elphinstone Logging Focus. In his time with The Idea Tree, Dr. Phelps Bondaroff has investigated such diverse issues as marine debris and derelict fishing gear in Canada and Australia, illegal fishing in Antarctica, krill conservation, human slavery and illegal fishing, shark conservation strategies, and seagrass conservation as it relates to climate change.
Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is active in Canadian politics, with over a decade of experience in roles ranging from canvasser to federal candidate. He lives in Victoria, BC, Canada, with his partner Stephanie Ferguson, where, among other things, he coaches high school speech and debate, plays hockey, and volunteers on local community projects. He has recently volunteered with the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, mapping little free libraries in the Victoria area, and with the nascent Victoria Tool Library. He is also the lead organizer of the BC Provincial High School Mock Trial competition, and a keen amateur vexillologist.