Staff portfolios

Elizabeth McLanahan

Director and Senior Advisor to the NOAA Administrator

  • Geographic Regions: Arctic, Russia, and Cuba
    • U.S. Head of Delegation, Arctic Council Protection of the Marine Environment (PAME) Working Group
    • NOAA Arctic ExCom Vice Chair
  • Chair, NOAA International Affairs Council (IAC)
  • U.S. Chair, Korea Joint Project Agreement
  • U.S. Focal Point, Sargasso Sea Commission
  • Chair, USAID Senior PAPA Engagement Team (SPET)
  • Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
  • Convention on Biological Diversity
  • United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
  • Marine Debris
  • NOAA Climate Council
  • NOAA Ocean & Coastal Council

Dann Karlson

Deputy Director

  • Geographic Regions: Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific Islands)
    • Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
    • Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
    • Indo-Pacific Strategy and Quad Partnership
  • International Disaster Risk Reduction, Resilience, and Response
    • U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
    • Co-Chair, SDR International Working Group
    • NSTC Subcommittee on Resilience S&T (SRST) Task Team 1
    • International Disaster Coordination
  • NSTC Subcommittee for International S&T Coordination
  • International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) Gatekeeper
  • NOAA Executive Panel
  • OIA Business Processes and Communications
    • OIA Website

Heather Coll

Senior International Affairs Specialist

  • Geographic Regions: Asia
    • Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
    • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
    • IAC China Team Lead
    • IAC Indonesia Team Lead
    • IAC India Team Lead
  • Korea Joint Project Agreement
  • Food Security
  • Aquaculture
  • Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
    • International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) Keymaster

    Caitlin Blair

    Senior International Affairs Specialist

    • Geographic Region: Canada and Mexico
      • NOAA Americas Team Co-Lead
      • North American Leaders Summit
      • Summit of the Americas
    • Trade Agreements & FTA Environment Cooperation
      • USMCA Interagency Environment Committee for Monitoring & Enforcement (IECME)
      • Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
      • World Trade Organization
    • Wildlife Trafficking
    • Blue Economy
    • High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy
    • G7 & G20 Ocean, Climate, Environment, and Science Agendas
    • Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
      • UN Decade of Ocean Science
    • Freshwater Issues
      • Interagency Water Working Group
      • Global Water Strategy
      • NOAA Water Team
    • Embassy Science Fellows

    Rakhi Kasat

    Senior International Affairs Specialist

    • Geographic Region: Europe
    • Climate Change
      • IAC Climate Team Lead
      • UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP)
    • Nature Based Solutions
      • Blue Carbon 
    • International Maritime Organization (IMO)
    • Underwater Noise
    • USAID Liaison
      • Environmental Justice and DEI Initiatives

      Sammi (Dowdell) Ebersole

      Senior International Affairs Specialist

      • Geographic Region: Caribbean
        • Cartagena Convention, SPAW Protocol
        • NOAA Caribbean Executive Team
        • NOAA Americas Team Co-Lead 
        • US-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis (PACC)
        • Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation
      • Regional Seas / Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs)
        • Caribbean & North Brazil Shelf
      • Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (support)
      • UN Environment Program (support)
      • Marine Debris (support)
      • Sargassum

      Geoff Dipre

      International Affairs Specialist

      • Geographic Region:  Arctic and Antarctic
        • Arctic Council & PAME (support)
        • Arctic ExCom (support)
        • Arctic Action Team
        • Arctic Science Ministerial
        • Antarctic Treaty System
      • UN Ocean Conference and Our Ocean Conference
      • Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda
      • UNGA Oceans Resolutions
      • Marine Scientific Research

      Shella Biallas

      International Advisor, U.S. Department of State

      • Geographic Regions: Central and South America
        • NOAA Americas Team Co-Lead
      • Seabed Mining and Critical Minerals
        • International Seabed Authority
      • London Convention / London Protocol
      • Marine and Atmospheric Geoengineering & Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
      • Pollution & Air Quality Issues
        • Montreal Protocol
        • Minamata, Stockholm, & Rotterdam Conventions

      Lila Ardor Bellucci

      Knauss International Policy Fellow

      • Geographic Regions:  
        • Africa and Middle East
        • Cuba (support)
        • Arctic (support)
        • Pacific Islands (support)
      • IUCN & World Conservation Congress
      • U.N. Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS)
      • Convention on Biological Diversity (support)
      • Sargasso Sea Commission (support)
      • International Seabed Authority (support)
      • Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
      • Working Group for Multilateral Assistance (WGMA) and Global Environment Facility (GEF)
      • IAC Secretary

      Sharon Burroughs

      Program Support Specialist

      • Travel Management for OIA Staff
        • Travel Authorizations, Travel Vouchers
        • Reservations, Country Clearances, Visa/Passport Support
      • Security Support (SIPRNET, Safe, Storage Room)
      • Property Custodian
      • Controlled Correspondence (Data-by-Design)
      • Misc. Administrative Duties (phone coverage, mail/package deliveries, etc.)

      Doreen Pearson

      Program Support Specialist

      • Admin Support to Director and Deputy Director
        • Calendar and Travel Management
      • WebTA Manager
      • Office Purchase Card Holder
      • Documentation/File Management
      • Misc. Administrative Duties (phone coverage, mail/package deliveries, etc.)

      Note: Portfolio issues listed above are those covered by NOAA OIA. Other agencies or NOAA offices may serve as the US Government lead (i.e. WMO, IOC).