Overview Sponsors Honorary Congressional Committee Register

Member of Congress:
The Honorable Sam Farr
U.S. House of Representatives
Co-Chair, House Oceans Caucus
Rep. Farr has represents the California’s Central Coast region. Being a coastal region, Rep. Farr has championed ocean policy reform since he came to congress in 1993. He has supported and introduced several bills that include coastal issues such as the California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act. He also sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee where he has been a steadfast proponent of full funding for ocean protection and research initiatives.
>Presentation Not Available

Moderator / Panelist:
Jerry Enzler
Executive Director
National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
Jerry Enzler is the Executive Director of the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center. He is a key leader of the $188 million America’s River riverfront development project on the Mississippi River. The Museum & Aquarium tells the story of the 31-state Mississippi River watershed as well as the other rivers of America. A native of Washington D.C., Mr. Enzler has appeared on the History Channel, public television in Japan, BBC, public radio in Austria. He and his staff created an exhibit on the Mississippi River in Japan, and the films and exhibitions under his direction have won numerous national awards. He is past chair of the National Maritime Alliance, a consortium of the leading maritime museums in the nation, and is the founder and chair of the Great River Road network of 62 museums and interpretive centers on the Mississippi River. He has a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from the State University of New York, and a Coastal America Award of Excellence. He is on the executive committee of the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Network, and the P.I., along with Ted Beaty of the Shedd Aquarium, for the NOAA/Smithsonian Ocean Today Kiosk.

Presentation


Panelists:
Gary Matlock, PhD
Director
NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Dr. Matlock has worked for NOAA for over 16 years. Having served many roles within NOAA during this tenure, he is currently the Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science at NOAA’s Ocean Service. He is responsible for leading a coastal ocean research program that seeks to understand and forecast ecosystem condition as affected by several factors such as climate change and pollution. He earned his Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University and has published the results of research in over 100 scientific papers.

Presentation


Don Parrish
Senior Director for Regulatory Relations
American Farm Bureau Federation
Don is the Senior Director, Regulatory Relations, for the American Farm Bureau Federation's Public Policy team in Washington, D.C. Don’s primary area of expertise at the American Farm Bureau is the Clean Water Act. Don focuses principally on legislative and regulatory issues involving Waters of the U.S., Wetlands, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Water Quality Standards, and Conservation. Don also supports state Farm Bureaus in their legislative and regulatory efforts and works with numerous agricultural organizations, as well as a diverse group of industry and trade associations in Washington DC. Don joined the AFBF staff in July of 1988. Before joining the AFBF staff, Don was an economist at Auburn University. Prior to his working at Auburn, he was employed by the Farm Credit System as a Research Analyst. Don received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agronomy from Auburn University and a Master of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from Auburn University.

Presentation


Dave White
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA
Dave White was named Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service on March 24, 2009. He began his 32-year career with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as a conservation aid in Missouri. Subsequently, he has served the agency in South Carolina, Montana and its Washington, D.C. headquarters. As Chief, he leads 12,000 employees and manages a budget in excess of $3 billion. From 2002 to 2008, Mr. White was assigned as the NRCS State Conservationist in Montana. For much of 2007 and 2008, he was also detailed to Senator Tom Harkin’s Capitol Hill office, where he helped the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry craft the Conservation Title of the 2008 Farm Bill. His earlier jobs in the Washington, D.C. area include two details to the staff of Senator Richard Lugar, in support of agriculture committee work on energy and alternative fuels and the 2002 Farm Bill, and a tour as Director of Communications for the White House Task Force for Livable Communities. Mr. White is an honors graduate of the University of Missouri, where he studied agriculture.

Presentation