NSTC Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (JSOST)

Guiding National Ocean Research Investment: Public Workshop for the Development of the Ocean Research Priorities Plan

Speaker Information

Admiral James D. Watkins (ret.)

Joint Ocean Commission Initiative

Admiral Watkins served as chair of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which was mandated by Congress to develop a recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. The Commission's final report, " An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century," contains 212 recommendations addressing all aspects of ocean and coastal policy. Admiral Watkins currently leads, along with the Hon. Leon Panetta, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, an organization consisting of members of both the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Commission on Oceans established to catalyze ocean policy reform.

Secretary Mike Chrisman

California Resources Agency

Secretary Chrisman was appointed as California’s 9th Secretary for Resources by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2003. As the State of California’s Secretary for the Resources Agency, Mike Chrisman oversees policies, activities, and a budget of $4.1 billion and 14,712 employees in 24 departments, commissions, boards and conservancies on conservation, water, fish and game, forestry, parks, energy, coastal, marine and landscape. California’s Ocean Action Strategy, released in 2004, describes a path forward to: increase the abundance and diversity of aquatic life in California’s ocean, bays, estuaries, and coastal wetlands; make the water in those bodies cleaner; provide a marine and estuarine environment that Californians can productively use and safely enjoy; and support ocean dependent economic activities.

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