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 Community (SPC)
    • Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
    • 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 International S&T Coordination Subcommittee
  • Maritime Domain Awareness International Working Group
  • NOAA Executive Panel
  • OIA Business Processes and Communications
    • International Agreements
    • OIA Website

Heather Coll

Senior International Affairs Specialist

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

Caitlin Blair

Senior International Affairs Specialist

  • Geographic Region: Canada and Mexico
    • NOAA Americas Team Co-Lead
    • North American Leaders Summit
  • Trade Agreements & FTA Environment Cooperation
    • USMCA Interagency Environment Committee for Monitoring & Enforcement (IECME)
    • Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
    • World Trade Organization
  • Wildlife Trafficking
  • G7 & G20 Ocean, Climate, Environment, and Science Agendas
  • Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
    • UN Decade of Ocean Science
  • UN Regular Process and World Ocean Assessment

Rakhi Kasat

Senior International Affairs Specialist

  • Geographic Region:  Europe
  • Climate Change
    • IAC Climate Team Lead
    • UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP)
  • Blue Carbon 
  • International Maritime Organization (IMO)
    • London Convention / London Protocol
  • Pollution & Air Quality Issues
    • Montreal Protocol
    • Minamata, Stockholm, & Rotterdam Conventions
  • USAID Liaison
  • Environmental Justice and DEI Initiatives

Sammi Dowdell

International Affairs Specialist

  • Geographic Region: Caribbean, Central & South America
    • Cartagena Convention, SPAW Protocol
    • CARICOM, Organization of American States
    • NOAA Caribbean Steering Group
    • NOAA Americas Team Co-Lead 
    • US-Caribbean Resilience Partnership
    • Partnership for the Atlantic
  • Regional Seas / Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs)
    • Caribbean & North Brazil Shelf
  • Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (support)
  • UN Environment Program (UNEP)
  • 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

Ellen Ward

International Affairs Specialist

  • Geographic Regions:  India, Southern/Central Asia, Africa, & Middle East
    • IAC India Team Lead
  • International Seabed Authority
  • Freshwater Issues
    • Interagency Water Working Group
    • Global Water Strategy
    • NOAA Water Team
  • High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy
  • World Ocean Summit
  • Blue Economy
  • Climate Change (support)
  • Embassy Science Fellows

Caroline Rodriguez

Knauss International Affairs Fellow

  • Geographic Regions: Cuba (support) and Arctic (support)
  • IUCN & World Conservation Congress
  • UNEP (support)
  • Marine Debris (support)
  • Convention on Biological Diversity (support)
  • Sargasso Sea Commission (support)
  • UNGA Oceans Resolutions (support)
  • Oceans Conferences (support)
  • U.N. Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS)
  • Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
  • Working Group for Multilateral Assistance (WGMA)
  • Global Environment Facility (GEF)
  • Weekly IA Report and Operations Quad Chart
  • IAC Minutes

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
  • FOIA Requests
  • 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
  • Purchase Card Holder
  • Documentation/File Management
  • Misc. Administrative Duties (phone coverage, mail/package deliveries, etc.)

Note: Issues are listed as covered by NOAA OIA; other agencies or NOAA offices may serve as the US Government lead (i.e. IOC).