NOAA Fisheries Leadership

Samuel D. Rauch III (Acting)
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

Sam Rauch was appointed as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries on January 17, 2012. He oversees the management and conservation of marine fisheries and the protection of marine mammals, sea turtles and coastal fisheries habitat within the United States exclusive economic zone. The National Marine Fisheries Service protects and preserves the Nation's living marine resources through scientific research, fisheries management, law enforcement, and habitat conservation.

His focus is on rebuilding the Nation's fisheries and the jobs and livelihoods that depend on them by promoting management approaches that will achieve both sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities. The agency's budget for fiscal year 2012 is $802.4 million and employs over 3,435 employees in 6 regions, 6 science centers and 12 laboratories in 15 states. The agency's headquarters is in Silver Spring, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C.

He has served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs since June 2006. In that capacity he oversaw all of the agency's regulatory actions, including those to support protected resources, sustainable fisheries, and habitat conservation. From January 2004 to June 2006, Mr. Rauch served as the Assistant General Counsel for Fisheries where he supervised a team of attorneys, paralegals, and support staff responsible for providing legal counsel to NOAA Fisheries. Prior to joining NOAA, he served as a trial attorney and the Assistant Section Chief for the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division for the United States Department of Justice.

Mr. Rauch holds a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, an M.S. from University of Georgia, and a B.A. from University of Virginia. He has also been the recipient of many honors during his career, including NOAA General Counsel Awards (1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010); Department of Justice Special Achievement Awards (1997, 1998, 2000, 2002) and the Department of Commerce Gold Medal (2007), Bronze Medal (2011) and the Presidential Rank Award (2011).

Paul Doremus, Ph.D.
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations

Paul Doremus, Ph.D. is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations for the National Marine Fisheries Service.  In this role, Doremus serves as the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the day-to-day management of the Agency's operations.  This is a critical leadership position that oversees NOAA Fisheries’ financial and business processes; works to strategically align and improve the performance of NOAA Fisheries, in collaboration with other NOAA Line Offices; and ensures NOAA Fisheries has effective and efficient infrastructure for its mission, ranging from fleet and facilities to information technology and workforce.

Before coming to NOAA Fisheries, he was the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Program Planning and Integration.  In this position, he was responsible for NOAA’s long-term strategic plan, NOAA-wide strategy implementation, and NOAA’s corporate performance evaluation methods and measures.  Prior to joining NOAA in 2005, Doremus served as Director of the Program Office for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he led the development and implementation of NIST’s long-range strategic plan and associated performance evaluation system and practices, provided the NIST Director and senior managers with technical, economic, policy, and program analyses and counsel, and helped NIST improve its relationships with government and private sector customers and stakeholders.  From 1995-1997, he served as a Senior Analyst in the Commerce Department’s Office of Technology Policy, following his position as Project Director in the congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1992-1995).  His work experience and academic background center on corporate strategy and performance management, portfolio planning and evaluation, science and technology policy, and the intersection of economics and public policy.  He received his B.A. in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University.

Alan D. Risenhoover (Acting)
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs

Mr. Risenhoover was appointed as the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs on January 17, 2012.  In this role, he oversees NOAA Fisheries regulatory actions and programs, including those to support the conservation and recovery of marine mammals and endangered species; ensure economically and biologically sustainable fisheries; and promote habitat stewardship through restoration and conservation.  Coordination of the NOAA Fisheries’ aquaculture activities and outreach, and its headquarters National Environmental Policy Act programs are also under his purview.

Since 2006, he has served as the Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries and oversaw regulatory and management activities related to Atlantic highly migratory species, national fisheries policy development and implementation, domestic fisheries regulatory coordination, Atlantic Coastal Act implementation, outreach and constituent services, and food safety risk analysis. The Office also tracks the agency’s commitment to ensuring sustainable fisheries and science-based management through an annual Status of the Stocks Report and the Fish Stock Sustainability Index.  He started his federal career with NOAA Fisheries in 1989, and has served in several key national positions including Acting Director for Office of Law Enforcement; Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries; and Deputy Chief Financial Officer/Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.  He came to Washington, DC, in 1988 as a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow.

Mr. Risenhoover holds a B.S. in Aquatic Zoology from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Sciences from Texas A&M University.

Richard L. Merrick, Ph.D.
Director, Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor

Dr. Merrick began serving as Director, Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor in September 2011.  In this capacity, he leads NOAA Fisheries’ efforts to provide the science needed to support sustainable fisheries and ecosystems and to continue our country’s progress in ending overfishing, rebuilding fish populations, saving critical species, and preserving vital habitats.  As the head of NOAA Fisheries’ scientific operations, Dr. Merrick will direct NOAA’s six regional Fisheries Science Centers, including 30 NOAA Fisheries laboratories.  He joined NOAA Fisheries in 1985 as a marine mammal staff scientist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.  In 1997, he transferred to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, where he initially served as Branch Chief for Protected Species, and then as Chief of the Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division where he directed this Center’s assessment, ecological, and social-science research for fish and protected species.  He has led various regional and national efforts to improve fishery and protected resources science, and has broad experience in dealing with a wide variety of controversial fishery and protected species.  Dr. Merrick’s education includes a Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington; a master’s of science degree in biological oceanography as well as a master’s degree in marine resource management from Oregon State University; and a master’s degree in city and regional planning and a bachelor of science degree from Clemson University.

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR

Rebecca Lent, Ph.D.
Director, Office of International Affairs

Rebecca Lent, Ph.D. began serving as Director of the new Office of International Affairs, in July 2005. The new office was created due to the increasing importance of international fisheries issues. Previously, Lent was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs at NOAA Fisheries, a position she held since 2001. In that capacity, she reviewed all of NOAA Fisheries' proposed regulatory actions, including those to support protected resources, sustainable fisheries, and habitat conservation in both the national and international arenas. Lent joined NOAA in 1992, serving as the economist and later as the Chief of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division. She has broad experience in dealing with a wide variety of controversial fishery management issues affecting fishermen, conservationists, business, and communities. Lent was appointed Southwest Regional Administrator in 2000 and in this capacity directed NOAA's fisheries management and science programs in the southwestern United States, Hawaii, and the U.S. Trust Territories. She earned her Ph.D. in resource economics from Oregon State University in 1984 and holds a master's degree in economics (1978) and a bachelor's degree (1975).

Kate Naughten
Director, Office of Communications & External Affairs

Kate Naughten is the Director, Office Communications and External Affairs. In that role, she manages strategic communications for NOAA Fisheries including internal, external, and online communications and the implementation of the NOAA Fisheries National Communications Strategy. In addition, she oversees the agency’s Teacher at Sea Program and Education Program. She also chairs the agency’s Regional Communications Council. Previously, she served as the first National Outreach Coordinator for NOAA’s Office of Aquaculture, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and as a constituent services liaison and a public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries. She joined NOAA in 2000 after serving five years as the Communications Director for the Chesapeake Bay Program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Communications from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland.

Tim Hansen
Director, Seafood Inspection Program

Mr. Hansen began his career in the seafood processing business holding several quality assurance and production positions in Washington State and Alaska . In 1985 he joined the National Marine Fisheries Service Inspection Program as an intermittent inspector in Seattle, WA . He was quickly transferred to Los Angeles California and was promoted to Deputy Regional Chief Inspector in 1987 and held that position through 1991. In 1992 he was selected to be the Director of Field Operations for the Inspection Program. During this period he worked with NMFS staff and FDA under a proposed joint voluntary HACCP program that was important to the implementation of HACCP concept to the seafood industry for both agencies. In 1996 he became the Director of Technical Services for the Seafood Inspection Program leading a group of trainers and scientist who supported the program and industry. In 1998 Mr. Hansen joined the FDA Office of Seafood at the beginning of the implementation phase of the seafood HACCP regulation. He became a branch chief in 1999 and a Division Director in 2003. During this period he was heavily involved in Codex Fish Committee work and the international implementation of the seafood HACCP regulation (21 CFR 123). In August 2006 Mr. Hansen became the Director of the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program.

Larry Tyminski
Chief Information Officer

Mr. Tyminski is the Chief Information Officer for NOAA Fisheries. One of Mr. Tyminski's principal responsibilities is to ensure alignment with the Agency's business and strategic goals by providing oversight and direction of information technology (IT), information infrastructure, and telecommunications programs within headquarters and 12 Regional Science Centers and labs. He is responsible for local- and wide-area network operations, IT strategic planning, and IT security. His duties include the management of a multi-million-dollar IT budget, oversight of a staff of IT professionals, Internet and Intranet operations, telecommunications management, and project management for various software and hardware projects. He serves as the NOAA Fisheries representative to the Department of Commerce CIO Council, outside organizations, and other Federal agencies for IT initiatives. Prior to joining NOAA Fisheries, Mr. Tyminski was the Deputy CIO for the Bureau of Economic Analysis. He has held IT management positions with the National Weather Service, Grumman Aerospace Corporation, Raytheon Company, and Sanders Associates (Lockheed). He received his M.B.A. from George Washington University and holds a B.S. degree from the University of Buffalo.

Mark Holliday, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Policy

Mark Holliday, Ph.D. serves as the Director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Policy, after helping re-establish the function in the Directorate in 2003. His prior service to the Agency includes an 11-month detail as the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer in 2002, and a career progression in the Office of Science and Technology beginning in 1981 and ending as Chief of the Fisheries Statistics and Economics Division. During his tenure he helped organize or lead NOAA-wide strategic initiatives in the planning and formulation of budgets, and created new programs in information technology, social sciences, and fisheries-dependent observing systems. His training includes a wide range of disciplines, including fisheries biology and resource economics. He received his Ph.D. in marine studies in 1981 from the University of Delaware, and holds a master's degree in marine and environmental science from Long Island University and a bachelor's degree in biology from SUNY at Stony Brook.

Michael Rubino, Ph.D.
Director, NOAA Office of Aquaculture

Michael Rubino, Ph.D is director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Aquaculture. He joined NOAA in late 2004 to lead NOAA's renewed commitment to marine aquaculture. Most recently, Rubino was the manager of New Funds Development for the World Bank's Carbon Finance Group. In the 1990s, Rubino was at the International Finance Corporation, a private sector affiliate of the World Bank, where he developed renewable energy and biodiversity investment funds. Earlier he was the President of an aquaculture R&D company and a partner in a shrimp farm in South Carolina. Rubino also served as vice-chairman of the State of Maryland 's Aquaculture Advisory Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.

Natalie Huff
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)/Diversity Manager

Ms. Huff has been a Department of Commerce employee since 1978. She has worked with the Employee Development Division, one of the many offices in the Office of the Secretary's Personnel Office. In 1988, she joined the International Trade Administration as an Employee Development Specialist/Awards Officer. In this capacity she was responsible for the development of several training programs and the management of the ITA Awards Program. In 1992, she was selected by NOAA Fisheries to serve as a Management Program Analyst in the Office of Management Services. In this capacity she managed the training program, awards, and many day-to-day management functions. In 1995 she was appointed to serve as the National Program Manager for EEO and later as the Human Resources Team Leader in the Operations, Management, and Information Office. Following the inception of the NOAA Diversity Office, Natalie was appointed by the Assistant Administrator to serve as the National Program Manager for EEO and Diversity.

HEADQUARTERS OFFICE DIRECTORS

Bruce Buckson
Director, Office of Law Enforcement

Mr. Buckson is the Director of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, which enforces more than 35 federal statutes that protect our nation’s living marine resources and their natural habitat, including Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act, Lacey Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.  The agency’s jurisdiction spans more than 3 million square miles of open ocean, more than 85,000 miles of U.S. coastline, the country’s National Marine Sanctuaries and its Marine National Monuments, as well as U.S. treaties and international law governing the high seas and international trade.  

