About / Organization

Organization

Management

Jeffrey L. Payne, Ph.D., Director

Keelin Kuipers, Deputy Director

Division Chiefs

John King, Business Operations Division

Gregory Woods, Integrated Information Services

Adam Stein, Learning Services Division

Kimberly Texeira, Policy, Planning, and Communications Division

Nicholas Schmidt, Science and Geospatial Services Division

Joelle Gore, Stewardship Division

Regional Directors

Betsy Nicholson, North Region, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes Sub-Regions

Jean Tanimoto, Pacific Island Region

Heidi Stiller, South Region, Southeast & Caribbean Sub-Region

Becky Smyth, West Coast Region



Organizational Chart

Division and Programs

Business Operations Division

Responsible for day-to-day administrative and business procedures, including human resources services, facilities management, budgeting, and contracts. The division also makes sure the office complies with federal laws, NOAA regulations, and policies.

Budget Execution Program
Provides accounting, budget execution, and agreements and loans management services.

Acquisition and Facilities Services Program
Provides management and oversight of acquisitions, including Contracting Officer Representatives, facilities operations and maintenance, and purchase cards.

Human Resources and Administrative Support Services Program
Provides management of personnel actions, coordination of staff development and training, oversight of Equal Employment Opportunity and diversity initiatives, and administrative support including grants management, time and attendance, and travel services.

Integrated Information Systems Division

Provides a full range of information technology products and data management services for all locations of the Office for Coastal Management. The division complies with federal policies and procedures for information technology security, network operations, and computing, and coordinates network, desktop, and mobile information technology upgrades and support.

Application and Data Services Program
Provides software application design and programming, web design and development, and data management and database support services.

Information Technology Program
This program provides all necessary IT support including voice and data communications systems, computing workstations, standardized business software, computer user support systems, data security and recovery, server management and maintenance, and overall IT management.

Learning Services Division

Works to inspire, educate, and enable people to take actions to ensure healthy and resilient coastal communities. The division develops and provides an innovative suite of educational products and training services that meets the information needs of students and the coastal management community.

Learning Product Development Program
Develops a range of innovative instructional products and trainings that translate science and package information to promote learning, action, and decision-making for a range of coastal community audiences.

Engagement, Training, and Education Program
Convenes and facilitates opportunities to bring coastal practitioners together to share information and experiences. Engages with coastal partners to assess their coastal management needs and deliver effective training and technical assistance.  Supports marine science education through grants and resources. The administration of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program also resides here.

Policy, Planning, and Communications Division

For the Office for Coastal Management, this division guides national coastal policy, strategic planning, and performance evaluation as well as annual budget preparation and communication products and services.

Planning and Performance Management Program
Responsibilities for annual and long-term strategic planning, budget formulation and Congressional support are found in this program. Program staff manages compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental compliance reviews, Freedom of Information Act requests, and formal performance evaluations of the national research reserves and coastal zone management programs as well as internal evaluations.

Policy Program
This program develops policy and priority coastal initiatives and represents the office on national inter-agency and NOAA-wide committees, task forces, and working groups. The policy group also links people, programs, and resources to address common interests through organizations such as the Coastal States Organization and National Estuarine Reserve Association.

Communications Program
Responsible for public affairs and internal communication-related services, including editing, writing, visualization services, outreach, and website content and management.

Science and Geospatial Services Division

Develops and delivers innovative science, technology, and geospatial products and services to the coastal management community and manages applied research and monitoring investments within the Office for Coastal Management. The division also collaborates with a variety of partners and leverages NOAA resources to provide coastal managers and decision makers with the best available scientific tools and data.

Applied Sciences Program
Works with natural and social science partners to meet the research, data, and technical assistance needs of coastal communities.

Geospatial Solutions Program
Integrates science and geospatial information into the useful products and services needed by coastal managers and delivered via the Digital Coast.

The Stewardship Division

National coastal management programs, such as the Estuarine Research Reserve System, National Coastal Zone Management Program, and the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, are administered in this division. The division also provides technical assistance to state and national partners.

National Interest Team
This team, which is not a separate program, helps organizations implement the federal consistency provision of the Coastal Zone Management Act and provides related legal review and assistance. The team is also involved in activities that fall under the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act and the Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Resources Act. 

Coastal Communities Program
This program focuses on strengthening the coastal community’s ability to bounce back from challenges such as climate change and sea level rise through a balanced approach to coastal management. Administration of the National Coastal Zone Management Program and the Coastal Storms Program is also directed from this program.

Ecosystems Program
This program focuses on coastal habitat and landscape scale conservation. It oversees funding, planning, and coordination of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

Coral Reef Conservation Program
This program leads and coordinates NOAA’s efforts to manage, understand, and protect coral reef ecosystems. These efforts include mapping, conducting monitoring and strategic research, increasing effectiveness of coral reef protected areas, reducing pollution, and strengthening management capacity in states and territories. The program also leads NOAA’s role as co-chair of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

Regional Offices

Staff members from the Office of Coastal Management are located in the regions to help the organization deliver superior technical assistance and other services to state and locally-based coastal managers.

West Coast RegionCalifornia, Oregon, Washington, Alaska

Pacific Island RegionHawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands

Gulf Coast RegionAlabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Southeast and Caribbean RegionFlorida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Mid-Atlantic and Northeast RegionsConnecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Rhode Island

Great Lakes RegionIllinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin