California Aquaculture Association

NEW CALIFORNIA OCEAN SCIENCE TRUST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NAMED
Bodega Marine Laboratory Assistant Director Skyli McAfee Will Also Serve As California Ocean Protection Council Science Adviser

Oakland, Calif. –Skyli McAfee has been named Executive Director for the California Ocean Science Trust (OST), effective March 1, 2010. In this role, McAfee will report to the OST Board of Trustees and serve as the Science Advisor to the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC). 

McAfee replaces Dr. Amber Mace who served with distinction in these capacities from 2006 to 2009.  Dr. Mace oversaw the transformation of the organization from a relative startup to one with a $2 million budget that is now considered a national model for helping bring ocean science to management.  Dr. Mace recently left the OST when she was named Executive Director for the OPC.

“Skyli has demonstrated a tireless dedication to supporting the development of marine science that will advance our understanding and improve the management and protection of our ocean and coastal ecosystems,” said Steve Weisberg, Executive Director of the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and Chair of the OST Board of Trustees. “Her commitment to sound science, her expertise in developing collaborative partnerships, and her skill at administering large, science-based programs will ensure OST continues to achieve its goal of delivering high quality, credible science to inform decisions.”  

McAfee will also co-chair the OPC Science Advisory Team, along with Dr. Gary Griggs, Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“Skyli will bring a rigorous scientific and inclusive approach to resolving California’s marine resource challenges,” said Griggs. “I look forward to working with her to lead the OPC Science Advisory Team.”

McAfee comes to OST from the University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, where she served as assistant director. In that capacity, she facilitated program development and administration of a renowned research lab engaged in multidisciplinary marine and terrestrial research, encouraging productive collaborations with federal and state partners such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and California Department of Fish and Game.  McAfee also oversaw the design and acquisition of the flagship research vessel Mussel Point, a critical asset for multidisciplinary marine research along California’s north coast.

“I am thrilled to lead the Ocean Science Trust and work with all of our partners to ensure that decisions are based on the best available science,” McAfee said of her new role. “The OST has made significant progress toward linking science and policy to ensure decision makers have access to information essential to maintaining healthy and thriving marine ecosystem for generations to come.”

A native Californian, Skyli McAfee received her undergraduate degree from University of California, Santa Barbara in Aquatic Biology and a master’s degree from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, where she studied the community ecology of reef fishes in Panama’s San Blas Archipelago. McAfee and her husband, marine ecologist Steven Morgan, a professor at University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, have worked at marine laboratories throughout the country, focusing on population dynamics and evolution of marine life histories, as well as conservation biology and fisheries management. Always up for a challenge, McAfee’s passion for the sea led her to sail her small sailboat round-trip across the Atlantic, as well as up from the Panama Canal, an experience she describes as ‘transforming’ and a source of her deep passion to help harness science to improve management of oceans and the wealth of resources they contain.

The California Ocean Science Trust is a non-profit organization established pursuant to the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000 to encourage coordinated, multi-agency, multi-institution approaches to translating ocean science to management and policy. Its mission is to ensure that the best available science is applied to California policies and ocean management to successfully maintain a healthy, resilient, and productive ocean and coast.