What is your key responsibility?
I issue certificates, licenses and permits for halibut subsistence, and commercial fishing for the Alaska crab fishery and for halibut/sablefish. We like to think we feed the globe.
Where did you grow up?
Tlingit Aani (Tlingit Land) also known as Juneau, Alaska.
Is there anything about your childhood or where you grew up that influenced your career path?
I came from a commercial fishing family, originally from Hoonah Alaska, and relocated to Juneau, Alaska so it's really cool to be working for an agency that I was already familiar with and how it affects communities, as well as tribal citizens.
Are you a member of a community groups or other organizations?
Employee Resource group: American Indian Alaska Native, Tribal Citizen: Tlingit and Haida and Tribal Citizen Hoonah Indian Association.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love the place that I live and work, so I like to explore the beaches around Juneau and the Pacific Northwest. I also love promoting and sharing my heritage, and the culture of the rest of my "cousins" (other tribal citizens).
Is there a book, quote, or person that influenced you to be the person that you are today? Tell us why.
I love this quote. “I don't believe in magic. I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They’re measurements. They tell us how healthy things are. How healthy we are. Because we and they are the same. That’s what I believe in.” This was said by Billy Frank Jr. from the Nisqually Tribe and quoted in Frank's Landing by Charles Wilkinson.
What does working at NOAA Fisheries mean to you?
Food sustainability. I issue federal certificates, licenses and permits for commercial fishing, to processors, vessels that fish in federal waters, as well as halibut subsistence certificates to Tribal Citizens, and rural residents in qualified Alaska communities. Restricted Access Management is issuing federal fishing permits. Our work is mission critical and essential to the fishing industry. This work directly contributes to creating jobs for the fishing industry in Alaska, whether that is fishing as a crew member or skipper on a catcher vessel or at-sea processor, working at a fish processing plant’s slime-line, smoking or canning fish for retail sales, or offloading fish for delivery at the dock. We all take pride in the fact that we are able to contribute to bringing healthy, sustainable, wild seafood to people and families across the globe.
What advice would you have for someone interested in a career at NOAA Fisheries?
I wouldn't be here this long if I didn't believe in the mission and that what I do is important.