Prior to joining NOAA in September 2011, he was with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for 29 years, where he started his career as an FWC officer in the Florida Keys and most recently was a Lt. Colonel, Deputy Director of the commission’s Division of Law Enforcement.  During his time with FWC, he served as the law enforcement liaison or representative to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, where his role was to provide input on the enforceability of current and proposed regulations, as well as assisting with the coordination of law enforcement efforts to protect living marine resources.  He also was the state liaison to NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement for federal fishery enforcement issues and, in May 2008, received the Outstanding Leadership Achievement Award from the agency for his leadership in achieving the goals of the Cooperative Enforcement Program, which provides federal funding to states for enforcement of federal fishery regulations.

Emily Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries

Emily Menashes is serving as the Acting Director for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Sustainable Fisheries.  In this role, she is responsible for NOAA Fisheries Service Headquarters activities relating to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conversation and Management Act and other laws.  Her responsibilities include oversight of Atlantic highly migratory species (bluefin tuna, swordfish, billfish, and shark) management, national fisheries policy development and implementation, domestic fisheries regulation coordination, Council appointments, Atlantic Coastal Act implementation, and food safety risk analysis. The Office also tracks the agency’s commitment to ensuring sustainable fisheries and science-based management through an annual Status of the Stocks Report and the Fish Stock Sustainability Index.

Emily previously served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries and also held positions as the Deputy for the Ecosystem Goal Team and Chief of the Regulatory Services Division in the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, as well as assignments within the Office of Protected Resources and the Office of Science and Technology.  Emily holds an M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College.

Helen Golde
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources

Ms. Golde has served as the Acting Director for the Office of Protected Resources since April 2012.   She joined the office in May 2007 as the Deputy Director.  She has held several positions in NOAA previously, working primarily in the National Ocean Service since 1994. 

Ms. Golde has a BA in Biology from Carleton College and an MS in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina.

Gary Reisner
Director, Office of Management and Budget

Gary Reisner serves as the NMFS Chief Financial Officer responsible for advising the Assistant Administrator and agency leadership on the agency-wide objectives, measures of accomplishment, and the distribution of resources among the agency's management units. In addition to these planning and monitoring elements, he oversees the Office of Management and Budget, which provides for the agency's administrative processes, budget formulation and execution, strategic planning, performance management and oversight, facility and safety management, grants coordination, audit coordination and oversight development, human resource management, and loan financing services. Prior to his current position, he worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget where he oversaw policy and program development of the NOAA budget and the performance of the Commerce Department under the President's Management Agenda. He brings experience in developing and implementing government-wide natural resources initiatives including Lands Legacy and the Conservation Spending Category, recommendations of former President Bush's Task Force on Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Development, and guiding development and review of the first Interior Department Strategic Plan. Mr. Reisner has a Masters of Science degree in natural resource economics and over twenty years of Federal service devoted to advancing public policy on natural resource management, and related science. He has been involved with and a supporter of research that fosters economic and politically feasible solutions to many of the Nation's environmental and management conflicts.

Buck Sutter
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation

Buck Sutter serves as the Director, Office of Habitat Conservation.  He oversees the implementation of the NOAA Habitat Blueprint and the Regional Initiatives for Fisheries, as well as managing programs on fish passage, essential fish habitat protection, coral conservation, Restoration Center initiatives and Chesapeake Bay activities.

He joined NOAA Fisheries in 1993.  From 2003-2010, he was the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Southeast Region in St. Petersburg, FL.  In 2010, he transferred to NOAA Fisheries Headquarters where he served as the Acting Deputy Director in the Office of Management and Budget and the Acting Deputy Director in the Office of Protected Resources.  He began his professional career in 1980 as a fishery scientist at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Mississippi, and later with the Florida Wildlife Research Institute, before joining NOAA.

