NOAA in the Caribbean Leadership

NOAA in the Caribbean is made up of the Executive Team and the Community Group, both of which comprise members from NOAA line and staff offices and partners working in the Caribbean region. The executive team meets more regularly, organizes the partner meetings and Caribbean newsletter, makes decisions, and engages with NOAA leadership and partner agencies, as appropriate.The Community Group members meet every other month to provide updates on current events as well as ongoing and upcoming work in the region.

NOAA in the Caribbean Executive Team

Yaritza Rivera-Torres, Chair (yaritza.rivera@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program

Portfolio: Collaborate with partners to tackle marine debris issues and protect coastal communities and ecosystems in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Katharine Egan, Executive Team member (katharine.egan@noaa.gov)

Title: Southeast & Caribbean Regional Coordinator, NOAA's Regional Collaboration Network

Portfolio: NOAA Regional Collaboration mission is to identify, communicate, and respond to regional needs, catalyze collaboration, and connect people and capabilities to advance NOAA’s mission and priorities. NOAA's Southeast & Caribbean Regional Team (SECART) addresses this mission with a focus on the Southeast and Caribbean region, here defined as the states of NC, SC, GA, and FL, and the territories of PR, and USVI.

Dr. Lee Carrubba, (lisamarie.carrubba@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Acting Division Chief, National ESA Section 7 Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources

Sammi (Dowdell) Ebersole, Vice Chair (samantha.dowdell@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: International Relations Specialist, NOAA Office of International Affairs

Portfolio: Caribbean lead for NOAA Office of International Affairs

D'amy Steward, Executive Secretariat (damy.steward@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Knauss Fellow, NOAA Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs

Allyssa Zebrowski (allyssa.zebrowski@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Southeast and Caribbean Regional Preparedness Coordinator, NOAA Disaster Preparedness Program

Portfolio: Facilitates collaboration with stakeholders in the Caribbean to connect NOAA scientific and technical expertise, resources, and services with community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery priorities

Dr. Trika Gerard (trika.gerard@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Chief of Staff, NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Portfolio: The Southeast Fisheries Science Center provides the scientific advice and data needed to effectively manage the living marine resources of the Southeast region and Atlantic high seas. The Southeast region spans three large marine ecosystems, Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and the Caribbean.

Dr. Jay Grove (jay.grove@noaa.gov)

Title and Affiliation: Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Portfolio: Team lead for Coral Reef Fish Ecology Unit and the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program's fish research in the U.S. Atlantic and Caribbean. U.S. Caribbean efforts include collecting reef fish visual surveys and providing datasets, analyses, and products to inform the general public, researchers, and fisheries managers about the status and trends of coral reef fish species and communities.