Jens Sorensen is a Senior Associate at the Urban Harbors Institute. He received his doctorate in environmental planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1978 he has specialized in integrated coastal management (ICM) as a university professor (University of California, Santa Cruz; University of California, San Diego; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Rhode Island, and the University of Massachusetts, Boston), applied researcher, and consultant.

Over the last twenty years, the focus of his work has been on research and consulting on ICM in coastal nations and on international regional arrangements around the world. He consulted on ICM and conducted study tours and lectures in 36 coastal nations or semi-sovereign states as well as five international regional programs. These 36 nations reflect the full spectrum of economic development, national governance, climate, and jurisdictional size (i.e. small islands to very large continental countries). His particular interests in ICM are: institutional arrangements, policy formulation and implementation, program evaluation, and international information exchange. Jens' work has been supported by a multitude of international assistance, coastal nations, and coastal states/provinces. He is the author of over 44 publications on ICM, planning and management of coastal and marine protected areas, impact assessment, and environmental planning.