New �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant leaders named

June 4, 2013

Sharice Walker
907-474-7208
6/5/13

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant at the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences will welcome two new leaders this summer. Effective July 1, Paula Cullenberg will become the new �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant director and Ginny Eckert will fill the role of associate director for research.

Photo by Deborah Mercy.. �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant director Paula Cullenberg.

“There is no other individual within the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� system who has such substantial ties with the Sea Grant concept in �Ӱ�ԭ��,” said SFOS Dean Michael Castellini, “Paula has a long and deep knowledge of the community interactions that are integral to this position in �Ӱ�ԭ��.”

Cullenberg has served as the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant associate director since 2007 and the program leader for the SFOS Marine Advisory Program since 2004. Cullenberg also currently serves as co-chair of the UA Fisheries, Seafood and Maritime Initiative.

“Because of her �Ӱ�ԭ�� background and her past leadership roles in the school, she is an excellent choice to be the next �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant director,” said Castellini.

Prior to leading MAP, Cullenberg directed the North Pacific Fishery Observer Training Center at the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Anchorage, and was the Bristol Bay MAP agent. She is a 30-year �Ӱ�ԭ�� resident and participates in the Bristol Bay setnet fishery with her family. Cullenberg will replace retiring director David Christie, who has led �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant since 2008.

“�Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant is a positive force in our state,” said Cullenberg. “We reach out to all of our coastal communities and work with local residents on pressing issues. We support students, contribute new knowledge through our research and offer resources to our teachers.”

SFOS faculty member Eckert is an associate professor of fisheries, working at the SFOS Juneau Center. Her specialties include early life ecology and the management and aquaculture of commercially important marine invertebrates. She is also director of the NSF-funded Interdisciplinary Graduate Education and Research Training Program in Marine Ecosystem Sustainability in the Arctic and Subarctic.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant is a partnership between UAF and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that supports marine research and provides extension services to coastal communities around �Ӱ�ԭ�� and is one of 32 Sea Grant programs throughout the nation.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Paula Cullenberg, 907-274-9692, paula.cullenberg@alaska.edu

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