NOAA Regional Collaboration works to elevate understanding of our mission and priorities in order to convey the value and impact of that mission in ways that people understand and care about.  Established in 2006, the Regional Collaboration Network is made up of eight regional collaboration teams.  The teams are composed of senior staff in the region, led by a NOAA Leadership-appointed team lead, and supported by a full time coordinator.  Team members maintain trusted relationships with partner organizations and stakeholders, creating a network of more than 500 professionals that enhances NOAA's capacity to serve the needs of local communities.

Many of the complex challenges that drive NOAA’s mission are place based, and require interdisciplinary approaches and regionally tailored solutions.  The Regional Collaboration network addresses regional challenges by engaging and connecting people and resources within the regions and with headquarters, in ways that are rich in regional insight and that inform action.  Through this work, NOAA’s Regional Collaboration effort improves the understanding of, and respect for NOAA’s broad mission and regional capabilities.  Our vision of a unified and regional integrated NOAA is focused on service to the nation by meeting the evolving demands of regional stakeholders.

NOAA West prioritizes efforts that maintain and enhance organizational excellence in the NOAA Western Region by improving employee engagement, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and addressing other organizational issues that span NOAA line, staff, and corporate offices.  Our recent priority areas include:

Regional Leadership Development

Our premiere initiative is the NOAA West Leadership Program (NWLP).  NOAA West identified leadership development as a shared need across the various NOAA and NOAA-adjacent organizations in the region.  

After over two years of scoping and evaluation, we launched a pilot of the NWLP in April 2021.  This 12-month pilot program is hosting a cohort of 18 emerging and current leaders at GS-11-14/Bands III-IV levels who are motivated to lead people, develop strategic coalitions to envision and realize change across the region, as well as build connections that will strengthen NOAA.  One unique and important feature of this leadership development program is the strong connection to NOAA West. 

The cohort is helping advance the overall mission of NOAA West and Regional Collaboration by completing capstone projects, contributing to cross-line office connection, and building external partnerships.  The capstone projects for this cohort include: 1) a project to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across offices in the region, including an annual award to increase engagement; 2) a student photo contest that would solicit imagery of climate impacts in local communities and connect NOAA experts to explain the climate impacts or phenomenon captured in the imagery; and 3) a comprehensive website that aggregates and organizes by topic all of the ways NOAA provides information and services relevant to wildfire, its precursors, and aftermath. 

We will call for applications for the second cohort of the NWLP in early spring of 2022, and begin the second run of the program in October 2022.

Support for Regional Climate Services

NOAA West supports activities tailored to foster collaboration, showcase available products and services in the region, introduce key partners, and provide hands-on experience with climate data and information tools. 

Fostering Information Sharing

NOAA West organizes and hosts webinars, including the “Stories of NOAA Connections to Underserved Communities” series, to feature subject matter experts who share information on projects, programs, and activities related to specific topics or audiences and presented by partners, researchers, and operations staff.  The team also connects partners and NOAA internal organizations to advance common goals, including conservation and disaster preparedness.

West Regional Team Members

Team members represent the diversity of programs within the region, provide expertise and connections to address regional challenges, exchange national and regional insights that inform action, and improve the understanding of and respect for NOAA’s broad mission and regional capabilities. 

Becky Briggs - Regional Program Officer/National Research Program Lead, NOAA National Sea Grant Program, OAR
Tim Brown - Director, Western Regional Climate Center
Brooke Carney - Regional Program Officer/National Communications Director, NOAA National Sea Grant Program, OAR
Joe Casola - Western Regional Climate Services Director, NESDIS
Lilah Ise - Senior Policy and Communications Advisor, West Coast Region, NMFS
Michele Jacobi - Spatial Data Branch Chief, Office of Response and Restoration, NOS
Logan Johnson - Meteorologist In Charge, Seattle Weather Forecast Offices, NWS
David Lott - West Coast Operations, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, NOS 
Jenny McDaniel - Planning Officer, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS
Crescent Moegling - Northwest and Pacific Islands Navigation Manager, Office of Coast Survey, NOS 
Shauna Oh - Director, California Sea Grant
Andrea Ray - Applications and R2X Scientist, Physical Sciences Laboratory, OAR
Scott Rumsey - Deputy Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS
Jeremy Rusin - Deputy Director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS
Becky Smyth - West Coast Regional Director, Office for Coastal Management, NOS 
Diane Stanitski - Deputy Director, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, OAR
Jennifer Steger - Northwest and Alaska Region Supervisor, NOAA Restoration Center, NMFS
Michelle Stokes - Hydrologist In Charge, Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, NWS
Megan Syner - Meteorology, Hydrology & Climate Services Branch Chief, NWS
Aja Szumylo - NOAA West Regional Coordinator, NWS
Jeffrey Taylor - Commanding Officer, Marine Operations, OMAO
Sarah Venema - Outreach Specialist, NOAA Boulder Laboratory, OAR
Kris Wall - West Coast Regional Coastal Management Specialist, Office for Coastal Management, NOS
Kevin Werner - Director, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS
Jeff Zimmerman - Deputy Regional Director, Western Region, NWS 

To connect with the NOAA West Regional Collaboration Team, please email
    noaa.westregion@noaa.gov or contact:

NOAA West Regional Team Coordinator 
 Aja Szumylo
206-580-9903
aja.szumylo@noaa.gov

Regional Team Co-Lead
Kevin Werner
kevin.werner@noaa.gov

Regional Team Co-Lead
Michelle Stokes
michelle.stokes@noaa.gov