NOAA Coast Survey 2015 leadership team

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey enters 2015 with a leadership team that is ready to transform the nation’s hydrographic data acquisition and maintenance program, making coastal data more easily accessible for digital applications that include navigation and coastal planning. We thought you might like to know who those leaders are…
Director, Coast Survey: Rear Admiral Gerd F. Glang
RDML Gerd Glang formal2Rear Adm. Glang was appointed as director of Coast Survey in August 2012. A NOAA Corps officer since 1989, Glang is a professional mariner, specializing in hydrographic surveying and seafloor mapping sciences. He has served aboard four NOAA ships, working in the waters of all U.S. coasts, from the largely uncharted coastal waters of Alaska’s southwest peninsula to the South Pacific. He was commanding officer of NOAA Ship Whiting in 1999, when the ship responded to the seafloor search for John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s, downed aircraft. Just three months later, he led Whiting to the first discovery of the seafloor debris fields from Egypt Air Flight 990. Ashore, Glang has led NOAA work in hydrography, cartography, and planning. A 1984 graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Glang also received a graduate certificate in ocean mapping from the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows program.

Deputy Director, Coast Survey: Kathryn Ries
Katie RiesRies has served as deputy director since 2001, co-leading the workforce of 235 employees and managing the day-to-day operations of Coast Survey’s $83 million national program. She also serves as a senior adviser to the director in his role as U.S. representative to the International Hydrographic Organization, and works to advance U.S. positions in IHO policy deliberations. From 2003 to 2012, she chaired the IHO’s MesoAmerican Caribbean Hydrographic Commission’s Electronic Chart Committee, where she led the development and execution of regional charting plans in Caribbean and Central America. Ries began her career in NOAA as a Presidential Management Fellow in the International Affairs office. She earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Art in international public administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 1986.
Chief of the Hydrographic Surveys Division: Captain Eric W. Berkowitz
EricBerkowitzCapt. Berkowitz joined Coast Survey this month, and will assume the chief’s duties after he completes the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows program in February. Berkowitz has over 23 years of experience as a NOAA Corps Commissioned Officer, with extensive experience in marine and aviation operations and executive leadership. His most recent duty station was at the Marine Operations Center in Newport, Oregon, where he was the director of marine operations for 16 NOAA ships. Both a pilot and a mariner, Berkowitz was with the Snow Survey Flight Program for five years. He has also done a three-year stint as deputy chief and acting chief of the National Geodetic Survey’s Remote Sensing Division. His onboard ship experience includes duties on Rude, Whiting and Mt. Mitchell. Berkowitz received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1990.
Chief of the Coast Survey Development Laboratory: Captain Richard Brennan
Rick BrennanCapt. Brennan has served with the NOAA Officer Corps for over 20 years, sailing on nearly every hydrographic ship in the modern NOAA fleet. He has conducted surveys throughout U.S. waters, through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean to the Gulf of Maine, and from the Oregon coast to Chukchi Cap in the Arctic Ocean. Brennan’s most recent sea assignment was as the commanding officer of the NOAA Ship Rainier, surveying Alaskan waters. Brennan has also served as chief of Coast Survey’s Atlantic Hydrographic Branch and as the mid-Atlantic navigation manager. Earlier, Brennan pursued a Master of Science degree in ocean engineering at the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, specializing in ocean mapping, acoustics, and tidal error models. After that, he led the Hydrographic Systems and Technology Program at NOAA, with a focus on transitioning new technology into fleet operations. Capt. Brennan graduated from the Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. He completed the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows program in 2013.
Chief of the Marine Chart Division: John Nyberg
John NybergNyberg served as the deputy chief of the Marine Chart Division from 2010 to 2014, and was named chief in July 2014. As deputy, he helped direct Coast Survey’s chart modernization to digital products, changing the operational focus from paper-based chart compilation to electronic navigational charts. Prior to his work in the Marine Chart Division, Nyberg was deputy chief of Coast Survey’s Navigation Services Division, moving to the leadership position after working as a technical advisor and United States Coast Pilot cartographer. During his 12 years with NSD, he helped manage the procurement of the research vessel Bay Hydrographer II, initiated the modernization of the United States Coast Pilot’s production system, and served as acting navigation manager for Long Island Sound. Nyberg has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, with a major in geography. In 2006, he earned his master’s in international management from the University of Maryland University College. 
Chief of the Navigation Services Division: Russell Proctor
???????????????????????????????Russ Proctor started with NOAA as chief of Coast Survey’s Navigation Services Division in July 2014. He is a maritime professional and 25-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. A career marine safety officer, Proctor has extensive experience directing daily operations and emergency response activities to improve safety, security, and stewardship of the marine transportation system. He was Captain of the Port in Toledo, and Sector Deputy Commander in Portland, Oregon. He also served at the ports in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Houston/Galveston. His operational experience was balanced by three headquarters assignments, serving on the marine safety staffs for resource planning, regulatory compliance policy, and commercial standards development. Proctor is a distinguished graduate of the American University Key Executive Leadership Program, with a master’s degree in public administration. He graduated in 1988 from the Maine Maritime Academy with a bachelor’s degree in nautical science, and a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Deck Officer license.

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