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.
NROC and MARCO are the two Regional Ocean Partnerships on the U.S. Atlantic coast and were authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 to serve as “intergovernmental coordinators for shared regional priorities” and to “receive Federal funding to conduct scientific research, conservation, and restoration activities, and coordination on shared regional priorities.”
Emily Shumchenia, PhD is the Director of the RWSC. She also manages the Northeast Ocean Data Portal.
Julia Dombroski, PhD is the RWSC Research Director.
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.
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: