As Director of the Northwest Straits Commission, I lead strategic and operational planning and implementation, provide leadership and career development support to staff, cultivate the Board of Directors and associated committees and work to assure financial stability of the organization. My responsibilities extend to our broader networks where I build relationships with NGO, tribal, local, state and federal partners and elected officials to bolster our collective conservation impact.

I was hired in this position to expand the Northwest Straits Commission's regional footprint. I worked with state, federal and local agencies as well as county based Marine Resources Committees to find science and policy connections that would result in mutually beneficial program and project gains. I built key partnerships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, NGOs, and Universities that resulted in the creation of new projects and expansion of ongoing monitoring and education programs related to ocean acidification, kelp and forage fish.

Current Projects:☛ Assay development for detection of serum based antibodies in Pacific herring◆ I successfully spearheaded an effort to optimize a plaque neutralization based antibody detection technique. The technique will be used to survey virus exposure in wild fish populations with a focus on areas impacted by the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Puget Sound. ☛ Efficacy of viral glycoprotein based DNA vaccines in Pacific herring at ambient and warm water temperatures◆ I developed this project in collaboration with colleagues at Aarhus University, Denmark and USGS Western Fisheries Science Center, Seattle to understand how small scale nucleotide changes in a highly pathogenic marine virus (VHSV) can impact the susceptibility of marine fish. In addition, the project was designed to understand how water temperatures, such as those caused by climate change can play a role in fish immunity and viral shedding. ☛ Critical swim speed in diseased Pacific herring◆ I designed a method to better understand how specific disease states impact swimming ability and respiratory recovery in Pacific herring. The outcome of this investigation will offer insight into how pathogens play a role in functions that are vital for fish survival. ► I have led and worked collaboratively on numerous projects summarized in the publications section below

◆ I developed primers and executed quantitative PCR for analysis of gene expression in bluefin tuna and steelhead trout cardiac tissue samples. The goal of this research focused on understanding how climate change impacts the expression of targeted genes.