Meet the U.S. IOOS Program Office staff, learn about their roles and responsibilities, and view the organization chart.
Director's Office
Carl Gouldman, Director (Federal)
Email: carl.gouldman@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9454
Krisa Arzayus, Ph.D., Deputy Director (Federal)
Email: krisa.arzayus@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9455
Benjamin LaCour, LCDR, NOAA Corps, Executive Officer (Federal)
Email: benjamin.lacour@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9458
Laura (Griesbauer) Gewain, Executive Assistant to the Director (ISS)
Email: laura.gewain@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9456
Jack Oliva, Project Management Support (LMI)
Email: jack.oliva@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9461
Michelle Harris, Knauss Fellow (National Sea Grant)
Email: michelle.harris@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9451
Ralph Rayner, U.S. IOOS Industry Liaison (London School of Economics) (Consultant)
Email: ralph@ralphrayner.com Tel:
Operations Division
Derrick Snowden, Division Chief (Federal) Email: derrick.snowden@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9467 Kathleen Bailey, Oceanographer/Physical Scientist (Federal) Email: kathleen.bailey@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9449 Mathew Biddle, Data Management Analyst (ISS) Email: mathew.biddle@noaa.gov; Gabrielle Canonico, IOOS Biology Lead and MBON Manager (Federal) Email: gabrielle.canonico@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9452 Tracy Fanara, Ph.D., NOS Coastal Modeling Portfolio Manager (Federal) Email: tracy.fanara@noaa.gov Tel: (Vacant), Office Manager (ISS) Hassan Moustahfid, Ph.D., Marine Biologist (Federal) Email: hassan.moustahfid@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9468 Tiffany C. Vance, Ph.D., Physical Scientist & Data Manager (Federal) Email: tiffany.c.vance@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9445 Micah Wengren, Physical Scientist & Data Manager (Federal) Email: micah.wengren@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9441 Bill Woodward, ATN Network Coordinator (ISS) Email: bill.woodward@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9442 Brian Zelenke, Surface Currents Program Manager (Federal) Email: brian.zelenke@noaa.gov Tel: Mark Bushnell, QARTOD National Coordinator (ISS) (Consultant) Email: mark.bushnell@noaa.gov Tel:(757) 647-0764
Regions, Budget, and Policy Division
Dave Easter, Division Chief (Federal) Email: dave.easter@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9453 (Vacant), Program Specialist Kate Culpepper, Communications Specialist (ISS) Email: kate.culpepper@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9457 Becca Derex, Legislative Affairs Lead (Federal) Email: becca.derex@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9462 Debra Esty, Management and Program Analyst (Federal) Email: debra.esty@noaa.gov Tel:(240) 533-9446 Kelly Jasion, Financial Management Specialist (Federal) Email: kelly.jasion@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9465 (Vacant) Physical Scientist Brandy Spears, Cooperative Programs Specialist (Federal) Email: brandy.spears@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9469 Mequela Thomas, Environmental Compliance Coordinator (Federal) Email: mequela.thomas@noaa.gov Tel: (240) 533-9464 Oriana Villar, Regional Coordinator (Federal) Email: oriana.villar@noaa.gov Tel: Torie Ketcham, Webmaster (ISS) (Consultant) Email: torie.ketcham@noaa.gov Tel:
Staff Duties
Director's Office:
Carl Gouldman, Director (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- NOAA representative to the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC)
- U.S. Representative to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Regional Alliances Council
- Chair of the U.S. IOOS GOOS Regional Alliance
- Congressional visits and legislative engagement
Krisa Arzayus, Ph.D., Deputy Director (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Compliance with NOS guidelines and policies (e.g. safety, awards, IT, personnel)
- Oversee program office Risk Management
- Designated Federal Official (DFO) for the IOOS Federal Advisory Committee
- Pay Pool Manager for the IOOS CAPS Paypool
- Program Planning and Execution
Benjamin LaCour, LCDR, NOAA Corps, Executive Officer (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Project manager for the Ocean Enterprise Study
- IOOS representative to the NOS Precision Navigation Program Management Team
- Lead for IOOS operational responsiveness and incident response
- Lead business process improvements for IOOS office business processes
- Manage implementation of IOOS Program Office elevation actions (once approved)
- Manage evolution and migration of IOOS IT to new platforms
- Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)
- Lead for the Glider Program
- Representative to the Information Resources Management Board (IRMB)
Laura (Griesbauer) Gewain, Executive Assistant to the Director (ISS)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Director's and Deputy Director's calendars
- Director and Deputy Director travel
- Director and Deputy Director correspondence
- Staff support to the Director for International Activities, GOOS, and AmeriGEOSS
- Manage IOOS Social Media channels
- Staff support to Director and Deputy projects
- Special projects as assigned by the Director and Deputy
Jack Oliva, Project Management Support (LMI)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Annual planning
- Project tracking
- Project management tools
- Internal Controls
- Business process design
- Business process improvement
- Lead for Risk Management coordination
Michelle Harris, Knauss Fellow (National Sea Grant)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Supports the NOAA National Water Initiate
- Supports the USGS/NOAA Coasts Team
- Supports the Environmental Information Services Working Group (EISWIG)
- Supports OAR/IOOS Workshops
Ralph Rayner, U.S. IOOS Industry Liaison (London School of Economics) (Consultant)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Project Lead for Benefits of Ocean Observing Catalog (BOOC)
- Project support for the Ocean Enterprise Study
- Global Partnerships (connecting IOOS with GeoBlue Planet, Copernicus, IMOS, etc.)
