Brad Warren, CEO

Brad Warren grew up picking mussels off the rocks for picnics with his family and listening to his grandparents’ bittersweet recollections of fishing and home-canning Columbia River salmon. “By the time I was a kid, a lot of those mussels and salmon were gone. I guess you could say we found out why habitat matters.”

After more than 25 years as a fisheries journalist and consultant, in 2007 Brad founded Global Ocean Health, originally a joint ocean acidification (OA) initiative of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the National Fisheries Conservation Center. Now solely a program of NFCC, it helps seafood producers, resource-dependent communities and scientists to understand OA, document its consequences, and protect fishery resources and ecosystems.

Brad proposed and served on Washington State’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, the first comprehensive initiative to confront OA. That effort has helped to spur similar initiatives in other states, expanding public investment and capacity for OA research, monitoring, adaptation, and pollution reduction. Brad was appointed in 2013 to the newly formed Ocean Acidification International Reference User Group, an advisory body to multilateral agencies addressing OA.

Brad began working as a journalist covering fisheries and natural resource management in 1980. Among other publications, he was a correspondent and editor for National Fisherman from 1981 to 1996, and later became editor and publisher of Pacific Fishing (1996-2004). He has served as an advisor and consultant on resource management to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, and for industry, tribal, and conservation groups.

Francesca Hillery, Programs & Partnerships

Francesca Hillery is the owner of Frogfoot Communications and formerly served as public affairs manager for the Tulalip Tribes, helping to coordinate external communications on several large environment and infrastructure projects, including the Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration.  She is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Round Valley, California.  She has served as a citizens representative on the Snohomish County Steering Committee, (SCT), an advocacy board member of the Snohomish County Economic Alliance, and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and the Native American Journalist Association (NAJA).  She holds a B.A. in the Comparative History of Ideas from the University of Washington.

Madison Taylor, Chief of Staff

Madison is owner of Rootsystems Consulting where she provides support in operations, strategy, capacity building, and nonprofit administration. Her upbringing in Anchorage Alaska seeded a deep love and appreciation for the environment, which transitioned into over ten years in a variety of efforts dedicated to tackling issues like climate change, hunger, and social justice. She attended the University of Washington where she double majored in Comparative History of Ideas and Anthropology with a minor in Human Rights and an emphasis on food systems and politics.

Meli-Tashi Happy, Administrative and Event Coordinator

Meli-Tashi Happy works in nonprofit administrative support and donation management, and is a trained group facilitator, and event coordinator. She has a keen interest in helping create ground for nonprofits to grow within, helping staff work together for common goals, and tuning the sails when directions change. Her motto is, we co-create our reality with one another, whether we realize it or not, so let’s make situations where we knowingly co-create together for the common good of the nonprofit.

Nigama Coles, Bookkeeper & Administrative Support

Jessica Rose, Graduate Intern: Media & Storytelling

Jessica Rose is a photographer and story facilitator. She spent the last decade living abroad working as a photojournalist, underwater photographer, and divemaster. Jessica is currently pursuing her graduate degree at the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs where she is specializing in environmental justice, ocean restoration, and Indigenous collaboration. As a two-year FLAS Fellowship recipient, Jessica is also studying a Nuu-chah-nulth dialect, Tseshaht (Barkley Sound) spoken by First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

In Memoriam

Julia Sanders, Deputy Director

Julia A. Sanders died on December 8, 2021 from complications following spleen-removal surgery at University of Washington Medical Center. She was 41.

Known for her exceptional kindness, loyalty, and intellect, Julia is remembered as a steadfast ally and friend, a loving daughter and sister, and a wise, deeply committed advocate for fishing communities facing increasing impacts of climate change.

Julia served as Deputy Director of the National Fisheries Conservation Center (NFCC) and its Global Ocean Health program. In that role she wore many hats: editor of the Ocean Acidification Report and other publications; manager of social media operations; organizer of fundraising events; administrative manager; researcher; public speaker; and advisor to the Working Group on Seafood and Energy, a trade organization representing seafood-dependent communities and businesses.

A gifted writer of epistolary emails, Julia cultivated friends and supporters on behalf of Global Ocean Health, earning a deeply loyal following of her own. “What a fun gal! Feisty courageous spunky daring forgiving smart caring- and so much more- we are going to miss her like crazy,” recalls Anne Kroeker of Seattle, who with her husband Richard Leeds became close friends with Julia. On learning of Julia’s death, Richard wrote: “Tears and tearing of my heart. My utmost sympathy goes out to you and her family at this devastating loss. Sadly losing Julia is the worst loss of these difficult times. Julia was a great person and greatly appreciated. Marine ecosystems and sustainability lost a great benefactor.”

Alyson Meyers, a Virginia shellfish grower and nonprofit leader researching potential for sustainable harvest of sargassum overgrowth in the Atlantic, wrote: “Julia was a joy. She was gifted and intelligent, joyful in her work writing about ways to assist our biggest ecosystem, the ocean. She loved researching solutions and those who pursued them.”

“Julia was completely integral to the work of Global Ocean Health, and was loved by many of the people we work with,” said Brad Warren, President of NFCC. “Personally, I feel like I’ve lost an adopted daughter. Julia first came to work with me 20 years ago at Pacific Fishing Magazine, when we hired her to work in the circulation department. She immediately cracked problems in the magazine’s subscription database that had stumped everyone else.” Warren notes that Julia was soon managing circulation, then took over advertising, where she showed a knack for building new relationships and built her skills in sales and marketing. After leaving the magazine, Warren brought her on board for many projects in publishing, research, editing and administration, leading to her role at NFCC.

At NFCC’s Global Ocean Health Program, Julia earned widespread respect among tribes and fishing communities, scientists and sustainability experts as a skilled analyst and advocate. She played a key role in the organization’s work convening experts and practitioners to navigate impacts of ocean acidification, rising temperatures and sea levels, and related challenges. She built and led NFCC’s work with shellfish growers and coastal engineers to increase coastal resilience in shellfish farms. She edited most of NFCC’s publications and proposals. Julia also led real-time modeling of climate policy (using LCPI’s GHG Explorer software) for NFCC’s work with Washington tribes in 2018, which laid the groundwork for passage of the state’s landmark Climate Commitment Act of 2021, widely considered the strongest climate policy in the United States.

To honor Julia’s determination to protect oceans and fisheries, contributions in her memory may be sent to:
Global Ocean Health, NFCC, PO Box 30615, Seattle WA 98103