Dr. Charlie Wahle is a marine ecologist with extensive experience working at the interface between science and policy of marine conservation and protected areas. Prior to joining the MPA Center, he served as NOAA's liaison to three key interagency marine conservation initiatives: the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, the Invasive Species Council, and the national MPA initiative. From 1993 to 1999, he led the national programs for science, education, and conservation policy for the National Marine Sanctuaries Program and the National Estuarine Research Reserves Systems at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Prior to joining NOAA, Dr. Wahle developed and managed a marine research and teaching laboratory on the New Jersey coast for Lehigh University. He has conducted extensive field research on Caribbean coral reefs and mid-Atlantic coastal ecosystems. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. Wahle earned his doctorate in ecology and evolution from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a bachelor's degree in aquatic biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Hugo Selbie is the MPA Data Analyst, with the MPA Center, leading an effort to expand their MPA inventory database to include information about physical, natural and cultural resources for MPA’s listed in their national network. Hugo received his BSc in 2003 graduating from Cardiff University (U.K.) in Marine Geography and in 2006, a Masters in marine biodiversity and conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). In between, Hugo has worked in Madagascar, Switzerland, France, and California where he was named 2007 CA Sea Grant State Fellow. More recently Hugo worked with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), working as policy and outreach coordinator, liaising with federal partners of PISCO and redesigning, running the PISCO website, and publishing science communication booklets, and exhibits focused on PISCO marine protected area (MPA) research.

Jacqueline Sommers is the Executive Administrative Assistant and Outreach Coordinator for West Coast at the NOAA Marine Protected Area Center in Monterey,CA. Jacqueline’s duties at the MPA Center include office management, meeting planning, administrator of all invitational travel, staff travel orders, and human resources coordinator for new and departing employees. She is also the Outreach Education Coordinator for the West Coast and is reaching out to the area schools and organizations. She assists the MPA Center Director with annual budget planning, management of funding and reconciliation of expenses. She maintains all NOAA Security standards, and space management for the office. Jacqueline has many years of experience for large corporations as an Office Manager, Account Manager and Marketing Manager. Her Bachelor of Science degree is in Marketing Management from Bellevue University.

Jordan Gass is a GIS Specialist with the National Marine Protected Areas Center in Monterey, CA. He is responsible for managing the MPA Inventory databases and supporting the National System of MPAs. He uses the MPA Inventory to spatially describe the status of MPAs in US waters, and uses the results to create a variety of digital and static cartographic products. Jordan earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University (2001) and his Masters Degree in Coastal Environmental Management and a Certificate in Geospatial Analysis from Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University (2006). Prior to joining the MPA Center, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica and a Coastal Management Fellow in the US Virgin Islands.

Julia Townsend (Program Analyst) received a Master’s Degree in International Environmental Policy with a focus on marine policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, (MIIS). Before attending MIIS she worked in education and politics. Julia is interested in contributing solutions to complex marine policy issues that benefit people and ecosystems. Since coming to the MPA Center in 2009, Julia has focused on the role of ocean uses in marine planning and spatial management. She helped develop a strategy for engagement for NOAA in Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) and has also garnered first-hand experience of the challenges and nuances of mapping ocean use patterns as a Facilitator of the Ocean Uses Atlas Project in New Hampshire, Southern Maine, and Hawaii. Julia is currently conducting research on the complexity of ocean uses with respect to conflicts and compatibilities. She looks forward to contributing to other initiatives at the MPA Center as they develop.

Kara Yeager is the Communications Coordinator for the MPA Center. Her work at the MPA Center focuses on communicating the benefits of MPAs and a national system of MPAs to the public. She is the editor of the MPA Center’s quarterly e-newsletter, MPA Connections, as well as the content editor for the MPA Center’s website, www.mpa.gov. Kara is also the Designated Federal Official for the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee. Prior to her work with NOAA, Kara was an outreach and communications specialist for both the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and the Maryland Department of the Environment. Kara received B.S. degrees in Biology and Environmental Science from Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD, and an M.S. in Zoology from North Carolina State University. Her masters research focused on life history characteristics of a commercially and recreationally important fish species, Coryphaena hippurus, or mahi mahi.

Lauren Wenzel is the Acting Director of the National Marine Protected Areas Center. She has been with the MPA Center since 2003, working to engage MPA programs and stakeholders to build a national system of MPAs, translating MPA science into information for managers, and developing national policy and technical assistance priorities. Prior to her work at NOAA, Lauren worked to develop and implement Chesapeake Bay nutrient reduction strategies and Smart Growth practices at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Lauren has an M.S. in natural resources policy and management from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, and a B.A. from Oberlin College in Ohio.

