Bryant Chesney is a Senior Marine Habitat Resource Specialist with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast Region and has worked on a variety of habitat conservation efforts since 2000. Currently, Bryant works in Long Beach, California, and focuses on marine habitat conservation in support of protected species and sustainable fisheries. He is particularly interested in seagrass and rocky reef ecology and conservation. In addition to marine habitat conservation, Bryant supports Protected Resource Division’s efforts to conserve and recover sea turtles, abalone, and other protected marine species. Bryant works closely with regulatory agencies to provide conservation recommendations for coastal development projects that adversely affect estuarine and marine ecosystems in southern California. Specifically, he has experience with port/harbor development, aquaculture, shoreline protection, transportation, dredging, and fill projects. In addition, Bryant has worked with various partnerships to advance conservation and restoration goals by providing leadership, scientific expertise, and policy support.

Elizabeth is NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region Habitat Program Leader and also the Senior Policy Advisor for Protected Resources. In her 35 years with NOAA Fisheries, Ms. Gaar developed and led various components of regional and national habitat and Endangered Species Act (ESA) programs.  She served as the first Chief of Endangered Species in the Pacific Northwest (NW) when petitions to list salmon and steelhead under the ESA first emerged and later served as Assistant Regional Administrator for Habitat Conservation, where she established NMFS NW Region’s ESA and Magnuson Stevens Act essential fish habitat regulatory programs. Ms Gaar also served as NOAA’s NW Region Chief of Salmon Recovery, responsible for developing and implementing the Region’s ESA salmon recovery program. Prior to working for NOAA, Ms Gaar was a District Fishery Biologist with the US Forest Service with tenures on both the Siuslaw and Mt. Hood National Forests. She earned her Bachelor’s of Fisheries Science degree from Oregon State University and her law degree from the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. When she is not working, Elizabeth is an avid skier, water paddler, and traveler to Spain where she enjoys time with her children and grandchildren.

Peter received his BS in Geology from the University of North Carolina, MS in Aquatic Ecology  from University of California-Davis, and Ph.D. from Colorado State University in Fishery and Wildlife Biology and Ecology. After a two-year  postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia in the Department of  Forest Sciences he joined NOAA as a research scientist in 1998 in the Watershed program. His research focuses on linking science with management and interests include: food web ecology; juvenile salmon ecology, focusing on factors limiting growth, movement and survival; and the ecology and management of nearshore habitats especially submerged aquatic vegetation. Peter is one of the project’s principal investigators, helping with project coordination and the evaluation of habitat functions of nearshore habitats and the science behind the various models, tools, and calculators used to assess impacts of various human activities on nearshore habitats.

As a postdoctoral fellow on the project and lead on our Science Input Team, Jessie is working to identify, assess, and strengthen submerged aquatic vegetation ecological valuation tools with project partners. Jessie is also on our Engagement Team, working to share the work of our partnership, and is co-authoring a literature review on ecological valuation and equivalency analysis methods with project partners. Jessie’s dissertation research examined sea otter population dynamics and foraging ecology on the outer coast of Washington. Her other past research was on Hawaiian monk seal foraging, pinto abalone tagging methods, and the effects of invasive bullfrogs and novel habitats on invertebrate communities in Arizona. Jessie is passionate about marine ecology and studying species and habitats with conservation need where her research has direct management applications.

Dayv holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from Hawai’i Pacific University, a PhD in Biology from the University of South Florida, and worked for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for nearly 15 years before coming to NOAA in 2021. Dayv is the Rockfish Recovery Coordinator, overseeing all aspects of recovery plan implementation for yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio. He is also leading the process to evaluate the sunflower sea star for listing under the ESA, and has served on teams to evaluate the shortfin mako shark and other non-mammal, non-salmon species on the West Coast. Dayv serves on scientific advisory boards for the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership, the Puget Sound Partnership, the Puget Sound Recovery Funding Board, the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, and the Puget Sound Estuarium. For this project, Dayv is serving as a voice for valuation tool end users who perform Section 7 consultations, as well as a member of the Engagement Team.