During the past five years, he has had responsibility for leading NOAA’s diverse missions related to the Gulf of Mexico.  In that role, he represented NOAA on the interagency Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, serving as the Deputy Executive Director with the responsibility for the technical and science components of the overall strategy.  He led NOAA’s Regional Functional Team as part of the agency’s tactical response to the Deepwater Horizon spill where he worked directly with NOAA leadership to coordinate and implement our regional actions in response to the spill.

He was the NOAA Regional Collaboration Team Leader since its inception in October 2006, working collaboratively with all NOAA Line Offices to support integrated, regionally-tailored implementation of NOAA-wide programmatic priorities and to provide a more systematic approach to both internal and external communications in the Gulf of Mexico.  He led the regional team in building powerful partnerships with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance and with Sea Grant, with a strong focus on habitat conservation and community resiliency engagement.

Buck graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Rhode Island with an undergraduate degree in Zoology.  He received a Master of Science degree in Fisheries Science at the University of Massachusetts.  He has published numerous papers and journal articles on fishery science. 

Ned Cyr, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Science and Technology

Ned Cyr, Ph.D. was selected as the Director, Office of Science and Technology in May 2009. He joined NOAA in 1992. He has served as an International Affairs Specialist with NOAA's Office of International Affairs, a Fisheries Biologist with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, Head of the Ocean Science and Living Resources Program of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and, most recently, Chief of the Marine Ecosystems Division in the Office of Science and Technology. His interests include fisheries oceanography, the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, the design and implementation of large-scale marine ecological observing systems, and international ocean science. Cyr was the Technical Secretary for the Living Marine Resources Panel of the Global Ocean Observing System, and coordinator of the NMFS Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel. He received his Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina 1991 and his B.S. from the University of Notre Dame in 1985.

REGIONAL OFFICES

Will Stelle
Regional Administrator, Northwest Region

Will Stelle was appointed as the Northwest Regional Administrator on June 1, 2010. Mr. Stelle served as the regional administrator for the region in the 1990s, during the first round of listings of Pacific salmon under the Endangered Species Act. During his tenure, the Northwest Region formulated the basic architecture of the ESA salmon program for NOAA Fisheries and entered into the first generation of conservation agreements under the ESA with a wide range of industry sectors and with numerous state, local and tribal governments, partnering closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state and tribal fishery programs. His experience and knowledge of these issues will help NOAA continue its mission to rebuild these resources and promote the region's social and economic aspirations that depend on them.

From 2000 to 2010, Mr. Stelle was an attorney with the Seattle offices of K&L Gates, an international law firm with offices in Asia, Europe and throughout the United States. Prior to his NOAA service, Mr. Stelle held a variety of natural resource-related positions with the federal executive and legislative branches in Washington, D.C.

Rodney R. McInnis
Regional Administrator, Southwest Region

Mr. McInnis is the Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Region. He joined the Region in 1982 and has held progressively more responsible positions prior to becoming the Regional Administrator in 2004. Mr. McInnis earned an M.A. in biology and a B.A. from San Francisco State University. His graduate work was conducted through the graduate studies program at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

Michael D. Tosatto
Regional Administrator, Pacific Islands Region

Mr. Tosatto is the Regional Administrator of the Pacific Islands Region based in Honolulu , Hawaii . Prior to his current position, he was the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Pacific Islands Region providing leadership to manage healthy marine ecosystems that provide for the sustainability in marine fishery resources, recover endangered and threatened marine species and enhance opportunities for commercial, recreational, and cultural marine fisheries activities. Mr. Tosatto served in the U.S. Coast Guard for over 20 years, including many tours of duty in the Pacific region, where he routinely engaged regional domestic and international partners to carry out living marine resources management and maritime homeland security missions. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1984.

John K. Bullard
Regional Administrator, Northeast Region

John K. Bullard assumed the duties of the Regional Administrator for NOAA’s Northeast Regional Office on August 6, 2012.  As the Regional Administrator, he is responsible for administering NOAA programs for the management of living marine resources from Canada to Cape Hatteras. In this capacity, he directs NOAA Fisheries’ programs in support of responsible international and domestic fisheries management in the Northeast Region.

