Dr. Pamela Heinselman was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1970 and moved to Maryland before her first birthday.  She came back to Missouri to study at St. Louis University, earning an undergraduate and master of science degree in meteorology there.  She went on to the University of Illinois to pursue a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences, but left after a semester to work for the University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies.  Her work there focused on the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler which was being implemented throughout the U.S.

Laurel Bryant was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, and raised in Seattle.  She attended Shoreline Community College for two years and then graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Political Science and Economics with a concentration in Environmental Sciences.  She came to Washington, DC, in 1989 and worked for the United States House of Representatives Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, the predecessor to the House Natural Resources Committee.

"I had made partnerships [with] people you would not traditionally expect to be partners, I knew the power of collaboration, partnership with all people, all groups with odd interests, and that actually, if you don't speak the same language, you may learn new words."  

Nir Barnea was born in Israel in 1956. Nir’s father, Daniel Barnea, survived the Holocaust, while his grandparents were deported and killed in Auschwitz in 1945.  Nir graduated in 1974 from Har Vagai High School in Upper Galilee, Israel, and served in the Israel Defense Forces until 1977.  Nir immigrated to the United States and earned his BS in Microbiology from the University of Washington, in Seattle.  He continued his graduate education at UW, earning a master’s degree in Environmental Health.  Nir is also a Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Dr. Crabtree has served as the regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries Service's Southeast Regional Office since January 2003. Previously, Dr. Crabtree was a senior research scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Florida Marine Research Institute, and the director of the Commission's Division of Marine Fisheries. He has served these state and federal fishery management agencies for over 15 years, after beginning his career as a self-employed fishing guide in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park.

Scott B. Gudes was born on August 16, 1956, in Los Angeles, California, to a family with roots tracing back to Eastern Europe. His grandparents, all born in the late 1890s, were Jewish immigrants seeking freedom from persecution and economic opportunity. His upbringing in Buena Park and Fullerton, California, cultivated a deep passion for the ocean, with Gudes often found fishing or enjoying the beaches of Newport and Laguna.

Dr. John Bossler was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1936.  He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in civil engineering in 1959 and went to work for the Coast and Geodetic Survey.  John earned a master's and PhD in Geodetic Science from Ohio State University.  Until 1986, John served as Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS).  As Director of C&GS, he was an Admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Corps.

In his role as Director of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Dr. Seki provides the science direction and oversight of research activities that support stewardship of living marine resources in the vast expanse of the Pacific Islands Region. Since joining NOAA Fisheries in 1980, Dr. Seki has conducted extensive fisheries, oceanographic, and ecosystem research on many marine species in the Pacific. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific papers and participated in over 20 domestic and international research surveys.

On August 26th, 1922, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Captain Sam Baker was born to a father who had immigrated from Lithuania in 1902 at the age of 15 and a mother who hailed from Louisville, Kentucky, born in 1900. After graduating from Clarksdale High School in June 1940, Baker pursued further studies, earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University in August 1943. In September 1943, he enlisted in the Marines and served in Hawaii, Guam, and Guadalcanal, where Baker joined the 6th Marine Division.

Dr. Edward Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1950.  Johnson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his undergraduate and graduate education, earning his PhD in Civil Engineering in 1978.  He came to work for the National Weather Service Office of Hydrology, Hydrologic Research Laboratory as a research hydrologist in 1978.  In 1999, Mr. Johnson served as director of Strategic Planning and Policy for the National Weather Service and retired in 2015.  

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