President Trump earlier this month announced his intent to appoint Thomas Dans, Crawford Patkotak, David Kennedy, and Dr. Julia Nesheiwat, Ph.D. to serve as Members of the Arctic Research Commission.
Dans is Counselor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department, with previous experience including positions with Texana Pecan, Grand River Capital, and Agribusiness Partners International.
Kennedy currently serves as NOAA’s Senior Policy Advisor for the Arctic, with previous experience including positions as NOAA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Administration, Assistant Administrator for NOAA’s National Ocean Service, and Director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.
Nesheiwat has most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Resilience, with previous experience including stints at the U.S. State Department, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Office of the Governor of Florida.
Patkotak is Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement at the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, as well as a member of the North Slope Borough Assembly and Vice Chairman of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission.
Established in 1985, the Commission is tasked with establishing the national policy, priorities, and goals for a federal basic and applied science research program for the Arctic, promoting Arctic research, recommending Arctic research policy, and communicating research/policy recommendations to the President and Congress, serve as the lead agency responsible for implementing Arctic research policy and supporting cooperation and collaboration throughout the federal government, providing guidance to the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee on Arctic research projects, and working externally to obtain the broadest possible view of Arctic research needs.
