Dr. Donald Boesch is one of five new members to join the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative’s distinguished Leadership Council, an influential group of ocean leaders tasked with changing the way we manage the nation’s oceans and coasts. The Joint Initiative was created in 2005 as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission. Since its formation, it has sustained a broad-based, bipartisan effort to influence meaningful ocean policy reform and action at the national, regional, and state levels.
The Joint Initiative Leadership Council is co-chaired by the Honorable William Ruckelshaus and the Honorable Norman Mineta, with current members including former government officials, ocean industry leaders, and representatives from ocean-focused scientific organizations and environmental nongovernmental organizations.
The ocean leaders who have joined the highly-respected Leadership Council include:
- Dr. Donald Boesch – Professor of Marine Science and President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
- The Honorable Norman Dicks – Senior Policy Advisor, Van Ness Feldman; former U.S. House of Representatives Member for Washington State’s 6th District
- Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, U.S. Navy (Ret.) – CEO, GeoOptics, Inc.; former Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
- Dr. Jane Lubchenco – Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University; former Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
- Mr. John Pappalardo – Executive Director, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance; former Chair of the New England Fishery Management Council
The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative works with all sectors of the ocean community to encourage action and monitor progress toward meaningful ocean policy reform, including ecosystem-based management and balancing the long-term health and sustainability of the ecosystem while also supporting economic prosperity.
Dr. Boesch is a biological oceanographer who has conducted research in coastal and continental shelf environments along the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Australia and the East China Sea. He has published two books and more than 90 papers on marine benthos, estuaries, wetlands, continental shelves, oil pollution, nutrient over-enrichment, environmental assessment and monitoring and science policy. Presently, his research focuses on the use of science in ecosystem management.
