Delaware Sea Grant Advisory Council

The Sea Grant Advisory Council — the statewide external advisory body to the Delaware Sea Grant College Program — was created in 1974. Its members, listed below, hail from marine-oriented business and industry, resource management and engineering firms, state government, public interest groups, the pre-college educational sector, and the media.

Working within the national priorities identified by the National Sea Grant College Program, the council helps further define priority coastal issues relevant to Delaware. In 1975, the Sea Grant Advisory Council spearheaded the request to the Delaware General Assembly for a $250,000 line in the state budget earmarked for the University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program. Since then, the council has assisted in maintaining and increasing this initial appropriation as well as helped us identify potential partners for accomplishing specific research and outreach objectives.

Jennifer Adkins, Executive Director
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Gene R. Bailey, Executive Director
Diamond State Port Corporation

Chris Bason, Executive Director
Center for the Inland Bays

Ruth Briggs-King
Delaware State Representative

George Carey
Former Delaware State Representative

Sarah W. Cooksey, Program Administrator
Delaware Coastal Programs
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Gerard Esposito, SGAC Chair and President
Tidewater Utilities Inc.

Thomas J. Fikslin, Ph.D., Manager
Modeling, Monitoring & Assessment Branch, Delaware River Basin Commission

Lorraine Fleming, Board Member
Delaware Nature Society Inc.

James L. Ford, III, Mayor
City of Lewes, Delaware

Jeanie Harper, Secretary-Treasurer
Dawson's Seafood Inc.

A. Richard Heffron, Senior VP for Government Affairs
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

Ann Masse, Ph.D., Safety Health and Environment Manager
DuPont Chamber Works

David B. McBride
Delaware State Senator

Tonyea Mead
Delaware Department of Education

William Miller, SGAC Chair Emeritus, retired
Delaware River and Bay Authority

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Gary B. Patterson, Executive Director
Delaware Petroleum Council

Betsy Reamer, Executive Director
Lewes Chamber of Commerce

Michelle Rodgers, Ph.D., Associate Dean
Cooperative Extension Service, University of Delaware

Paul E. Sample, Consultant
Samples Inc.

Dave Saveikis, Director
Division of Fish and Wildlife
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

John Schneider, Program Manager
Watershed Assessment Section, Division of Water Resources
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Edward M. Simek, Ph.D., Principal
Environmental Resources Management Inc.

F. Gary Simpson
Delaware State Senator

Halsey Spruance, Executive Director
Delaware Museum of Natural History

Katherine Ward, Executive Director
Delaware Press Association

Stuart Widom, Senior Environmental Consultant
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