Meet the U.S. IOOS Program Office staff, learn about their roles and responsibilities, and view the organization chart.

IOOS Program Office staff in October 2018

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)

Email:   Tel:

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