OUR STORY
OUR MISSION
To protect and promote the integrity of Alaska’s marine ecosystems and the health of ocean-dependent communities.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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A healthy and diverse marine ecosystem has intrinsic value.
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People are an integral part of and dependent upon a healthy and diverse marine ecosystem and thus have a responsibility to steward its well being.
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Coastal residents have a unique perspective on and relationship with the marine ecosystem and have the right to substantial participation in its management.
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Fisheries and marine ecosystem management must be comprehensive, adaptive, collaborative, and equitably integrate robust scientific research, indigenous knowledge, and experiential fisherman knowledge into decision-making processes.
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Sustainable management of the marine ecosystem should ensure adequate, diversified, intergenerational access to fishing opportunities for Alaskan residents and communities.
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Harvests and other activities within the marine ecosystem must be managed to prevent over-exploitation, waste, and destruction of marine species and their essential habitats.
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Sustainable management and community resiliency depend upon robust tools for mitigating and adapting to ongoing environmental, economic and social change.
AMCC’s membership is comprised of diverse peoples dependent upon healthy ocean ecosystems and coastal communities. They are individuals and families who have a direct relationship with marine environments, including fishermen, subsistence harvesters, scientists, business owners, conservationists, and other coastal residents.
AMCC’s mission is carried out by a Board of Directors who are all residents of Alaska and include coastal community leaders, fishermen, and others with diverse skills and backgrounds. Our Board and membership embody AMCC’s community-based, “boots on deck” approach to stewardship and sustainable economies, empowering community-based fishermen and ocean leaders as integral drivers of marine conservation.
OUR TEAM
Michelle Stratton
Executive Director
Michelle was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. She grew up set netting for salmon on the West side of Alaska's Cook Inlet, which started her life's work as a salmon harvester, student and conservationist. From childhood to her career and family today, her life has always centered around the seasonality of the ocean and its ecosystem, the tide always setting her summer schedule. She began her fisheries career as a technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, eventually becoming a fisheries biologist. She worked for 8 years as an ADFG fisheries biologist out of the Kodiak office, and today she owns and operates a setnet operation on the South End of Kodiak Island. Michelle has managed, researched and participated as a harvester in Alaska's subsistence, recreational and commercial fisheries.
Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and a Masters in Fisheries Science from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She began her work at AMCC as a Fisheries Scientist, centered around research, education, and helping to build connections between Alaska's fishing communities and the scientific processes that support them. Those same goals are folded into her approach to her new role, as AMCC's Executive Director. As a lifelong subsistence hunter, fisherman and student of fishery ecosystems, Michelle has committed her passion and expertise to a personal and professional mission to sustain Alaska's food systems, peoples and wild spaces.
Theresa Peterson
Fisheries Policy Director
Theresa is an active fisherman and long-time resident of Kodiak, home to the largest and most diversified fishing fleet in Alaska. Theresa has a diverse fishing portfolio: setnetting for salmon, fishing for tanner crab, longlining for halibut, and jigging for cod. Fishing is a family business for Theresa and her husband Charlie and their three children.
A tireless advocate for local fishermen, Theresa supports many aspects of AMCC’s Working Waterfronts and Fisheries Conservation programs and is active in community fisheries at a variety of levels. She serves on numerous fishery boards and recently served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, an important and influential body in Alaska’s fisheries management decisions.
Jamie O'Connor
Principal, Intertidal Consulting
Jamie O’Connor is a seasoned marine policy and communications consultant with over two decades of experience in Alaska’s commercial fisheries. Her work emphasizes building community resilience, promoting equity, advancing food security and delivering impactful storytelling that bridges the gap between coastal communities and policymakers.
Prior to founding Intertidal Consulting, Jamie served as the lead for Senator Lisa Murkowski’s “Team Ocean,” where she advised on fisheries, water quality, and infrastructure issues. She also directed the Working Waterfronts program at the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and represented conservation and coastal communities on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Advisory Panel. Her experience also includes serving as the first Washington D.C. staff assistant and internship coordinator for Senator Dan Sullivan.
Raised in Dillingham, Alaska, on the traditional lands of the Yupik people, Jamie is a fifth-generation salmon harvester who continues to fish with her family each summer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Communication from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Master of Science in Marine Systems and Policies from the University of Edinburgh.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kinsey Brown
Co-Chair | Cordova
Kinsey is an applied anthropologist who works as a fisheries specialist in Cordova, Alaska. Her recent work includes efforts to support the decarbonization of the commercial fishing fleet, build coastal community resilience modelling, and enhancing science communications. She fishes seasonally alongside her husband and daughter on their 58' vessel in Prince William Sound and Kodiak.
Rachel is a social scientist based in Aniak where she manages a research and consulting firm. Rachel strives to center Indigenous values in her work to improve fishery management and decision-making through systematic inclusion of diverse values, data and knowledge systems.
Rachel Donkersloot
Co-Chair | Aniak
Bristol Bay and Juneau
Melanie Brown
Melanie was born into a Bristol Bay fishing family that has been sustained by the Naknek River for countless generations. Her children are now part of her family’s setnet operation and she migrates with them to Bristol Bay from their winter home in Juneau annually.
Melanie was born into a Bristol Bay fishing family that has been sustained by the Naknek River for countless generations. Her children are now part of her family’s setnet operation and she migrates with them to Bristol Bay from their winter home in Juneau annually.
Georgie Heaverley
Anchorage
Georgie has participated in the commercial drift gillnet fishery of Cook Inlet for six years and has advocated for the health of fisheries throughout the state. Georgie is currently employed as a fisheries consultant and researcher for Ocean Strategies, a maritime public relations firm.
Darius Kasprzak
Kodiak
Darius began commercial fishing at age 14 and has since engaged in most gear types associated with the Gulf of Alaska. He now specializes in the jig fisheries and is owner/operator of the F/V Marona, a classic 1940’s era working vessel and is president of the Alaska Jig Association.
RJ Kopchak
Cordova
RJ has commercial fished, managed a variety of profit and non-profits, and served on City Council and various boards including United Fishermen of Alaska and Cordova District Fishermen United. He is also the founding president of the Prince William Sound Science Center.
Nels Ure
Naknek
Nels is a second-generation Alaskan fisherman who has spent more than half his life fishing the waters of Bristol Bay. His work includes grassroots organizing against the Pebble Mine project, advocating for local and regional fisheries equity, and engaging in legislative processes to protect Alaska’s fishery and habitat. Nels is passionate about fostering environmental awareness and inspiring the next generation of fishermen to engage with critical issues shaping the future of Alaska's waters and fisheries.
We are currently seeking new members to join our board. If you would like to learn more about joining AMCC’s Board of Directors, please read the AMCC Board Job Description below and contact us at fish@akmarine.org.