About The Coastal Society

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Directors and Committees

KRISTEN FLETCHER (President)
Kristen M. Fletcher is the Executive Director of the Coastal States Organization which represents the interests of the Governors from the thirty-five coastal States and Territories on federal, legislative, and policy issues relating to sound coastal, Great Lakes, and ocean
management.  Fletcher's current work focuses on advancing sustainable management and policies for US coastal areas, specficially focusing on advocating on behalf of coastal states in Washington DC and beyond. Current projects include a rewriting and reauthorization of the Coastal Zone Management Act, serving on the MMS Subcommittee on Alternative Energy, and staffing several CSO working groups.

Prior to joining CSO, Fletcher directed the Marine Affairs Institute and Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program at Roger Williams University where she advised university researchers, federal and state agencies, and other Sea Grant constituents on ocean and coastal law issues and
directed research and outreach projects.  Previously, she directed the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program and was founding director of the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

A member of The Coastal Society since 1998,  Fletcher served on the Board in 2001, was Program Chair of the Society's 2002 conference in Galveston, and was Conference Co-Chair of the 2004 conference in
Newport. Fletcher is also a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program. Fletcher earned her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Auburn University, J.D. from the University of Notre Dame
School of Law, and Master of Laws in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. She is an avid sea kayaker and is willing to travel (with her collie) to almost any coastal area.

JEFF BENOIT (President-Elect)
Jeff Benoit is President and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), an alliance of eleven local and regional nonprofit organizations working to protect and restore the threatened habitats of estuaries. Jeff joined RAE after serving several years as the Director of Coastal and Marine Programs at SRA International. Prior to SRA, Jeff was the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) from 1993 to 2001. As the OCRM Director, Jeff led a period of unprecedented growth of the National Coastal Zone Management Program, National Estuarine Research Reserve System, and National Marine Sanctuaries Program. Prior to joining NOAA, Jeff worked for the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program for 15 years, 11 years as Coastal Geologist and 4 years as the Director. Since leaving NOAA in 2001, Jeff has continued to pursue his career-long interest in strengthening the understanding and communication between coastal scientists and managers.

Jeff has served on several National Academies of Sciences Ocean Study Board (OSB) Committee’s including the Committee to Review the Restoration of Coastal Louisiana (2002-2005), and he Chaired the OSB Committee on Mitigating Erosion of Sheltered Coasts in 2006. In May 2006, Jeff participated in a review of the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program as an invited member of the Program Assessment Team.

Jeff has been a member of The Coastal Society since 2001. He also likes to recall that he presented his first professional paper at the Fifth Annual Conference of TCS in Newport, RI in 1979. It is because of this kind of personal experience that Jeff values the role of TCS in providing opportunities for students and young professionals to have a voice in coastal issues. Jeff would like to see TCS expand its effort to reach out to new members through an annual membership campaign that is actively supported by all TCS members. Jeff also encourages TCS to host workshops and seminars that have an outcome focused on improving the linkages between science and management.

Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Geology from Southampton College and a Master’s Degree in Geophysical Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology/Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

PAUL C. TICCO (Past-President)
Dr. Paul C. Ticco, the current past TCS President, has recently joined the National Marine Sanctuary Program as the new Northeast Regional Coordinator. He previously served as the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Project Manager for the Coastal States Organization and NOAA's MPA Center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Ticco has many years of experience in a variety of settings: academic institutions, state and federal government agencies, research centers, non-governmental groups, and international organizations. Prior to his present position, he served as the Coordinator of the Massachusetts Coastal Training Program at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), and as the Assistant Director of the Virginia Graduate Marine Science Consortium. Dr. Ticco was also an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a Research Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, and a Visiting Professor at both the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Bard College, and the Duke University Marine Laboratory. He has also worked as a coastal and marine policy analyst and consultant to NOAA's NERRS program, the University of Delaware's Center for the Study of Marine Policy, the University of Virginia 's Center for Ocean Law and Policy, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

As an administrator, Dr. Ticco served in the U.S. federal government as a Coastal Program Specialist in NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management where he monitored and assisted four state coastal management programs for compliance with the CZMA. In state government, as Chief of the Comprehensive Planning Assistance Division of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission, he led the Commission in assisting local Maryland municipalities for comprehensive and sensitive area coastal planning, while also serving as liaison to state and federal agencies for Chesapeake Bay growth management concerns.

In the non-profit and international marine policy sectors Dr. Ticco has authored reports for the World Wildlife Fund, performed field cetacean research at the Center for Coastal Studies, reviewed oceanographic web sites for the National Marine Educators Association, contributed writings to the Center for International Environmental Law, and assisted in teaching at the United Nation's Law of the Sea Seminar Programme. Finally, he has been a speaker and moderator at many national and international conferences, including The Coastal Society and Coastal Zone biennial meetings, and has published a wide range of articles on coastal and marine resource management issues, most notably the use of marine protected areas to preserve biodiversity, and the use of the Public Trust Doctrine to manage coastal resources. He is also a member of several professional organizations.

