In 1991, Luiz relocated to Key West, where he worked as a volunteer for Reef Relief, a local coral reef preservation nonprofit, and taught SCUBA diving at a local dive shop. While in Key West, he also developed and taught an introductory course on the Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem (www.reefrelief.org) at the Florida Keys Community College. Today, this course is utilized by Reef Relief as part of their free Teacher's Kit on coral reef preservation and it is utilized by several nonprofits throughout the Caribbean.

In 1992, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Luiz represented Reef Relief at the United Nations Earth Summit and Global Forum, and conducted a seminar on sustainable tourism in Brazil.

In 1993, Luiz returned to Santa Cruz and got involved with another local non-profit, Ecology Action (www.ecoact.org), one of California's oldest and most active grassroots environmental organizations. At Ecology Action he helped implement the Earth Teams Program, a community oriented program that strives to minimize environmental impact on Earth; and worked for the California Used Motor Oil Recycling Program and the Business Waste Reduction Program.

During the following five years, he also worked for International Health Programs, IHP (www.ihp.org), a 35 years old nonprofit organization dedicated to training professionals of developing countries on important health and environmental issues. At IHP he worked side-by-side with the agency's head of the AIDS prevention program, Ms. Ruth Mota, his mentor and guide. Together they trained over 500 foreign professionals, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, at training centers in Latin America and Africa, as well as at the agency's institute in Santa Cruz, California.

One of Luiz' main achievements at IHP, was the development and implementation of a training program for environmental professionals from developing countries: "Environment and Population: Problems and Practical Solutions". This four-week workshop addressed the impact of overpopulation and overconsumption on the environment, their subsequent effect on health and quality of life of communities, and discussed some practical solutions, which could be easily implemented.

Since Mr. Rodrigues' relocation to Miami Beach in 2000, he has been actively involved with local environmental issues, was elected to the Beach Preservation Committee for the city of Miami Beach, where he volunteered his services for five years and, as of September 2001, ECOMB's new Executive Director.

Presently, he also runs an for-profit green consulting company, Eco-Logical Solutions, serves on the Board for the Green Committee for the City of Miami Beach, for the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Sustainable Living Council and, more recently, for the Green Committee for the City of Miami.

Any questions? Email Luiz for the answers