STATE LEADS

The Governors have assigned the following staff to oversee implementation of the West Coast Governors Agreement on Ocean Health:

California
Brian Baird, Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy
California Resources Agency

Oregon
Jessica Hamilton, Natural Resources Policy Advisor
Office of the Governor

Washington
Kathleen Drew, Executive Policy Advisor
Office of the Governor

FEDERAL LEADS

At the request of the three Governors, the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and its Cabinet Committee on Ocean Policy (COP), James L. Connaughton, pledged to support meaningful collaboration among the West Coast states and federal agencies to address the priorities of the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health. Working through the COP’s Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources, three federal leads were appointed for this purpose. They are:

Department of Commerce
Dr. Usha Varanasi, Science and Research Director
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Environmental Protection Agency
Alexis Strauss, Water Division Director
EPA Region 9

Department of the Interior
Dr. Fred Piltz, Senior Environmental Scientist
Minerals Management Service

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The WCGA Executive Committee is comprised of the six state and federal co-leads identified above, with support from selected staff aligned with each state and federal agency. The Executive Committee will inform and help guide the timely progress of the Action Coordination Teams on activities in the WCGA Action Plan (6.8 Mb / 2.2 Mb), ensure that the best composition of people are "at the table" to carry out the actions, and guarantee a West Coast-wide perspective is propagated.