Duane E. De Freese ’81 M.S., ’88 Ph.D., has been recognized a lot for his dedication to preserving Florida’s shores and waterways throughout the years.
He has received the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County’s Lagoon Champion Award, the Environmental Advocacy “Eagle” Award presented by former U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, the Lead Brevard Rodney S. Ketcham Leadership Icon Award and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast Volunteer of the Year Award. He was also named a Junior Achievement of the Space Coast Business Hall of Fame Laureate.
But his most recent accolade, De Freese says, is particularly significant.
“When President Nicklow called me, I was both surprised and, to be honest, a little shocked, as well as humbled,” he says.
At the Alumni Awards Gala Oct. 17, 2025, De Freese received Florida Tech’s highest honor, the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award recognizing an alumnus whose career accomplishments reflect the university’s legacy of excellence.
“I’m aware of the significance of the award because I was president of the Florida Tech Alumni Association board when it was first created,” he says. “It’s one of those recognitions that I’ve had so far during my career that’s going to stick with me for the rest of my life.”
De Freese is executive director of the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) Council, an independent special district of Florida created in 2015 to serve as the governing body for the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP), one of just 28 such programs designated by the U.S. Congress in North America and Puerto Rico.
“As executive director, my primary responsibility is to lead our program and staff in fulfilling the mission of a comprehensive conservation management plan, a vision for lagoon restoration that we established back in 2019,” De Freese says.
De Freese has led the IRLNEP’s reorganization, including convening and expanding the IRLNEP Management Conference to over 100 volunteer scientists, resource managers, community leaders, industry representatives and citizens.
The group’s mission, “One lagoon. One community. One voice,” encourages federal, state and local partners to work together to restore and protect the IRL system, one of the nation’s most treasured and threatened estuaries.
With rapid population growth and constant change, educating the public about the many stressors affecting Florida’s coastal systems and how they impact both quality of life and local economies is an ongoing and vital challenge for De Freese and his team, he says.
“In Brevard, we deeply understand the value of space and aerospace; it’s part of our identity and a cornerstone of Florida Tech,” he says. “But ocean and coastal awareness hasn’t reached that same level of recognition.”
Before joining the IRL Council, De Freese served in several leadership positions, including senior vice president of science and business development at AquaFiber Technologies Corp., University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Sciences dean-appointed faculty in conjunction with the UCF coastal and sea turtle research center, the first vice president of Florida research for Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the first program director for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.
“Success isn’t as much about what you know, but the relationships you’ve built along the way,” he says.
FLORIDA TECH CONNECTION: ’81 M.S. biological sciences, marine; ’88 Ph.D. biological sciences
LAST BOOK READ: Forces of Nature. A History of Florida Land Conservation by Clay Henderson
ANIMAL YOU WOULD BE: Leatherback sea turtle
FAVORITE HOBBY: Surfing
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Florida’s water is Florida’s soul.”—Chris Peterson, president, Hells Bay Boatworks in Titusville, Florida, and St. Johns River Water Management District governing board member
This piece was featured in the winter 2026 edition of Florida Tech Magazine.
