James Crossen was born in Boston in 1926 and served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. This experience helped him during the 1,200+days he was at sea during his long career. He began his career in 1955 with the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries which later became the National Marine Fisheries Service.

James Hastie received a PhD in Resource Economics in 1987 from Oregon State University and immediately began working for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Jim has been on the Pacific Council’s groundfish management team since 1993 and has served as co-chair from 2000 to 2003. He is currently the Program Manager for the Population Ecology Program and the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

David McClellan was born on August 18, 1949 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He worked for NOAA at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center as a Fisheries Research Biologist for 37 years, conducting countless dives to gather data on the fisheries.

Interview contains discussion of: Southeast Fisheries Science Center, collecting fisheries data, NOAA divers, evolution and effect of data collection technology, benefits and disadvantages for working for a government agency, Reef Fish Visual Census Program.

Dr. Samuel G. Pooley earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii with a dissertation on macroeconomic decision-making, and a Masters in Economics from the University of Birmingham in England. He began working in 1981 at what was then the Southwest Fisheries Science Center‟s Honolulu Laboratory (HL), later the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center. During his career with NMFS, he served in many roles including acting Regional Administrator, acting chief scientists, and finally Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Director for 10 years. Dr.

Dr. Sheila Stiles was born in Memphis, Tennessee. As a young child she developed a love for nature which led to her focusing on science in college. She majored in biology at Xavier University, New Orleans. After graduation, she had the opportunity to work at the Milford Laboratory for the summer and was asked to stay on at the end of the summer. She was the first full time African American woman to be hired at the Lab. She credits her many mentors and her love of biology as the reason for her long, successful career. Dr.

Dr. Rita Curtis is the Chief of NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology, Economic and Social Analysis Division. Dr. Curtis first began working with NOAA in 1999 as an economist for the Office of Science and Technology. In 1999, she completed her PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland. Beforehand, Dr. Curtis worked at the Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center in Hawaii studying the longline fleet.

Dr. Mark Holliday has a B.S. in Biology from SUNY Stony Brook, a Master’s in Marine and Environmental Science from Long Island University, and a PhD in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware. Growing up around the water, Holiday always knew he wanted to have a career in marine science. He came to NOAA after finishing his Doctorate through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act before being hired as a fisheries statistician. He later became the Chief Financial Officer for the Office of Science and Technology.

Dr. Richard Merrick is Chief Science Administrator and Director of Scientific Programs at NOAA Fisheries. He has a B.S. and Master’s from Clemson University, two Master’s from Oregon State University in Marine Resource Management and Biological Oceanography, and finally a PhD in Fisheries from the University of Washington in Seattle. Merrick began his career with NOAA as a contractor in 1983, working in Alaska and the Arctic. He then moved to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and continued working for the conservation of marine mammals.

Dr. Joseph Powers was born on February 19, 1949 in Gustine, California. He has earned degrees from the University of California, Davis A.B. Zoology 1971; California State University, Humboldt M.S. Fisheries Biology 1973 ; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University PhD Fisheries Science 1975. He began his career with National Marine Fisheries Service at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 1975. He then moved to the Southeast Fisheries Science Centers in 1979.

Dr. Nancy Thompson was born in September 1949 in Newark, New Jersey. She earned her PhD from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Thompson worked for NOAA from 1980-2011, serving as the Director at both the Southeast and Northeast Fisheries Science Centers during her career. At the time of this interview in 2016, she was working at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.