Dr. Mimi D’Iorio is the GIS Database Manager for NOAA’s Marine Protected Areas Center in Monterey, CA. Mimi specializes in GIS and remote sensing applications for the mapping, monitoring and management of coastal and marine processes. She holds undergraduates degrees in Geography and Environmental Studies (UCLA, 1993)and a PhD in Earth Sciences (UCSC, 2003). She has worked with the USGS on shoreline change and coastal erosion related issues in California and Hawaii, teamed with the Bureau of Reclamation on assessment of land-use change and watershed dynamics in the Columbia River Basin, and collaborated with NOAA’s NWFSC on landscape ecology research related to Salmon habitat throughout the Pacific Northwest. At the MPA Center, Mimi is responsible for a variety of geospatial efforts; maintaining, updating and distributing the MPA Inventory; designing, planning and implementing participatory ocean use mapping projects; managing the design and development of online mapping tools for visualizing MPAs and ocean uses data; and collaborating with NOAA partners on the development of GIS applications for assessing spatial resources inside and outside MPAs. Mimi has over fifteen years of experience working with geospatial data, tools and related applications and is dedicated to the ever-evolving utility of geospatial technology for mapping and documenting marine resources.

Nicholas Hayden - As the Atlas GIS Specialist, Nick leads the GIS efforts on multiple Atlas projects, a protocol collecting data on human uses of the ocean through participatory GIS workshops with regional ocean experts. He leads the data collection effort during workshops, analyses and manages the data, creates output for static products and online data viewers, and publishes GIS metadata.

Nick received a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and Geophysics (2001), a graduate-level certificate in GIS (2004), and a Master’s degree in Environmental Monitoring (2006), all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining the MPAC, he worked as a watershed GIS analyst and field sampler for the University of California – Santa Barbara. He has published work on landscape modeling of forest regeneration and wetland relocation policies.

Dr. Robert Brock is a Marine Biologist and coordinates and oversees the natural science program of the Center. Growing up surrounded by the ocean (Cape Cod) in the Portuguese fishing community of Provincetown, Robert was always fascinated by the ocean and wanted to make it a career. Robert holds a Bachelor of Science (Marine Ecology) from Florida International University, a Master of Science (Marine Biology) from the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, and a Doctorate (Aquatic Ecology) from the University of Florida. Prior to coming to the Center in 2010, Robert was previously a Fishery Biologist with the NOAA Fisheries Service, a Supervisory Marine Biologist with the National Park Service, a Marine Biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a Hydrologist (Biology) with the U.S. Geological Survey. Robert participates on several international expert groups, most notably working with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, and the North American Marine Protected Areas Network. When he has any free time, Robert enjoys playing with friends from around the country and cheering on all the sports teams from Boston and the University of Florida Gators!

Dr. Valerie Grussing graduated from North Carolina State University with a BA in History, where she participated in her first archaeological excavation at a Roman site in Jordan. She graduated from the University of Iowa with an MA in Anthropology, where she participated in a Late Upper Paleolithic excavation in France. She obtained her Ph.D. in December 2009 from the Coastal Resources Management Program at East Carolina University, specializing in the Maritime Studies track. While attending ECU, she worked on the Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project, excavating, conserving, and illustrating the remains of the shipwreck believed to be that of the pirate Blackbeard. Her dissertation, “Reanimating the Graveyard: Heritage Tourism Development of North Carolina Shipwrecks,” is a comparative evaluation of ten programs designed to protect and interpret shipwrecks, concluding with a series of recommendations for North Carolina to expand such programs. Previously, Valerie has worked as a graduate assistant, a teaching assistant, an archaeological field and lab technician, an archaeological illustrator, and an intern with the Hunley Project at the Clemson Conservation Center. In the summer of 2005, she served as the Cultural Resources Research Fellow for Brian Jordan while he was the MPA Center’s Cultural Resources Coordinator. Valerie began working as the MPA Center’s Cultural Resources Coordinator in August 2009. She co-chairs the Cultural Heritage Resources Working Group of the MPA FAC, which assists with guiding the development of the cultural heritage track of the National MPA System, she conducts professional and public outreach, and serves as the lead for the cultural heritage component of the MPA Inventory.