As described in the RWSC Governance Structure, the RWSC is collaboratively led by four Sectors with equal representation on the Steering Committee. The RWSC is hosted by the two Regional Ocean Partnerships on the Atlantic coast, the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, with support from the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation.
Emily Shumchenia, PhD is the Director of the RWSC. She also manages the Northeast Ocean Data Portal.
Christian Laspada is the RWSC Engagement Coordinator.
Nick Napoli is Senior Advisor to the RWSC. He is also the Executive Director of NROC and Senior Advisor to MARCO.
The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) and Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), supported by the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation (CSSF) as their fiscal agent, are the hosts of RWSC and have responsibility for the programmatic, contractual, staffing, fiscal, and legal oversight of the entity. As such, NROC and MARCO support the RWSC Steering Committee in implementing the RWSC mission. NROC and MARCO are responsible for the hiring of a Director in consultation with the Steering Committee. NROC and MARCO provide appropriate oversight of the Director’s work to manage the RWSC budget, contracts, grants, and staffing to ensure that RWSC has sufficient capacity such that regional wildlife and offshore wind research, grant and contract, and fiscal administrative objectives can be met.
CSSF, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity, serves as RWSC’s fiscal agent, consistent with Memoranda of Understanding with NROC and MARCO. In practice this means that CSSF is the vehicle through which staffing, contracts, and grants for RWSC are executed and managed. CSSF will receive and remit payments on behalf of RWSC for services rendered and funds received. This includes: