From the President’s Office – 12/12/08
Wednesday was a special day for former JOI and CORE President Admiral James D. Watkins who was honored by President Bush with the Presidential Citizens Medal. This medal was created in 1969 and is awarded by the President in recognition of citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for our nation.
From the President’s Office – 12/5/08
This morning I was proud to represent the ocean science community in a meeting with the Obama Presidential Transition Team. Just about every federal agency was represented by the team. The meeting was led by Trustee Leon Panetta and included short presentations by several environmental “blue” groups. In my presentation, I focused on energy and [...]
From the President’s Office – 11/21/08
We held very productive Ocean Leadership Members and Board of Trustees meetings this week. During the two days of events the Board and Members discussed our organizational goals, our government relations strategy, and were briefed on the various programs that we manage, coordinate and facilitate. There was also considerable discussion after a rollout of the [...]
From the President’s Office – 11/14/08
This has been an exciting week for the Census of Marine Life. The program presented its fourth global highlights report in Valencia, Spain at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity. The report presented the extraordinary progress that the Census has made towards the first ever marine life census, which will be released in October of [...]
From the President’s Office – 11/7/08
Well, this has certainly been a most interesting week for me highlighted by hearing the outcome of the Presidential election at 39,000 feet over the South China Sea! I was returning from Singapore with a number of people from NSF after viewing the progress on the scientific ocean drilling vessel modernization in Singapore. It was [...]
From the President’s Office – 10/24/08
I am very pleased to inform you that Ocean Leadership has been selected to serve as the new Program Office for the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Observations (IWGOO). The IWGOO is charged with managing the interagency coordination of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), integrating national ocean observing efforts, and advising the federal agencies [...]
From the President’s Office – 10/17/08
Yesterday I attended a very nice retirement event and reception for NOAA Administrator VADM Conrad Lautenbacher at the Department of Commerce. Connie was one of the longest serving political appointees in the Bush Administration, having been appointed on December 21, 2001. It was clear from all the speakers that he is highly respected and admired [...]
From the President’s Office – 10/10/08
As we move closer to Election Day the pace of preparations for the coming transition in administrations is picking up speed. Almost immediately after the next president is elected, he will appoint transition teams for each department and key independent agencies. The selection of the individuals to the transition teams and their work will significantly [...]
From the President’s Office – 9/26/08
As I am sure you are all aware, Congress has been fixated on the economic crisis facing our nation and developing an economic bailout package for our financial services. The consequences on our economy are tremendous, and the result will mean even tighter budgets over the coming years. Congress was not able to reach a [...]
From the President’s Office – 9/18/08
Last week I participated in the U.S. Implementing Organization Alliance for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program meeting at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory to discuss a number of issues facing the drilling program. There was a very productive discussion on the possibilities of the program partnering with industry. I have always been a strong supporter of [...]
From the President’s Office – 9/12/08
Last Friday I had the pleasure of visiting one of our Member Institutions, the Marine Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Their Dean and Ocean Leadership Trustee, David Conover, was a generous host in organizing an informative and most pleasant day visiting with many colleagues and hearing about [...]
From the President’s Office – 8/22/08
As the summer winds down here in Washington, Ocean Leadership continues to work hard with planning and preparing for several big ocean community events after Labor Day. One of those events is the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) Regional Coordinators Meeting here at our office September 7-9. NOSB staff will update the coordinators on the [...]
