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Stories of Accomplishment
They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. They include a commercial fisher, a retired banker, a seafood processor, a wildlife biologist, an economic development official, and a former county commissioner.
But beneath their surface differences, they share a lively interest in Oregon Sea Grant as members of the organization's citizen advisory council. The council helps ensure that Sea Grant's programs address the needs and priorities of Oregon's ocean and coastal communities, businesses, and policymakers.
Council members are selected to reflect a broad range of coastal interests, from business and industry to local government and regulatory agencies, in an effort to keep Sea Grant in touch with the people and communities it serves. Members are selected as individuals, however, and not as representatives of their employers. All 10 panel members are appointed for four-year terms, renewable at the request of the program director, Bob Malouf.
The council plays critical roles for the program as it meets periodically to help set program priorities, offers advice on specific project proposals, and acts as ambassadors for Sea Grant under a variety of circumstances.
Malouf sees their value in vivid, personal terms.
"Because of their diversity and their knowledge of coastal marine issues, the council members serve as a kind of reality check for the program management team," he said.
What they do for Sea Grant is an outgrowth of the special leadership abilities they have demonstrated in their professional lives.
Take Don Barth, for example. Barth was a member of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission for eight years in the 1980s, appointed twice by then Gov. Vic Atiyeh and elected chair of the commission. The chairmanship was both testimony to and a test of Barth's diplomacy and concern for the state's wildlife heritage. In Oregon, fish and wildlife management issues are as contentious a topic as any the state deals with, and the citizen commission sets the agency's policy. Today, Barth continues his commitment to wildlife resources in a number of ways, including serving on the board of the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation. A scientific panel studies the scientific validity of research proposals after peer review by handpicked scientists. The citizens committee isn't asked to evaluate the science, but to look at the proposed research projects in terms of what Oregon needs.
Anne Berblinger is an economic development representative for the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration and, for the past four years, a vegetable farmer Revised January 2004 selling produce at farmers' markets. She brings her experience working with economic development issues to bear on the proposals Sea Grant is considering funding. When she came to the Portland EDA office in 1983, one of the first issues she became familiar with was the decline of salmon runs and its effect on the commercial fishing industry.
"I heard the sad story from a fisherman's group," she said. "My job is to work with local governments and local economic development organizations and so forth in economically distressed communities to help create jobs and income." Through her work she became familiar with the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Agency-and through it, with Oregon Sea Grant. In her role on the council, she can often see when a scientific question can have some bearing on an economic issue.
"There's often an interest in making a difference on the part of academic people. The experience I have adds some perspective. I can see when getting the answer to this question is actually a priority to carrying out an economic development strategy," Berblinger said.
For Ellie Dumdi of Junction City, involvement in the panel is a natural extension of her 12 years as an elected official. During her three terms as a member of Lane County's board of commissioners, Dumdi was the county's representative to the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, and that contact led to her current position on the Sea Grant citizens advisory panel.
"I probably look at it from a more practical point of view," she said of her volunteer work for Sea Grant. "Some of the proposals are fascinating, but you have to ask yourself, 'How is this going to help?' You put a lot of money into these things, you want some good return from them."
For all his banking background, Don Barth professes to be less interested in the financial side of Sea Grant's projects. "Sea Grant does an efficient job of managing its funds," he said. Instead, Barth-who has served on the council since 1988-is more interested in the potential of the projects for making a difference in communities. Barth's community service has been recognized by many awards, including Rotary International's President's Award for "service above self" in 1987, and Newport, Oregon's, first citizen award, named for Dr. J. R. Bailey, for "outstanding service to the community" in 1980.
The membership of the Oregon Sea Grant Citizens Advisory panel is
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Contact us: sea.grant.web@oregonstate.eduLast updated: Jan. 31, 2007