Staff and Partners
Staff
Simen Kaalstad, Director
Simen began working with the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership in 2023. He is a Texas native with a Master of Science in Fisheries and Mariculture from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. His previous work and graduate research focused on mangrove ecology and restoration with respect to climate change in areas such as The Bahamas, Mexico, and the northern Gulf of Mexico.
email: skaalstad@asmfc.org
office: (703) 842 0743
Partners
ACFHP is a coast-wide partnership of fish habitat resource managers, scientists, and communications professionals from 38 different state, federal, tribal and non-governmental agencies who have established a commitment to work together for the benefit of aquatic resources.
View our current Memorandum of Understanding here. A list of partner contact information can be found here.
Partners agree to use their best efforts to take the following steps:
- To carry out their mutual intent to design and implement an ACFHP plan that will
address on-the-ground coastal, estuarine-dependent, and diadromous fish habitat
resource needs throughout the Atlantic states. - To work together to facilitate current and future mutually agreed upon joint coastal,
estuarine-dependent, and diadromous fish habitat resource activities for the benefit of
Atlantic fish habitat resources. - To use the resources of their agencies and organizations in a manner consistent with
their mission and the mission of ACFHP, that avoids duplication and that mutually
supports the efforts of other parties involved. - To collectively pursue funding initiatives to support the ACFHP through private,
corporate, state, and federal government, and any other means that may be available. - To collectively pursue interagency/organization agreements, cooperative agreements,
grants, and/or contracts to fund approved projects. - To encourage and support the participation of other appropriate agencies and
organizations by mutual agreement of the partners.
Committees
Steering Committee
The ACFHP Steering Committee is a self-directed group of individuals interested in achieving the Partnership’s vision. It is the decision-making body of ACFHP and provides oversight responsibility for all ACFHP activities.
Steering Committee Members
- Jessica Coakley, Chair, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, jcoakley@mafmc.org
- Chris Moore, Vice-Chair, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, cmoore@cbf.org
- Robert Atwood, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, robert.l.atwood@wildlife.nh.gov
- Russ Babb, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, russell.babb@dep.nj.gov
- Jeff Beal, Ducks Unlimited, jbeal@ducks.org
- Tripp Boltin, US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, walter_boltin@fws.gov
- Mari-Beth DeLucia, The Nature Conservancy, mdelucia@tnc.org
- Pat Campfield, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, pcampfield@asmfc.org
- Lou Chiarella, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lou.chiarella@noaa.gov
- David Dippold, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, ddippold@pa.gov
- Alexa Fournier, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, alexa.fournier@dec.ny.gov
- Bob Groskin, Fly Fishers International, rgroskin@gmail.com
- Jimmy Johnson, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, jimmy.johnson@apnep.org
- Zack Greenberg, The Pew Charitable Trusts, zgreenberg@pewtrusts.org
- Wilson Laney, North Carolina Coastal Federation, rallaneys@gmail.com
- Will Duncan, US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5, will_duncan@fws.gov
- Paul Medders, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, paul.medders@dnr.ga.gov
- Mark Rousseau, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, mark.rousseau@state.ma.us
- Eric Schneider, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, eric.schneider@dem.ri.gov
- Kent Smith, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, kenneth.smith@myfwc.com
- Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, jthomas@amrivers.org
- Marek Topolski, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, marek.topolski@maryland.gov
- Andrew Tweel, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, tweela@dnr.sc.gov
Science and Data Committee
The Science and Data Committee guides and carries out ACFHP’s Science and Data initiatives.
Science and Data Committee Members
- Marek Topolski, Chair, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, marek.topolski@maryland.gov
- Michelle Bachman, New England Fishery Management Council, mbachman@nefmc.org
- Colleen Brust, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, colleen.brust@dep.nj.gov
- Josh Carloni, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, joshua.carloni@wildlife.nh.gov
- Jessica Coakley, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, jcoakley@mafmc.org
- Cindy Cooksey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Cynthia.cooksey@noaa.gov
- Jared Flowers, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, jared.flowers@dnr.ga.gov
- Danielle Kreeger, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, dkreeger@delawareestuary.org
- Erik Martin, The Nature Conservancy, emartin@tnc.org
- Alek Modjeski, American Littoral Society, alek@littorialsociety.org
- Keith Nislow, US Forest Service, knislow@fs.fed.us
- Dave O’Brien, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, david.l.obrien@noaa.gov
- John Rothlisberger, US Forest Service, jrothlisberger@fs.fed.us
- Mark Rousseau, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, mark.rousseau@state.ma.us
- Bruce Vogt, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, bruce.vogt@noaa.gov
- Bill Wayman, US Fish and Wildlife Service, william_wayman@fws.gov
- John Young, US Geological Survey, jyoung@usgs.gov
Science and Data Committee Meetings
Outreach and Communications Committee
The Outreach and Communications Committee guides and carries out ACFHP’s Outreach and Communications initiatives.
Outreach and Communications Committee Members
- Tina Berger, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, tberger@asmfc.org
- Allison Ferreira, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, allison.ferreira@noaa.gov
- Zack Greenberg, The Pew Charitable Trusts, zgreenberg@pewtrusts.org
- Bob Groskin, Committee member at-large, rgroskin@gmail.com
- Jen Lapis, US Fish and Wildlife Service, jennifer_lapis@fws.gov
- Chris Powell, Rhode Island (retired), jchristopherpowell@gmail.com
- Mary Sabo, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, msabo@mafmc.org
- Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, jthomas@americanrivers.org
- Marek Topolski, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, marek.topolski@maryland.gov