Meet the Agencies

Meet the CRAG agencies and the people behind them!

National Ocean Service
National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa

National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa is one of the federally-designated underwater areas protected by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. The sanctuary comprises six protected areas, covering 13,581 square miles of nearshore coral reef and offshore open ocean waters across the Samoan Archipelago. The sanctuary was first established as Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1986, to protect and preserve the 0.25 square miles of coral reef ecosystem within Fagatele Bay. In 2012, NOAA expanded the sanctuary to include Fagalua / Fogama`a (the next bay east of Fagatele) on Tutuila Island, as well as areas at Aunu`u, Ta`u, and Swains islands, and Muliāva (the waters around Rose Atoll) which includes the Vailulu`u Seamount. Today, National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa is the largest national marine sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System. NMSAS is tasked with interpreting, protecting, and preserving historic and cultural resources and incorporating traditional knowledge and stewardship into management. Fa’a Samoa provides the cultural context for all sanctuary activities and functions.

Val Brown

The Research Coordinator manages the Conservation Science Program for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. The coordinator guides research and monitoring activities at the six sanctuary units, leading a team of scientists and marine operations staff for the sanctuary, partnering with visiting researchers, and supporting education, outreach, and policy needs at the sanctuary. Duties include coral reef monitoring and research (benthic, fish, water quality, sound, and human impacts); communicating reef condition to local and federal resource managers, policy makers, and the public; developing recommendations and plans to improve coral reef management and resilience to climate change; collaborating with partners such as the American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group and US Coral Reef Task Force Working Groups; and facilitating training opportunities in American Samoa and the Pacific Islands Region.

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National Park of American Samoa

The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The park was authorized when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on October 31, 1988, and was established in September of 1993 with the signing of a 50-year lease agreement between the National Park Service and the Governor of American Samoa. The National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) consists of units on three islands and protects both unique paleotropical rainforest and Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Over 4,000 acres (~30%) of the park’s 13,500 acres are underwater. The Park also preserves the fa'asamoa-the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the 3,000-year-old Samoan culture.

Eric Brown

Marine ecology leadership position at a national park with premier coral reefs and other marine resources that have drawn high-profile collaborative research to the park and nearby habitats. The position will require not only a high aptitude as an ecologist but an individual with the skills to foster and develop partnerships with a diversity of partners, including other federal agencies, territorial government agencies, universities, research institutions, and non-profit partners. The marine ecologist is expected to think about teamwork at multiple scales, both with a crew stationed at the park and with colleagues at other Pacific Island Parks and in the Pacific Islands Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. Major duties of the position include:

Lead marine ecology field studies, including SCUBA-based research and monitoring, boating operations, fish transects, giant clam studies, and surveys of species of concern.
Care for the full life-cycle of data gathered from field collection to office storage and certification, use in publications, and archiving.
The marine ecologist is expected to be conversant not only in principles of marine ecology and sound scientific practices, but able to engage policy related to endangered species issues, the National Environmental Policy Act, National Marine Fisheries determinations, etc.
The NPSA marine ecologist will be expected to develop successful funding proposals for scientific studies or resource management programs in order to supplement the base operations of the park team.
This is a supervisory position requiring effective management of staff, providing guidance to crew members, developing effective work plans, and fostering career development of biological technicians and interns.
The marine ecologist will regularly prepare reports, periodically present findings to colleagues at meetings and conferences, and will need to effectively represent the park at partner organization meetings.

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