A native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with a lifelong interest in the ocean, he joined NOAA Fisheries following his retirement at the end of June as the President of the Massachusetts-based Sea Education Association, a non-profit education organization headquartered in Woods Hole that teaches college students and others about the science and culture of the sea.

From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Bullard was a member of the Clinton Administration in Washington, D.C., where he led NOAA’s first federal Office of Sustainable Development and Intergovernmental Affairs. There, he created programs to assist fishing families in New England, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska, and around the nation, advised communities on sustainable development, and helped set policy for aquaculture.  He also worked on the President's Council on Sustainable Development developing policies to unite the goals of economic opportunity, environmental health, and social equity. Following federal service, he completed a fellowship at Harvard's Institute of Politics.

From 1986 to 1992, Mr. Bullard was Mayor of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts. During his three terms he introduced community policing, recycling, AIDS prevention and other programs.

Mr. Bullard earned his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude at Harvard in 1969. He received both a Master of Architecture and a Master of City Planning from MIT in 1974. He has lectured widely and received numerous awards including an Honorary Master of Public Service from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Roy E. Crabtree, Ph.D.
Regional Administrator, Southeast Region

Dr. Crabtree has served as Regional Administrator for the Southeast Region since January 2003. Previously he served as a senior research scientist at the Florida Marine Research Institute. His managerial experience includes operating his own fishing guide business in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park, serving as a Fishery Management Specialist with NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Region, and, most recently, serving as Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spanning more than 15 years of State and Federal Government service, Dr. Crabtree has gathered broad experience as a natural resource manager. He has authored or coauthored 36 scientific publications and six selected unpublished assessments, and has provided input on numerous fisheries management plans for the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean. He earned his doctorate in marine science from the College of William and Mary in 1984, a master's degree in marine science from the University of South Carolina in 1978, and a bachelor's degree in biology from Furman University in 1976.

James W. Balsiger, Ph.D.
Regional Administrator, Alaska Region

Dr. Balsiger is the Regional Administrator for the Alaska Region in Juneau, Alaska. He began his career with NOAA in 1977 and has held other leadership roles in the National Marine Fisheries Service during his tenure. From February 2008-2010, he served as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries and oversaw the management and conservation of marine fisheries and the protection of marine mammals, sea turtles and coastal fisheries habitat within the United States exclusive economic zone for the entire agency.

Since May 2000, he has served as the Alaska Regional Administrator. He was the Regional Science and Research Director at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA, where he also served as Deputy Science Director from 1991 through 1995. Prior to that, he was the Program Leader for the Status of Stocks Task within the Center's Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management Division from 1977 to 1991. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan; a Master of Science degree in Forest Silviculture from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana; and a Ph.D. in Quantitative Ecology and Natural Resource Management from the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2002, President Bush awarded him a Meritorious Award for sustained superior accomplishments throughout his career.

SCIENCE CENTERS

Douglas DeMaster, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Dr. Douglas DeMaster became Science and Research Director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in October 2001. Previously he served as Director of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), leader of the NMML Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program, and head of the Marine Mammal Division at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Dr. DeMaster is recognized as one of the leading experts on marine mammal stock assessment and marine mammal-fishery interactions. He has published more than 65 peer-reviewed publications on marine mammals and an additional 38 reports related to the population ecology of marine mammals. In cooperation with other NOAA Fisheries scientists, Dr. DeMaster helped develop the system under which marine mammals are managed in the United States under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1978, he has been an active member of the academic community. He was an Adjunct Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he taught courses on marine mammal biology and population dynamics. Since 1994, Dr. DeMaster has been an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington's School of Marine Affairs and more recently the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. He also served as the President of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and is currently the deputy Commissioner for the US delegation at the IWC.