Operations Division:
Derrick Snowden, Division Chief (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Lead the Operations Divisions efforts to establish and maintain the national IOOS system
- Overall lead for DMAC design and implementation activities including regional implementation and national coordination agreements
Kathleen Bailey, Oceanographer/Physical Scientist (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Tracking flow of data through various elements of the DMAC system (Regional Data Assembly Centers, IOOS Catalog, NDBC, CO-OPS)
- DMAC Implementation and user engagement
- IOOS Member of the QARTOD Board of Advisors
- DMAC lead for Regional Association Certification
Mathew Biddle, Data Management Analyst (ISS)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- IOOS POC for NCEI data archival
- MBON Portal and biological data and products liaison
- DMAC project support (ERDDAP, biological data standards)
- IOOS products and services analytics and outreach
Gabrielle Canonico, IOOS Biology Lead and MBON Manager (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Program Manager for the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) (https:marinebon.org)
- Coordinating stronger representation of biological observations in IOOS
- Development of the MBON Portal (https://mbon.ioos.us)
- USG representative for MBON to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Group on Earth Observations
- Co-Chair, NOPP Interagency Biodiversity Working Group
Tracy Fanara, Ph.D., NOS Coastal Modeling Portfolio Manager (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities
- Program Manager for the IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/comt/)
- Manage the development of operational coastal models across NOS program offices
- Stakeholder management for coastal ocean modeling and product development
(Vacant), Office Manager (ISS)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Information and Federal Records Management
- Meeting and Event Planning
- Travel Planning
- IT Coordination
- Safety and Facilities Management
Hassan Moustahfid, Ph.D., Marine Biologist (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Serve as scientific and technical point of contact for marine biological programs
- Facilitate partnership building between biological programs in NOS, NOAA, the Regional Associations and the larger IOOS Enterprise
Tiffany C. Vance, Ph.D., Physical Scientist and Data Manager (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- DMAC implementation and architecture
- Ocean Technology Transition (OTT) Program Manager (https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/ocean-technology-transition/)
- Functional POC for geospatial, cloud computing, and GIS activities
- OOS co-lead for biogeochemical, ocean acidification, and HAB related data
- Project management for IOOS/Axiom activities
- Transition Manager for the Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin and IOOS representative to the HAB Tech Team
- Project manager for the IOOS cloud computing sandbox for ocean models
Micah Wengren, DMAC System Architect (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- DMAC System Architect: lead design and implementation of the IOOS Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure system (https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/dmac/)
- Lead the national DMAC Community of Practice including regional engagement, annual meetings and code sprints, and technology platforms - IOOS GitHub organization (https://github.com/ioos) and 'ioos_tech' community forum (https://groups.google.com/g/ioos_tech)
- Technical lead for: IOOS ERDDAP Implementation project, IOOS Catalog (https://data.ioos.us/), commercial cloud data ingest and data management architecture development
- Representative to NOAA cloud, geospatial, and data management working groups
Bill Woodward, Animal Telemetry Network Coordinator (ISS)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Manage the development of the Data Assembly Center (DAC)
- Coordinate the implementation of the network and grow the network into a sustainable observing system
Brian Zelenke, Surface Currents Program Manager (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Program and Technical Lead for the US HF Radar network
- Stakeholder management for coastal circulation observing and product development
- Point of Contact for Radio Frequency Allocation issues
- Manage the HF Radar Data Assembly Center
Mark Bushnell, QARTOD National Coordinator (ISS) (Consultant)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- IOOS Point of Contact for Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Real Time Ocean Data (QARTOD)
- Liaison / Member, IOC Ocean Best Practices System Steering Group
- Liaison / Member, U.S. CLIVAR Ocean Uncertainty Working Group
Regions, Budget, and Policy Division
Dave Easter, Division Chief (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- U.S. IOOS implementation and program development
- IOOS lead for the RICE certification process
- IOOS business manager
(Vacant), Program Specialist
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Travel manager
- IOOS meeting coordination and support
- Supports the U.S. IOOS Advisory Committee
Kate Culpepper, Communications Specialist (ISS)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Communications (e.g., press releases, media events, outreach materials)
- Education & outreach activities
- Coordination with NOAA Public Affairs, NOS Communications and Education Division, IOOS Association Education and Outreach Council, and external communications contacts
Becca Derex, Legislative Affairs Lead (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Legislative Affairs
- Budget Formulation Lead
- Supports the U.S. IOOS Advisory Committee
- Office Lead for data call response and tracking
- Supports reporting as required by the ICOOS Act
Debra Esty, Grants and Agreements (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Supports IOOS in budgetary planning and annual operating plans
- Monitors and provides oversight on all phases of IOOS grant management and cooperative agreements
- Lead for publication of funding opportunities and compliance with funding competition policies and procedures
Kelly Jasion, Financial Management Specialist (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Lead for budget execution and financial management
- Human Resources Liaison, coordinates hiring actions
- Manages transfers and receipt of funds to other NOAA offices
(Vacant), Physical Scientist
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Supports IOOS in NOAA’s out-year budget process
- National Ocean Policy engagement
- Supports regional IOOS engagement
Brandy Spears, Cooperative Programs Specialist (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Federal Acquisition Certification Contracting Officer Representative
- Grant management and cooperative agreements
- Manage Inter-agency Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding
Mequela Thomas, Environmental Compliance Coordinator (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Maintain the IOOS Program Environmental Assessment
- Review IOOS solicitations and request for applications for environmental compliance
- Review proposed activities consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Develop and maintain environmental compliance policies and procedures
Oriana Villar, Regional Coordinator (Federal)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Lead for Regional Association coordination
- Monitor and provide technical oversight of Regional Association cooperative agreements
- Coordinate NOAA to Regional Association engagement
Torie Ketcham, Webmaster (ISS) (Consultant)
Programmatic Responsibilities:
- Assist with web site maintenance, issues and updates
- Collaborate with Communications team to add new site content
- Ensure functionality and efficiency of site