Dr. Ticco received a B.S. in Aquatic Ecology/Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources; a M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences; and a Ph.D. in Marine Policy from the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies.

JEFF SMITH (Treasurer)
Jeff Smith is currently a Marine Habitat Resource Specialist with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation.  His work primarily focuses on national energy development and its implications for fish habitat and the creatures dependent upon it.  He has been at NOAA since June of 2005, when he joined as the NOAA/TCS Habitat Intern.  Before NOAA, Jeff was a graduate student at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University where he studied coastal environmental management.  Jeff has also previously worked in the field of private financial management.  One of his favorite jobs was working as an instructor at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in coastal Maine.  At Outward Bound, he guided groups of 10-14 students in open sailboats on 3-week expeditions through the islands and waters of Maine.

Jeff has been a volunteer in various organizations throughout his life.  In 2002, Jeff served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in coastal Louisiana where he taught bayou communities about local ecology and led them into environmental action though marsh restoration projects, beach sweeps, and other activities.  Recently, Jeff has been an “Environmentor” to a high school student in Washington D.C.  Over two years, Jeff helped the student develop and carry out two original science projects related to renewable energy. 

Jeff has been a member of The Coastal Society since 2003.  He began his TCS involvement as a member of the Duke Chapter where he helped peel hundreds of sustainably caught shrimp for the Chapter fundraiser at the North Carolina Seafood Festival.  In 2007, Jeff served as the TCS assistant treasurer where he became familiar with the TCS budget cycle, sources of revenue and typical expenditures.  He plans to use his business experience to provide TCS with the tools and ideas for active financial management.

Jeff earned a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wake Forest University. 

HÉLÈNE SCALLIET (Secretary)                
Hélène Scalliet is a policy analyst and management plan review specialist at the Office of the National Marine Sanctuaries headquarters office in Silver Spring, MD.  In the last two years at her current position, Hélène has worked closely with national marine sanctuary offices in Massachusetts, Georgia and California, which are at various stages of updating their site management plans.  She enjoys working with field staff who have a direct connection with the ocean and the local constituents, while still having a broad national perspective on various issues that affect the nation’s marine protected areas. 

Hélène was co-chair of the “Solutions for Changing Behavior” track for TCS20 in St Pete Beach, FL.  She is looking forward to being more deeply involved in TCS in the next few years; in particular she would like to be involved in raising visibility for TCS in education settings.  Joining The Coastal Society (TCS) as a student opened a whole world of opportunities to Hélène, and she would like to help others find out about the Society early in their education path as well as help them connect with potential mentors. 

After graduating from University of California-Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Aquatic Biology, Hélène worked as a research assistant in one of the Marine Science Institute's biological oceanography laboratories. In 2004 she graduated from the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management with a Masters in Coastal and Marine Resources Management. For her thesis, Hélène helped develop a socioeconomic monitoring protocol for the no-take marine reserves established by the state of California in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.  She presented her research findings with colleague Kris Wall at TCS 19 and received the Best Student Presentation Award.

DIRECTORS

RICHARD BURROUGHS
Rick Burroughs teaches in the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island where he focuses on policy analysis and the development of the ecosystem approach to coastal and marine environments. His courses include coastal ecosystem governance, marine pollution policy, marine science and policy analysis, and ocean uses. Prior to his current appointment he held research and government positions. Among the latter were appointments at the Council on Environmental Quality, the National Research Council, and the Department of the Interior in areas related to the management of coastal and marine resources. Most recently he co-authored the Pew Commission report on Marine Pollution. He received his PhD from the MIT-Woods Hole Joint Program in Oceanography.

Rick's participation in The Coastal Society started when he gave a paper at TCS 5 in Newport , RI . He has presented at many TCS meetings since. He is pleased to contribute to the return of the meeting to Newport in 2004 through his service on the Planning Committee for TCS 19. He also serves on the Narragansett Bay Commission, Save the Bay Board of Directors, and the Watercraft Committee of the Mystic Seaport.

PATRICK J. CHRISTIE
Patrick Christie is an Assistant Professor in the School of Marine Affairs and the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. He teaches about marine protected areas, coastal management, and environmental management in the tropics. Dr. Christie recently concluded a three-year research project in the Philippines and Indonesia that studied why coastal environmental management processes break down over time. Findings were published and serve as the basis for educational materials. His current research projects consider the feasibility of expanding World Heritage sites to include marine systems globally and the feasibility of ecosystem based fisheries management models in the Philippines. He conducted his graduate research on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua where he studied the potential of participatory research, which engaged coastal community members as researchers, to improve environmental management. Prior to his academic work, Dr. Christie was involved in the implementation of a community-based marine protected area in the Philippines as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He is an Associate Editor for the journal Coastal Management, which is associated with The Coastal Society.

