New leaders join Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation – The Cordova Times

Hannah Wilson and Julie Cisco have joined the employees of the Alaska Fisheries Growth Basis, to function improvement director and government administrator respectively.

Wilson was previously a mariculture fellow with Alaska Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries, the place she helped develop the Alaska Aquaculture Allowing Portal. She additionally assisted in procuring funds for business and analysis efforts and labored with mariculture stakeholders on initiatives supporting farmers in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wilson’s work with AFDF will embrace administration of seafood sustainability certifications for salmon and cod, coordination and outreach with AFDF membership, and collaboration with the mariculture business and companions to assist continued sustainable development of the business.

Cisco has a background in each the harvesting and processing sides of the Alaska seafood business all through the state. She additionally has expertise in grant and venture administration.

AFDF will even host two Alaska Sea Grant Fellows: science coverage coordinator Ben Americus beginning later this month, and mariculture improvement coordinator Robin McKnight starting in August.

Americus, who’s from Cordova, grew up gillnetting for salmon in Prince William Sound, and for the previous 5 summers has labored on the Alaska hatchery-wild salmon interactions research. From 2017 by this yr, he attended graduate college at Oregon State College, researching the genetics of salmon parasites and new fish well being interventions.

McKnight, who’s from Seward, most lately was in Iceland incomes her grasp’s diploma in coastal and marine administration whereas ending a thesis on girls captains in maritime tourism.