National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Oceanic & Atmospheric Research

Office of International Activities

Sr. Program Manager, October 2001- Present

Program Development:

  • Sea Grant International/Latin America and the Caribbean: Led the development of the conceptual, institutional, and policy framework to create university based research, extension, and education programs for marine and coastal resource management based on the Sea Grant model in the region. Managed the strategic development of the program, partner relationships, implementation, budget, and grant reporting. Advised Program Managers on Sea Grant program development in Southeast Asia, N. Africa, and the Western Pacific.
  • Successfully established partnerships for the development of international programs with the Sea Grant Association, the National Sea Grant Office, NOAA leadership, US embassy staff in countries across the region and external partners, including universities and governments in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.
  • Fundraised and leveraged two million dollars to support program development goals.
Program Management:
  • Negotiated with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to include Sea Grant International in the US Ocean Action Plan prepared in response to the US Commission on Ocean Policy Report, “An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century”. Led the implementation of this work along with the United States’ WSSD and White Water to Blue Water objectives in the wider-Latin American and Caribbean regions.
  • Identified the need for, and developed, an International Technical Assistance Program for experts from the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research to provide targeted technical support to in-country partners. Also developed a partnership with the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program to create a mechanism for Sea Grant experts to spend up to six weeks providing technical assistance to in-country partners at their request.
Liaison and Interagency Coordination:
  • Served as the liaison between the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the relevant departments at the US Department of State, World Bank, Global Environment Facility, Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, non-governmental organizations and foreign governments.
  • NOAA Research Liaison for the Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative (SOCMON) in the wider-Spanish speaking Caribbean. Identified the lead institution for the region (The University of Zamorano, Honduras), trained and led students at the university to conduct socio-economic assessments. Collaborated with the National Ocean Service’s Global Coordinator of SOCMON to conduct training workshops for coastal managers throughout the Latin American region.
Administrative: 
  • Served as an official facilitator for NOAA-wide strategic planning meetings within the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, & the National Ocean Service.
  • Assimilated and analyzed country scientific, economic, political, environmental and legal information related to program development goals and published US Government White papers.
  • Drafted and completed inter-agency acquisition agreements, position papers, funding proposals, and science and technology, multilateral, and bilateral agreements to support U.S. environmental negotiations and consultations with foreign countries.  Worked with the NOAA and Commerce General Counsel Offices on legal review pertaining to agreements.
  • Team Leader: International Partnerships and Funding Opportunities
  • Sea Grant International Program Manager: Development of university based research, extension, and education programs in Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador to address marine and coastal resource issues. Work in conjunction with the Director to oversee program development goals in Indonesia, North Africa, and Western Pacific.
  • Manage program development; analyses, planning, implementation, budget, and evaluations.
  • Team Leader for NOAA Research’s International Technical Assistance Program
  • Lead a team of 5
  • Assimilate and analyze country scientific, economic, political, environmental and legal information related to program development goals.
  • Draft and complete inter-agency acquisition agreements, position papers, proposals, and science and technology, multilateral, and bilateral agreements to support U.S. environmental negotiations and consultations with foreign countries.
  • Collaborate w/ National Ocean Service International Program Office to implement the Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative throughout the wider-Spanish speaking Caribbean.   Selected lead institutions, trained 30 students at the University of Zamorano, and assisted NOS with coordinating a workshop and training for 25 coastal managers throughout the region.
  • Acquired/Leveraged $1.2 million for NOAA Research’s international programs within two years.
  • Controlled Correspondence, Country Clearance Cables, & Strategic Planning
  • Sea Grant International Program Manager Latin America/Caribbean: Development of university based research, extension, and education programs in Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador to address marine and coastal resource issues. Work in conjunction with the Director to oversee program development goals in Indonesia, North Africa, and Western Pacific. Manage program development; analyses, planning, implementation, budget, and evaluations.
  • Assimilate and analyze country scientific, economic, political, environmental and legal information related to program development goals.
  • Conduct institutional assessments to determine the capacity of various universities throughout the LAC to address critical marine and coastal resource issues.
  • Team Leader for NOAA Research’s International Technical Assistance Program; Lead a group to identify appropriate personnel within the U.S. Sea Grant network that have the technical expertise, knowledge, skills, or abilities to address gaps in our partner universities’ institutional capacity.
  • Team Leader: International Partnerships and Funding Opportunities, Acquired/Leveraged $1.2 million to support our overall program development goals within two years.
  • Draft and complete inter-agency acquisition agreements, position papers, proposals, and science and technology, multilateral, and bilateral agreements to support U.S. environmental negotiations and consultations with foreign countries and/or that support long-term program goals.
  • Collaborate w/ National Ocean Service International Program Office to implement the Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative throughout the wider-Spanish speaking Caribbean.   Selected lead institution, trained 25 students at the University of Zamorano, and assisted NOS with coordinating a workshop and training for 25 coastal managers throughout the region.
  • Controlled Correspondence, Country Clearance Cables, Annual Operating Plan, & Strategic Planning
  • Assignment in Honduras, University of Zamorano

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Office of International Activities

Sea Grant International/Latin America and the Caribbean: Served as Principal Investigator for US Department of State Oceans, Environment, and International Scientific Affairs Initiative Grant.