Dr. Christie would like to strengthen the international dimensions of The Coastal Society. As recent studies and events demonstrate, global processes are having tremendous impacts on coastal socio-ecological systems. Increasingly, young professionals in TCS are interested in the international dimensions of marine resource management and conservation, and our organization could serve as a means to provide opportunities and linkages. He would also like to deepen The Coastal Society's commitment to international research and professional development.

Dr. Christie received a B. S. (Zoology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987), a M. S. (Conservation Biology, 1993) and a Ph.D. (Natural Resources and Environment, 1999) from the University of Michigan.

ARIEL A. CUSCHNIR  
Dr. Cuschnir is currently the Director for Coastal Programs at the Louis Berger Group, Inc. in Washington, D.C. where he manages coastal programs that are being implemented worldwide. The organization has offices and coastal projects in more than 50 countries, working in fields such as Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), Sustainable Coastal Practices in developing countries, Sustainable Marine Resources Management, and watershed and coastal area management. A significant component of Dr. Cuschnir's work is forming partnerships with a broad spectrum of organizations such as international and local NGOs, local community-based marine protected area management, private sector, and government agencies. He has established international alliances in South America, the Middle East, and Asia, and developed an extensive network of contacts at lending organizations (e.g. World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank), private sector, government (USEPA, USAID, USAEP, Coastal America), and others (National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution). Prior to his environmental consulting work, Dr. Cuschnir conducted scientific research for various institutions. These included Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, the University of California (Los Angeles), and the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.

He has served on the Board of The Coastal Society and of Oceanwatch, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving oceans and marine life through education and grassroots action. At The Coastal Society, Dr. Cuschnir co-chairs the Education Committee and as such, is responsible for organizing the student travel grants and awards for TCS conferences. In addition, he has organized the TCS Seminar Series in the Washington, DC area, which includes public presentations of scientists and other experts on various coastal topics.

Dr. Cuschnir initiated his academic education in Argentina, and subsequently received his B.S. (Biology), M.S. (Marine Ecology), and Ph.D. (Marine Ecology), from Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is fluent in Spanish, English, and Hebrew, and is knowledgeable of Portuguese and French.

RICK DEVOE
Rick DeVoe joined the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium in 1980, and has served as its Executive Director since 1997.  Rick is also a Research Associate of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research at the University of South Carolina, and Associate Faculty Member of the Graduate Program in Marine Biology and Adjunct Faculty Member with the Marine Environmental Studies Graduate Program at the College of Charleston.  In addition to managing Sea Grant efforts in South Carolina, Rick’s professional interests focus on coastal and marine resource policy, science-to-management linkages, science communication and education, and state and regional coastal ocean planning and policy, the latter three being areas that he feels are ripe for attention by The Coastal Society. 

Rick previously served as President of the Sea Grant Association (SGA), and currently chairs its External Relations Committee.  At the national level, Rick is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board on Oceans and Atmosphere of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, the Federal-State Task Team of the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources (SIMOR), and the External Linkages Advisory Committee of the Oceans and Human Health Center at NOAA Hollings Marine Laboratory (Charleston, SC).  He also chairs the Board of Directors, SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Southeast Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE-Southeast).  Rick has had the pleasure of serving in the past as President of the U.S. Chapter of the World Aquaculture Association (now the U.S. Aquaculture Society) and the National Shellfisheries Association. 

Rick has been a member of The Coastal Society since 1986, and served as an invited panelist in the Regional Ocean Governance session at The Coastal Society Conference in St. Petersburg, FL last year.  He is co-editor of two books, and has authored seven book chapters and six peer-reviewed publications.  Rick earned degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University (marine biology), CUNY/City College of New York (biological oceanography), and the University of Rhode Island (marine policy).

TALI ENGOLTZ
Tali Engoltz is a coastal resource scientist with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Management Program in Trenton, NJ. She serves as the NJ Clean Marina Program Coordinator which enables her to interact directly with marina owners, NJ Seagrant Program, the Marine Trade Association, the Delaware Estuary Program, and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve. This educational initiative encourages marina owners to implement best management practices to protect NJ's coastal water quality, resources, and habitat. Tali is also the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway Coordinator. She assists with the planning of this long term initiative to develop a publicly accessible multi-use walkway and open space corridor along the Hudson River through a highly urbanized landscape directly across from the spectacular New York City skyline. Tali has also facilitated a partnership with the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ to create a non-point source pollution education program including production of a short video/skit, purchase of a coastal EnviroScape, and distribution of beach balls with an educational message. Recently, Tali secured a $100,000 grant to promote and implement a Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling Program in NJ.

Prior to joining the NJDEP, Tali was a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. She worked closely with local officials to improve wetland mitigation programs. During her tenure in LA and in NJ she has attended and presented at several conferences and has expanded her interests to include regional planning, smart growth, and stream restoration and protection. She currently serves on the NJ section of the American Water Resources Association Stream Restoration Committee, volunteers with the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance, and served on Lambertville's Stormwater Management Committee. Tali was co-chair of the Land Use Track at TCS 20 and helped with initiatives to make the conference "greener."

Tali received her BS at the Univ. of South Carolina and her Master of Marine Affairs at the Univ. of Washington. You can often find Tali biking to work (except during the coldest months), chatting with the locals and serving up goodies at the local coffee shop in her hometown, teaching spinning at the gym, or hosting an impromptu get-together on her front porch.

LAURIE JODICE
Laura W. Jodice (Laurie) is currently a Research Associate with the Clemson University Recreation, Travel and Tourism Institute. Through this position, she develops extension education and research projects focused on recreational fishing and coastal tourism issues. Prior to 2003, she was the Assistant Director of the Marine Resource Management (MRM) Masters program in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU) for 7 years. Since 2001, she has also been working with the international Training Managers for 21st Century Fisheries Initiative, which is focused on defining training capacity necessary to create fishery managers who are leaders, strategic thinkers, and innovators.

Ms. Jodice has been a TCS member since 1999 and board member since 2003. She was the conference coordinator, author, and proceedings editor for the TCS 17 conference in Portland, Oregon; and a planning committee member and website author for the TCS 18 conference in Galveston, Texas. She received the 2002 TCS Distinguished Service Award at the TCS 18 conference. Prior to moving to South Carolina, she has served as the Oregon representative, charter board member, and website author for the Cascadia Regional Chapter of TCS. She currently serves on the TCS Education and Communication Committees and is chair of the website development team.

Ms. Jodice has a B.A. degree in Biology with Environmental Studies from Williams College (1985), and a M.S. in Science Education with Oceanography from University of Maine (1989). Prior to being at OSU, she worked with various environmental education programs in the northeast, as an environmental educator with the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, and as a program planner with the Head Start preschool program in Linn and Benton Counties in Oregon.

LISA SCHIAVINATO
Lisa Schiavinato is the Law, Policy and Community Development Specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant and the Co-Director of the North Carolina Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center in Raleigh.  Lisa conducts research and outreach to assist state agencies, state advisory groups, local governments, the legal community, and community organizations in their efforts to address ocean, coastal, and development issues that affect North Carolina and the Southeast region.  In addition, she guest lectures to provide graduate students with an introduction to law and policy and its application to resource management.  She also facilitates partnerships between the university community, state agencies, and coastal communities to develop solutions to North Carolina’s myriad coastal issues.  Her areas of interest include ocean/coastal law, land use law, coastal hazards, offshore energy development, wetlands regulation, and offshore aquaculture.

Previously, Lisa was the Legal Coordinator for the Louisiana Sea Grant Legal Program in Baton Rouge from 2002 until Spring 2007.  There, she conducted legal research and outreach on ocean and coastal law issues that affected the state and Gulf of Mexico region, assisting state agencies, coastal communities, and citizens alike.  Lisa also was co-editor of Louisiana Coastal Law, a newsletter that provides legal analysis of issues that affect Louisiana and worked with FEMA post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on hazard mitigation issues.

Lisa has been a member of The Coastal Society since 2005.  She is currently the Program Chair for the TCS 21 conference.  She previously served as Closing Plenary Co-Chair and Co-Chair for the “Governing Ocean Use Conflicts” track for the TCS 20 conference. 

Lisa earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida and Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law from the University of  Florida Levin College of Law. 

SUSAN WHITE
Dr. Susan White is the Acting Deputy Director and an ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) at the Hollings Marine Laboratory and Center of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health in Charleston, SC. Susan focuses on supporting and expanding NCCOS’s interdisciplinary-multiple partnered coastal research to provide coastal managers with scientific information and tools needed to balance society’s environmental, social and economic goals. Her interests include pursuing collaborative partnerships with both federal and non-governmental research and conservation groups, promoting awareness of the research and monitoring capabilities and expertise of NCCOS and the Hollings Marine Laboratory, and identifying opportunities to link NCCOS and the NOAA state-federal partnership program, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) more strongly together. Prior to moving down to Charleston, SC Susan was the National Research Coordinator for the NERRS program located at NOAA in Silver Springs, MD. In addition to her interests in collaborative research, Susan is also interested in supporting the development of a new generation of coastal managers that are diverse, well-positioned and well-educated to address a new range of coastal zone management issues over the next 30 years.

Susan is the Chair of the Membership Committee and is looking forward to hearing from (and recruiting) interested TCS members to support new developments in membership benefits, recruiting activities, and professional development activities.

Susan received a B.S. in Biology/French from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of Georgia.