President Biden today announced his intent to nominate Oregon State University Professor of Oceanography Rick Spinrad to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, and Our Daily Planet CEO and Co-Founder Monica Medina to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs.
Spinrad’s experience includes positions as NOAA Chief Scientist, head of NOAA’s Research Office and the National Ocean Service, U.S. representative to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and Vice President for Research at Oregon State University.
Medina previously served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, NOAA General Counsel, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Senior Counsel to then-U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and Senior Director for Ocean Policy at the National Geographic Society.