  • Led consensus building process to identify feasibility of adapting the Sea Grant model (university based research, extension, and education programs) towards addressing critical marine and coastal issues in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
  • Parties included private sector, civil society, and nation-states throughout the Latin American and
  • Caribbean regions.
  • Issues included transboundary resource and territorial disputes, local level micro-conflicts associated with agriculture and aquaculture in the coastal zones in postconflict societies, and in the context of Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) negotiations up to 2005.
  • Agreement was reached on the potential for adapting a Sea Grant model in the region, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility agreed to invest an additional $5 – $10 million into the region over the next 5 years (Block B GEF Grant 2006), and the Bush Administration included language (p. 17) in the US Ocean Action Plan considering this initiative a priority in response to the US Commission on Ocean Policy Report. Implementation is expected over the next 5 – 10 years.
Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative (SOCMON): Conflict assessment/Socio-economic assessment in Southern Honduras
  • Led assessment design, data collection (quantitative and qualitative) and analysis to compare the perspectives of local people in 21 coastal communities in Southern Honduras to other stakeholders including the private sector, civil society organizations, and government.
  • The assessment assisted with identifying ways to improve the management, conservation, and use of the resources within the local communities in southern Honduras and ensure that local perspectives were incorporated into the more extensive consensus building process, Central American region.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Office of Diversity, Facilitation Roster Facilitator,  March 2002 – Present
  • Facilitate NOAA-wide strategic planning and survey, feedback, action meetings within the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, & the National Ocean Service.
  • Received a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award in 2002 for ‘Excellence in Facilitation’, based upon facilitator evaluations.
Senior Manager · Oct 2001 to Oct 2007 · Washington, District of Columbia
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Office of International Activities (Sea Grant International Program Manager)
  • Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative Central Americawith Leah Leila Bunce Karrer
    Sep 2004 to Oct 2007
    NOAA Research Liaison for the Global Socio-Economic Monitoring Initiative (SOCMON) in the wider-Spanish speaking Caribbean. Identified the lead institution for the region (The University of Zamorano,Honduras), trained and led students at the university to conduct socio-economic assessments. Collaborated with the National Ocean Service’s Global Coordinator of SOCMON to conduct training workshops for coastal managers throughout the Latin American region.
  • Sea Grant International, Latin America Caribbean
    Oct 2001 to Oct 2007
    Sea Grant International/Latin America and the Caribbean: Led the development of the conceptual,institutional, and policy framework to create university based research, extension, and education programsfor marine and coastal resource management based on the Sea Grant model in the region. Managed thestrategic development of the program, partner relationships, implementation, budget, and grant reporting.Advised Program Managers on Sea Grant program development in Southeast Asia, N. Africa, and the Western Pacific. Successfully built support for the development of international Sea Grant programs within the Sea GrantAssociation, the National Sea Grant Office, NOAA leadership, US embassy staff in countries across theregion and external partners, including universities and governments in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,Honduras, and El Salvador. Fundraised and leveraged two million dollars to support program development goals.
  • AAG International Research and Scholarly Exchange Committee
    Jul 2006 to Jul 2007
    International Research and Scholarly Exchange Committee, Association of American Geographers July 2006 – July 2007
  • Joint Presentation with BBC Senior Producer for the Natural History Unit
    On Feb 8, 2007
    The Price of Prawns, Joint Presentation and showing of the documentary with BBC Senior Producer for the Natural History Unit, Jeremy Bristow, by Invitation from the University of Cambridge, Ivory Tower Society, February 8, 2007 Pembroke College’s Old Library, Cambridge, England
  • University of Cambridge
    Apr 2006 to Jan 2007
    Teaching Assistant/Supervisor: 2006 – 2007 – Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Cambridge, England • State and Society: Latin America and South Asia • Third World Development • Society, Environment, and Development Graduate Instructor, Michelmas Term 2006: Documents and Discourse Analysis: Joint Schools Postgraduate Course in Social Science Research Methods
  • Presentation University of Cambridge, Ivory Tower Society
    On Nov 13, 2006
