Philip Sacks received an AB from Brown University and an MMA from University of Rhode Island. He is a licensed master mariner specialized in large sailing vessels and oceanographic research vessels. He spent 33 years working as a sailing ship captain, professor of nautical science, and senior administrator at SEA Education Association in Woods Hole, MA. He is also a project management specialist. He has worked coordinating science missions for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the US Antarctic Program. As a consultant, he has managed the construction of research vessels and remote research stations worldwide. Since 2006, Sacks has completed 10 humanitarian aid missions as a logistician and logistics coordinator with MSF in a wide range of contexts based in Thailand, South Sudan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Haiti. Sacks was elected to the Board of Directors of MSF-USA in June 2016.