Stephanie Ehinger received her Diploma in limnology for Konstanz University, Germany. She has been working as an ESA-consultation biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Lacey, WA since 2000.  Her subject matter expertise includes Endangered Species Act consultations, conservation/mitigation banking, and habitat quantification to facilitate mitigation. She led the team that developed the Puget Sound Nearshore Calculator that is being used jointly with the USFWS and USACE in Puget Sound to quantify impacts and benefits from proposed nearshore actions. For this project, she contributes her expertise in design and use of habitat quantification tools and the specific needs of those tools for Endangered Species Act consultations.

Natalie has worked at the Restoration Center for over 20 years. She specializes in the restoration of rocky intertidal, nearshore, and estuarine habitats. In addition, she has experience in assessing impacts from contaminant releases to submerged aquatic vegetation, and subtidal habitats in CA and the Gulf of Mexico.  She has a B.S. from Cal Poly Humboldt University, and a M.S. in environmental science and management from the University of San Francisco.  For this project, she contributes her expertise in the use of habitat quantification tools used in the response, assessment  and restoration of injured habitats.

Steve Marx leads Pew’s efforts to protect ecologically important coastal and nearshore marine habitat on the U.S. West Coast. He also works to advance implementation of ecosystem-based fishery management in the Pacific and North Pacific. A native of coastal Alaska, Marx has extensive experience working on commercial fishing vessels and recreational charter boats. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Lewis & Clark College and a master’s degree in public administration from Portland State University. Marx provides support for implementation of this SAV focused project through his role on the steering committee and engagement team, and helps to identify management and policy connections to better protect these important habitats.

Sara completed her B.S. degree in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution at UC San Diego, and her M.S. in Marine Biology at San Francisco State University. Sara worked at California Department of Fish & Wildlife on the Pacific herring fishery and Marine Life Protection Act for ten years before starting work with the NMFS San Francisco Bay Branch in 2012.  Sara works on Endangered Species Act and Magnuson Stevens Act essential fish habitat consultations, mitigation and conservation banking, and implementation of the California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy. For this project, Sara brings experience in utilizing tools during consultation, and interest as an end user looking to improve the tool input information.

Katie joined the NWFSC in 2001. She works on questions related to ESA listed salmon recovery, non-native species impacts on salmonids, and freshwater and estuarine habitat restoration.  She has a B.S. from Bates College in Biology and a M.E.M from Duke University in Coastal Environmental Management focused on hurricane impacts on coastal and estuary habitat and fisheries. For this project, she contributes her skills in project coordination, estuary and nearshore habitats, and habitat restoration.

Michaela Miller joined the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (Foundation) in December 2021 as the Conservation Manager. The Foundation is the official non-profit partner for the federal national marine sanctuary system, and the Foundation’s conservation program focuses on marine debris removal, wildlife conservation, and habitat restoration. Michaela has a background in environmental science with experience in coastal and marine science, policy, and resource management. At the Foundation, she is responsible for developing and implementing projects and programs by identifying and researching science, conservation, and restoration needs and opportunities at the different sanctuary sites and across the National Marine Sanctuary System. For this project, Michaela provides support for the implementation of this project through her role co-leading the engagement team to better communicate results of the project and to engage external non-NOAA partners in this work. Michaela earned a MS in Applied Marine and Watershed Science from California State University Monterey Bay and a BS in Environmental Science from California State University Channel Islands. Michaela lives in Ventura, California with her dog Mav.

Beth Sanderson is a research fisheries biologist at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA.  She received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin and a B.A. in Biology and French at Central College. Currently, Beth leads the Ecosystem Analysis Program, a diverse group of scientists who combine field sampling and mathematical analysis to understand species interactions, climate change, land uses, and how other factors affect the Pacific Northwest ecosystems. Beth’s own research spans ecosystems from headwater streams in Idaho where salmon swim nearly 1000 miles to spawn to nearshore areas in the marine environment where shellfish aquaculture and eelgrass co-mingle. Beth is one of the project’s principal investigators, helping to guide and coordinate our team approach to strengthen the science and management of Pacific coastal nearshore ecosystems that support SAV and  associated food webs.