    The Blue Revolution 1970 – Present, Presentation by Invitation from the University of Cambridge, Ivory Tower Society, November 13, 2006 Cambridge, England
  • Royal Geographical Society Institute of British Geographers Conference
    On Aug 31, 2006
    Session Convener and Chairman: Geographies of Environmental Conflict, Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers Annual Conference, August 31, 2006 London, England.
  • Public Diplomacy invitation from the United States Embassy Guatemala
    On Aug 11, 2006
    ABC Affiliate 97.7 Radio Program Interview on Carlisle This Week: Good Morning Guatemala, Public Diplomacy invitation from the United States Embassy Guatemala and the United States Agency for International Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Grant International Efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean, August 11, 2006, Guatemala City, Guatemala. Part I 2-01 S. Matthew Wilburn’s interview on Carlisle’s Show.m4a Part II 01 S. Matthew Wilburn’s Interview on Carlisle’s Show Part II.m4a
  • Knowledge, Power, and Politics in Environmental Conflict
    On Aug 31, 2006
    Knowledge, Power, and Politics in Environmental Conflict, southern Honduras 1973 – Present, Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers Annual Conference, August 31, 2006 London, England
  • Principal Investigator US Department of State White Water to Blue Water
    Aug 2004 to Jan 2006
    $20,000 U.S. Department of State “White Water to Blue Water Funds”. Awarded 2004 for follow upactivities related to the original OESI grant
  • Instructor | University of Zamorano, Honduras
    Jan 2005 to Dec 2005
    Completed preparatory activities for socio-economic assessment in 21 coastal communities, southern Honduras. Identified goals of the assessment, selected relevant variables, defined the process, identified and consulted with stakeholders and conducted key informant interviews, wrote and edited the questionnaires, and trained a team of 25 within the “Development, Socioeconomics & Environment”. Data collection, organization, and analysis, including the collection of secondary sources of information from official and unofficial sources, legal information, newspaper archive research from 1973-Present, statistical reports, governmental and non-governmental (previous or ongoing) project documents, research reports & peer reviewed publications, maps, aerial photographs and satellite images, historical documents and accounts, and extensive web based research. Compiled, assessed, and reviewed all secondary sources related to the selected variables for the socioeconomic assessments.
  • Principal Investigator US Department of State
    May 2002 to Jul 2004
    $150,000 Principal Investigator: United States Department of State: Oceans, Environment, & ScienceInitiative Grant. Awarded in 2002 to assess the feasibility of adapting the U.S. Sea Grant model of appliedresearch, extension, and education to a developing country context to address critical marine and coastalresource issues
  • Changing the Narrative: Environmental Ethics in Contemporary Society
    On Mar 28, 2004
    Changing the Narrative: Environmental Ethics in Contemporary Society, Guest Speaker and Workshop Coordinator and Instructor by Invitation from the Washington Ethical Society, March 28, 2004, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Royal Geographical Society Postgraduate Forum Conference
    On Feb 21, 2004
    Political Ecology of Mangroves in the Gulf of Fonseca, southern Honduras, Royal Geographical Society Postgraduate Forum Conference, February 21, 2004 London, England.
  • Defense of Coastal and Marine Resources: Watershed Management
    In Jul 2003
    Defense of Coastal and Marine Resources: Watershed Management, Environmental Security Conference by invitation from the United States Southern Command and the United States Army War College in cooperation with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development, Belize City, Belize July, 2003.
  • Sea Grant International: Gulf of Fonseca and Coastal Ecuador
    In May 2003
    Sea Grant International: Gulf of Fonseca and Coastal Ecuador, National Sea Grant College Program: Sea Grant Week, May 2003, Galveston, TX.
  • NOAA Facilitator SFA Office of Diversity
    In 2003
    Served as an official facilitator for NOAA-wide strategic planning meetings (SFA) within the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, & the National Ocean Service.
  • Shepherd University
    Jan 2002 to May 2002
    Researched, wrote, and taught: Environmental Ethics and Philosophy
  • Regional Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, Belize
    In Mar 2002
    U.S. Delegate, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Central American System for Regional Integration-Central American Commission for Environment and Development (SICA-CCAD), Regional Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, Belize City, Belize; March 2002.
  • Association of American Geographers Annual Conference
    Mar 11, 2006 to present
    Emergence and Evolution of Environmental Conflict in the Gulf of Fonseca, southern Honduras 1973 – Present, Association of American Geographers Annual Conference, March 11, 2006 Chicago, IL USA.