April 28, 2017
Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Kevin Werner, Ph.D., as the new Science and Research Director for NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center. As director, Dr. Werner will continue the work of planning, developing and managing a multidisciplinary program of basic and applied research on the living marine resources in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts and in freshwater rivers of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. He will assume his new role on May 14, 2017.
“I am delighted that Kevin was selected as the new Northwest Center Director,” said Dr. Cisco Werner, Acting Chief Science Advisor for NOAA Fisheries. “He has some big shoes to fill following John Stein as director, but his unique mix of skills and experience will continue the Center’s strong focus on recognizing, researching, and mitigating the impacts of changing ocean conditions on marine resources, the marine and freshwater environments, and all of the people and communities that depend on robust, sustainable marine fisheries now and into the future.”
A former NOAA Corps officer, Dr. Kevin Werner has held various positions with NOAA for almost two decades, winning multiple awards for his leadership and administrative accomplishments. Prior to being named Director of the Northwest Center, he served as the Director of the NOAA’s National Weather Service’s Office of Organizational Excellence. There he led and managed activities enabling the Weather Service to become the agile and effective organization required for building a Weather-Ready Nation.
Prior to that, Dr. Werner was the Regional Climate Service Director in NOAA’s Western Region. In that role he coordinated and advised on NOAA’s climate services investments in an eight-state region in the Western U.S., including activities and programs from NOAA Weather, NOAA Research, the National Climatic Data Center and NOAA Fisheries.
From 2012 to 2104, he was a Fellow in NOAA’s Leadership Competencies Development Program where he completed three important details – he was the Climate Adaptation Advisor to EcoAdapt and The Nature Conservancy; the Science Advisor to the President’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and a Special Assistant to NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Regional Administrator.
He was also a Service Coordination Hydrologist at the Weather Service’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center from 2008 to 2014; a Hydrologic Science Program Manager in the Weather Service’s Western Region from 2004 to 2008; and an officer in the NOAA Corps from 1999 to 2004. While in the NOAA Corps he was the Field Operations Officer on the NOAA Ship KA’IMIMOANA. He also served as the Officer In Charge on the FRV Oscar Allen Sette preparing it to enter service into the NOAA fleet.
Dr. Werner received his Doctorate in Political Science in 2015 from the University of Utah; a Master of Public Administration in 2009 from University of Utah; a Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences in 1999 from the University of Washington; and a Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences and Mathematics in 1996 from the University of Washington.
Highlights from Dr. Kevin Werner’s career
- He brings a strong background on water issues including being the current vice chair of the Western States Federal Agency Support Team (WestFAST); team lead and author of NOAA’s recent California drought services assessment (2015); a member of the American Meteorological Society Water Resources Committee (2013 – 2014); American Meteorological Society Board on Global Strategies (2013 to present); and has taught on water supply forecasting at the American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting.
- He received:
- The 2015 Employee of the Year award for NOAA Satellites’ National Centers for Environmental Information;
- The Linda Winner Award in 2013, while a fellow in the NOAA Leadership Competencies development program;
- A 2007 NOAA Administrator’s Award; and
- The Isaac Cline Award also in 2007.
- He is the senior author on multiple peer-reviewed papers on hydrometeorology, forecast verification, and work on the science/policy interface in western water issues.
