Leadership and Advisors

Director, California Sea Grant
University Affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego
shaunaoh@ucsd.edu / (858) 534-4440

California Sea Grant Director Shauna Oh is a leader in California’s marine science community.

As director, Oh facilitates the program’s high-impact research, outreach, fellowship, and communication activities, and builds partnerships across numerous diverse constituencies both within and outside California.

Oh has a strong background at the interface of science, policy, and resource management.

She was previously the executive director of the Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute at the University of California Davis. Before moving to UC Davis, Oh worked as California Sea Grant’s  associate director. She played a key role in the strategic expansion of both programs with programming to better understand California’s ocean and coastal resources and support science-based decision making.

Oh has a PhD in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University, a MS in natural resources from Humboldt State University and a BS in biology with marine biology concentration from University of California, Los Angeles.

Advisory Board

The California Sea Grant Advisory Board advises the California Sea Grant director and the UCSD Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences (Scripps Institution of Oceanography director). The board plays an important role in guiding the California Sea Grant leadership team in program operation and direction. Board members bring broad expertise, experience, advice, and diverse perspectives to the program and include senior officials and leaders from business and industry, the state university system, and state government.

The membership as of spring 2022 is as follows:

Noelle Bowlin

CalCOFI Program Leader, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. La Jolla, CA

Dr. Noelle Bowlin is a fisheries biology researcher at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) in La Jolla, California, and is the NOAA lead of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program. Noelle manages three teams (Ichthyoplankton Ecology, Fisheries Oceanography, and Ship Operations) to conduct the quarterly CalCOFI cruises to monitor marine species and the effects of climate variability in the California Current Ecosystem, and conduct research with a primary focus on the early life history dynamics of coastal pelagic species such as sardine, anchovies, and mackerels. Her research focuses on larval fish dynamics, particularly with respect to habitat use, the effects of environmental variability, and anthropogenic stressors. Noelle understands that women and other underrepresented groups face barriers to science and as part of her long-standing commitment to diversity issues, is an active member of the NOAA SWFSC Team for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (TIDE) working group. Noelle received her M.S. in Marine Biology in 2011, and her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography in 2016, both from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.  

Mike Conroy

Executive Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association. San Francisco, CA

Mike Conroy the Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (“PCFFA) and Principal of West Coast Fisheries Consultants. PCFFA members include a diverse collection of commercial fishing associations up and down the West Coast, spanning from San Diego to Alaska. PCFFA, its members, and the fishing communities we benefit and rely upon, support science-based management measures which ensure the sustainability of the stocks we harvest today and into the future.  West Coast Fisheries Consultants is a boutique consulting business focused on the legal, management and operational aspects of fisheries operating off the west coast; including but not limited to highly migratory species (North Pacific albacore and pacific bluefin tuna), coastal pelagic fisheries (sardine, mackerel, anchovy and market squid), and crustaceans.  Mike participates in the Pacific Fishery Management Council as vice chair of the Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel and Co-Chair of the Marine Planning Committee.  Before carving out this niche, Mike practiced corporate law, operated commercial passenger carrying fishing vessels and commercial fishing vessels. 

Jenn Eckerle

Deputy Director for the California Ocean Protection Council

Jenn Eckerle is currently the Deputy Director for the California Ocean Protection Council, where she is responsible for supervising staff and helping set the strategic priorities for coast and ocean policy in California. Before joining OPC, Jenn spent eight years as an ocean policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she conducted technical analysis and developed policy recommendations to advance ocean conservation. Prior to that, she was a coastal program analyst for the California Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Jenn earned an M.S. in Marine Biology from the Florida Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Vermont.  She is an East Coast transplant that has spent the last two decades trying to forget the cold winters of New York. Jenn loves being outdoors, especially when it involves camping, hiking, scuba diving or paddleboarding. 

Jeff Gee

Professor of Geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. La Jolla, CA

Jeff Gee is a professor of geophysics in Scripps’ Geosciences Research Division. Gee’s research focuses on the use of magnetic data, both remotely sensed magnetic anomaly data and the magnetization of rock samples, to understand a variety of geological problems. He uses the magnetic record in geological samples to study topics ranging from the formation of new crust at oceanic spreading centers to the processes of melt redistribution and cooling in large magma chambers. A particular area of interest is the use of marine magnetic anomaly data and complementary data from seafloor samples to document past fluctuations in geomagnetic intensity. Such records of variations of the geomagnetic field, both in direction and intensity, can potentially provide important constraints on the geodynamic and thermal history of the earth. Gee received his undergraduate degrees from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. and his Ph.D. from Scripps. He worked for three years as a postdoctoral fellow and researcher at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory before returning to Scripps. Gee has served as Director of the Geosciences Research Division, Head of Scripps Earth Section and the Deputy Director for Research.

Yvonne Harris

Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development (ORIED) at California State University at Sacramento.

Dr. Yvonne Harris is responsible for supporting four offices:  Office of Research Proposal Development, Office of Economic Development, the Office of Innovation and Technology Transfer and the Office of Clean Energy and Mobile Technologies.  ORIED supports faculty seeking external funding for their research and scholarly activities, and on behalf of the University, submits grant and contract proposals, administers internal research funds and recognition programs, facilitates the compliance interests, Export Controls, while providing a full range of research integrity and compliance functions for the research enterprise.  In this position, Dr. Harris also provides administrative oversight of the Universities’ Centers and Institutes.  She is also responsible for providing leadership and guidance of intellectual property issues, technology transfer and economic development activities. She serves on various academic, community, civic and industry boards and committees that are focused on economic inclusion and prosperity.

Barbara Page

Co-Founder, VP of Operations, Anthropocene Institute. Menlo Park, CA

A graduate of the University of Chicago (A.B. Public Policy) and Ohio State University (M.S. Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology), Barbara Page completed her Ph.D. in Education at Stanford University in 1996. She spent the next 15 years in Silicon Valley, joining Oracle Corporation in 1997 where she oversaw several software products as a Director in Applications. In 2007, she launched the OpenWebU platform for hosting classes. She is co-founder of the Anthropocene Institute, an incubator for new technologies in clean energy and ocean conservation that aims to create economically sustainable processes to motivate environmental and social sustainability. Dr. Page oversees the AI’s marine conservation portfolio. including restoration for oysters, kelp and seagrass, and testing pollution reversal methods, including field-testing mobile pesticide cleanup units. AI is a supporter of the F3 Future of Fish Feed team that organizes contests and meetings to incentivize aquafeed companies to substitute marine ingredients in feeds with more sustainable alternatives. The F3 Team also contracts research projects to further progress in ‘fish free feeds’. AI’s main internal projects focus on digital solutions and tools for monitoring boat traffic in near shore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) using radars and cloud software, and the ProtectedSeas Navigator map and database for Marine Protected Area (MPA) regulations globally in collaboration with NOAA through a public-private partnership. Her volunteer service includes the roles of trustee for the Nature Conservancy in California and member of the California Sea Grant Advisory Board.

Amber Mace

Executive Director, California Council on Science and Technology, Sacramento, CA

Dr. Amber Mace is the CEO of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), a nonpartisan, nonprofit corporation established in 1988 to advise the state of California on matters of science and technology. A strategic thinker and pragmatic problem solver, Mace brings to CCST more than two decades of leadership experience working at the nexus of science and policy. During her tenure, Mace has led the organization in providing scientific guidance to the state of California on a range of important issues including disaster resilience and adaptation, climate change, and energy. Previously, Mace served the first science advisor to California’s Ocean Protection Council (OPC) as the Executive Director of the California Ocean Science Trust. Subsequently, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed her as the Assistant Secretary for Coastal Matters at the California Natural Resources Agency, where held the position of Executive Director of California’s Ocean Protection Council. Mace then served as Associate Director of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy. She continues to serve as a Policy Fellow. In addition, Mace served nine years on the National Sea Grant Advisory Board. She is also a member of the California Sea Grant Advisory Board and the California Council on Science and Technology Fellowship Selection Committee. She was named as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow in the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, as well as a California Sea Grant State Fellow at the California Natural Resources Agency. She was recognized as a Coastal Hero by Sunset magazine in 2011. Mace holds a BA in Geography from the UC Berkeley, a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Corey Ridings

Manager of Fish Conservation at the Ocean Conservancy

With over 20 years of experience in public health and natural resource management, Corey’s work straddles environmental and community sustainability. She has worked for Ocean Conservancy since 2013 on efforts related to climate change, West Coast fish conservation, and ecosystem-based management. She was a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow for the House Committee on Natural Resources and worked for the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. She previously observed in the North Pacific groundfish fleet on trawl and longline vessels targeting pollock, pacific cod, and sablefish. She served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines where she supported coastal community projects, and was the minority health epidemiologist for the state of Michigan. Corey is serving her first term on the Pacific Fishery Management Council as an obligatory member from California.  Corey holds a BA in biology from Occidental College and a Master of Public Health from Yale.  She is currently working toward her PhD at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences under Dr. Phillip Levin. Corey lives in Santa Cruz, California with her husband Mark, where she recreationally fishes from her surfboard.

Terry Sawyer

Hog Island Oyster Company. Marshall, CA 

Terry Sawyer, joined Hog Island Oyster Co. in 1988. After a childhood exploring Florida’s many bays and estuaries, Terry had headed west to California to attend UC Santa Cruz. While pursuing his degree in marine biology and ecosystems, Terry began working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, specializing in marine animal husbandry. The experience and expertise Terry gained there in creating healthy marine habitats were critically important at Hog Island; keeping a steady supply of shellfish ready to go to market is not a simple or easy task. Seasonal rains flood into the bays, bringing with them runoff from neighboring agricultural lands, often halting harvests. To solve this problem, Terry devised an innovative series of wet-storage tanks used for holding oysters that are harvested before the rains, thus ensuring a steady supply

Valerie Termini

Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Sacramento, CA 

Valerie Termini has been executive director of the California Fish and Game Commission since 2016 and acting chief deputy director at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2018. She was fisheries policy director for the California Ocean Protection Council from 2007 to 2016. Termini earned a Master of Arts degree in international environmental policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Ron Tjeerdema

Professor of Environmental Toxicology & Associate Dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, UC Davis. Davis, CA

Ron Tjeerdema holds two BS degrees from Humboldt State University, an MA from UC Santa Barbara and a PhD from UC Davis. He has been certified by the American Board of Toxicology since 1994. In 1987, Tjeerdema was appointed a professional researcher in the UC Santa Cruz Institute of Marine Sciences, later serving as a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In 1999, he returned to UC Davis where he is now a distinguished professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology; he also holds the Crosby Endowed Chair in Environmental Chemistry. For the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences he has served as department chair, associate dean for environmental sciences and executive associate dean. Tjeerdema’s expertise ranges from chemical fate in the environment to biochemical mechanisms of toxicity, and he has worked with pesticides, petroleum, dispersants and algal toxins. In 35 years Tjeerdema has attracted $60 million in extramural awards and published 250 refereed research articles and reviews. He pioneered environmental metabolomics via the use of nuclear magnetic resonance, and his oil spill research resulted in development of the widely-used standardized CROSERF methods for toxicity assessment. Tjeerdema served on the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Evaluation of the Use of Chemical Dispersants in Oil Spill Response and on NOAA panels advising on the response to the Deepwater Horizon spill. He served as co editor-in-chief of Aquatic Toxicology for a decade, and currently serves as an associate editor of Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

Steve Weisberg

Executive Director, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP). Costa Mesa, CA 

Stephen Weisberg is Executive Director of the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority, a research institute formed by 14 California water quality agencies to create a solid scientific foundation for their management activities. Dr. Weisberg’s research emphasis is in developing molecular tools to support coastal aquatic monitoring programs. Beyond his research, Dr. Weisberg focuses on helping connect scientists with the water quality management community. He serves on numerous advisory committees, including the California Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team, the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, USEPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors and NOAA’s Science Advisory Board.  Dr. Weisberg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from the University of Delaware. 

Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel (RASGAP)

RASGAP conducts reviews of preliminary proposals, full proposals, and provides a resource protection-and-management-relevant view of proposal value. This panel is codified in California state law with the purpose of advising and assisting CASG (as well as the USC Sea Grant program). Input from RASGAP is directed toward identifying and meeting priorities for funding according to the needs identified by state resource protection and management agencies.

The panel is made up of the following seats:

• California State Senate
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• California State Assembly
• State Lands Commission
• California State University 
• University of California 
• California Department of Conservation
• California fish and seafood industries
• California Coastal Commission
• California Department of Parks & Recreation
• California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
• State Water Resources Control Board
• Private Institution; University of Southern California - Department of Biological Sciences
• Marine engineering industry