AOOS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Outreach
In December, Alice Bailey joined AOOS as the Director of Outreach. She will be based at the new AOOS office in Fairbanks and will travel to Anchorage as needed. Most recently, Alice managed outreach and communications for the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), where she also served as the science liaison for the research vessel Sikuliaq. Prior to working at CFOS, Alice spent many years traveling and working along the Kuskokwim River in Western Alaska as an artist, a fisheries technician, and the inseason coordinator for the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group. She has taught photography courses at UAF, Colorado Mountain College, and the University of Virginia.
In her new position, Alice will work with AOOS staff, board members, principal investigators, and project partners to translate ocean science into understandable language for diverse audiences. She will be responsible for managing AOOS newsletters, social media accounts, web content, outreach materials, and visual assets.
Job Titles:
- Alaska Ocean Acidification Network Director
Darcy Dugan led the development and launch of the Alaska OA Network in 2016, and is now the network's director. She has worked for AOOS since 2009, first focusing on partnerships and outreach to ensure ocean data and information is available for safe marine operations, environmental stewardship, and decision making. Darcy received a bachelors degree from Stanford University in the Earth Systems program, and a Masters of Environmental Science at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where her research focused on coastal vulnerability in western Alaska. She has also served as staff in the Alaska Legislature and as a research associate for the Institute of Social & Economic Research at UAA.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations & Development
Dr. Carol Janzen has her B.S. and M.S. in Oceanography and a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography. She has over three decades of experience conducting and managing interdisciplinary observational research in estuarine, coastal-shelf and offshore environments. Carol has worked in all sectors of the marine science community including private environmental consulting, state government, academia and instrumentation industries. These experiences provide her with a broad perspective in marine monitoring initiatives, research methodologies, and sensor technologies. Carol started at the Alaska Ocean Observing System in June 2015 as Director of Operations.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration & Outreach
- in 2015 As the Program Coordinator
Holly Kent joined AOOS in 2015 as the Program Coordinator and Website Manager. Having always lived on a coast, first the west coast of California, then the east coast of New Hampshire and finally the shores of Cook Inlet in Anchorage for the last 31 years she has always been fascinated with all things marine. Holly received a bachelor of science degree from the University of New Hampshire. Holly has had a varied work experience including customer service, small business management, environmental consulting and non-profit administration and management.
Jill Prewitt joined AOOS in 2020 as the Regional Ocean Data Sharing Coordinator. After growing up in New Hampshire and earning her B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, she moved to Alaska and earned her M.S. from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She then worked at the Alaska SeaLife Center as a Research Associate for 6 years, spent 5 years in Norway as the Scientific Secretary of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, and just prior to joining AOOS worked at NOAA in the Alaska Regional Office as a Marine Mammal Specialist conducting endangered species analyses.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Coordinator
Joni Kitmiiq Spiess is from Nome, Alaska, and is of Iñupiaq heritage. She practices and advocates for subsistence, and honors her ancestral traditions by keeping connections with people and the land.
As a long time educator in Alaska, Joni responded to the need for students to have access to literature that represents their culture and identity. She is the author of two books, "Alaska Native Games and How to Play Them" and "Mittens and Mukluks," as well as various state and national curriculum publications.
Most recently, Joni worked as an Archivist for Inuit Circumpolar Council. She also does contract work for the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States and is an elected member of the Anchorage Advisory Committee for the Board of Game. Joni will work to ensure the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in her role at AOOS.
Molly McCammon transitioned in January 2021 to the role of Senior Advisor for the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), after serving as its founding executive director since 2003. She is currently a co-chair of NOAA Science Advisory Board's Ecosystem Sciences and Management Working Group, chair of the IOOS Association's Public Policy Committee, and serves on the IOOS Federal Advisory Committee. She is a past member of the National Research Council's Polar Research Board, serving on its Committee on Designing an Arctic Observing Network. She also served on the initial Advisory Group for the National Academy of Science's Gulf Research Program. Prior to her position at AOOS, she served for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, managing the restoration program following the 1989 oil spill. McCammon moved to Alaska in 1973 after graduating from the University of California Berkeley, with her early years in Alaska spent as a journalist, homesteader in the Brooks Range, and natural resource policy specialist for state government.
Sheyna Wisdom is the Executive Director of the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), the Alaska regional component of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) based in Anchorage. Prior to her position at AOOS, she was an environmental consultant for 19 years with an emphasis in large scale program management, marine mammal permitting and compliance, and research. For the last 10 years, she served as the General Manager of Fairweather Science, a small consulting firm in Anchorage. Wisdom was involved in a multitude of projects across Alaska, including an artificial polar bear den detection study, marine ecosystem studies in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and marine mammal monitoring projects in Cook Inlet. The Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Project (CSESP), a jointly-funded industry marine research program, was awarded the Governor's Safety Award for Excellence and the Arctic Technologies Conference Distinguished Achievement Award under her management. In her involvement in these projects, she has developed strong relationships with communities across the Alaskan arctic coast and thoroughly enjoys traveling to remote villages to collaborate with community members. Sheyna was a member of the North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) 2016-2018, was on the Board of Directors for the Prince William Sound Science Center 2017-2020, and is a member of the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Habitat and Threat Committee. Prior to moving to Alaska in 2006, Sheyna lived in California as a biologist/noise analyst working throughout the U.S. with specific emphasis on assessing impacts of noise on wildlife and people. She remains actively involved in marine mammal research when possible, teaming with scientists conducting research in Hawaii, Mexico, California, and Alaska.
Job Titles:
- Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Coordinator
Thomas joined AOOS in 2020 as the first Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom (AHAB) Network Coordinator. After a B.S. in Biology at McGill University, he spent a year as a fisheries observer in the Bering Sea where he developed an affinity for Alaska and its waters. He obtained his M.S. in Marine Biology at California State University Long Beach, before returning to Alaska for his Ph.D. in Fisheries at UAF. He then worked as a stock assessment scientist for the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic, and as a white shark researcher for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Thomas is very excited to be back in Alaska coordinating the awareness, monitoring, research, and response to HABs - a crucial issue impacting public health, food safety and security, and wildlife populations.