Samuel Pooley, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Dr. Pooley is Science and Research Director of the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center. For the past 20 years he has served as the Honolulu laboratory's lead economist, with responsibilities ranging from economic analysis of commercial fisheries to evaluation of the benefits of recreational fisheries and endangered species preservation. He has also published papers on bio-economic analysis and alternative fishery management and property rights regimes, including cooperative and corporate management. Dr. Pooley received his doctorate in political science from the University of Hawaii and his master's degree in economics from the University of Birmingham (U.K.).

John E. Stein, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

John Stein is the Science and Research Director of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA.  He is also the current Program Manager for NOAA Fisheries Seafood Safety Program in response to the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, and serves as the Regional Team Lead for NOAA’s Western Regional Collaboration Team. Previously, he served as the Center’s Deputy Science and Research Director, Pacific Salmon Science Coordinator and Director of the Environmental Conservation Division.  He recently completed serving as the Chair of the Science Board of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), a multinational organization, and was then appointed US Delegate to PICES. Dr. Stein is an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

Throughout his 30-year science career in NOAA Fisheries, Dr. Stein focused on impacts of anthropogenic and natural toxic compounds (e.g., chemical contaminants and marine biotoxins) on fishery resources and protected marine species, the development and application of biological markers of chemical contaminant exposure and effects in fishes and marine mammals, and the application of these techniques in delineating relationships between chemical contaminant exposure and effects in fishes and marine mammals.  In addition, Dr. Stein serves as Director for NOAA’s West Coast Center for Oceans and Human Health at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, leading research on the effects of the state of the ocean on the health of humans, health benefits and disease risk, and is also a member of a NOAA team developing and implementing a science plan on ocean acidification.

William A. Karp, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Northeast Region

Bill Karp was appointed as the Northeast Science and Research Director on June 26, 2012.  He served as the Acting Director since January 3, 2012.  In this role, he plans, develops, and manages a multidisciplinary program of basic and applied research on the living marine resources of the Northeast Continental Shelf Ecosystem from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, NC.  He also leads NOAA Fisheries’ six northeastern labs and field stations located from Maine to Washington, D.C.

Previously, he served as the Deputy Science and Research Director for the Alaska Fisheries Center for a period of four years.  In that position, Bill provided the services of chief operating officer for the Center, guiding program planning and development, workforce development, administration, fiscal management, facilities oversight, IT systems oversight, and safety and environmental compliance actions.   He is a member of the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Science Committee and chairs the ICES Steering Group on Ecosystem Surveys, Science and Technology.  His scientific expertise includes fisheries acoustics, survey design and innovation, bycatch assessment and management, and fishery-dependent data collection and interpretation.  He has served as lead for the Center’s cooperative agreement with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and is a Senior Fellow of the Council for Excellence in Government.

Bill was awarded a B.Sc. in Applied Biology by Liverpool John Moores University (UK) in 1972 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Fisheries by the University of Washington in 1975 and 1982.

Bonnie Ponwith, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Dr. Ponwith is the Science and Research Director for the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. She previously served as the Deputy Director of NOAA Fisheries Service's Office of Science and Technology in Silver Spring, MD. Her work, prior to beginning with NOAA in 1998, includes nearly a decade with Washington Department of Fisheries, working on salmon and groundfish monitoring and management, and three years with the American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources conducting research, monitoring and management for fisheries, protected resources and coral reef ecosystems. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Science from the Florida Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. in Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University.

Francisco (Cisco) Werner, Ph.D.
Science and Research Director, Southwest Fisheries Science Center

On January 3, 2011, Dr. Francisco (Cisco) Werner will step into his new role as the Science and Research Director for NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Most recently, Dr. Werner was the Director of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Studies at Rutgers University. His research has included the study of the structure and function of marine ecosystems, ocean circulation physics, and the development and implementation of ocean and coastal observing and forecasting systems. He has also researched the development of physical and biological models for marine ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic, the U.S. South Atlantic Bight, and the North Pacific. Dr. Werner has co-authored over 90 refereed publications and collaborated with many future colleagues at NOAA on important programs, including the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Program, Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization, Integrated Ocean Observing System, and various projects related to climate change and fisheries. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1978, a Masters in 1981, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Washington in 1984.