Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2020)

INTERVIEW RDML Tim Gallaudet, NOAA

Meet RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Deputy NOAA Administrator

Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet is the Assistant Secretary of

Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Admin- istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- “(My wife Caren) is an tion (NOAA). From 2017-2019 he served as the Acting Un- dersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and inspiration to me, ? rst because

NOAA Administrator. Before these assignments, he served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy, completing his service in 2017 she was a Navy diver, and you as the Oceanographer of the Navy. In his current position, don’t need to say more. And

Rear Admiral Gallaudet leads NOAA’s Blue Economy activi- ties that advance marine transportation, sustainable seafood, second, she was a Navy diver ocean exploration and mapping, marine tourism and recre- ation, and coastal resilience. He also directs NOAA’s sup- as a female during a time port to the Administration’s Indo-Paci? c Strategy, oversees

NOAA’s Arctic research, operations, and engagement, and when it was not easy. In the is leading the execution of the NOAA science and technol- ogy strategies for Arti? cial Intelligence, Uncrewed Systems, late 1980s/early 1990s there ‘Omics, Cloud, Data, and Citizen Science. Rear Admiral Gal- was a lot of sexual harassment laudet has a Bachelor’s Degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master’s and Doctorate Degree from Scripps Institution in the Navy.” of Oceanography, all in oceanography.

Who do you count as the key mentor(s) in your career?

There are too many, and I would do a disservice if I tried to

RDML Tim Gallaudet, mention just one over the other. I will say the one that I always give credit to is my wife Caren. She was an oceanography pictured with his wife Caren major at the Naval Academy in the late 1980s, and we didn’t know each other because she was an underclassman and the classes don’t always mix it up that much. But she became a If you had to recommend one good book, what would it

Navy salvage diver, then left the Navy to go to Scripps, which be and why?

is where we met. She’s an inspiration to me, ? rst because she I’ll recommend two. The ? rst is The Wave by Susan Casey, was a Navy diver, and you don’t need to say more. And sec- a great read about oceanography. She’s a great story teller, and ond, she was a Navy diver as a female during a time when it probably more than any book I’ve ever read, it makes ocean- was not easy. In the late 1980s/early 1990s there was a lot of ography look cool. The other book is by a friend of mine and sexual harassment in the Navy, she was subject to it and that’s a mentor, Admiral Bill McRaven. He was the Chancellor of why she left. To me, I would never want any of my employees University of Texas, he led the Bin Laden raid, and he wrote a or my 3 daughters to experience what she did; I’m committed book called Make Your Bed. To me this is a must read for any to women empowerment, as well as diversity and inclusion in American leader for the examples and lessons it teaches.

general in regards to race or gender. I’m a champion for that because of her. That’s my hero. Outside of the job, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

If you had best advice for young people thinking of pur- We are an ocean family, we love to scuba dive, I love to free suing a career in oceanography, what would it be? dive, I was an All-American swimmer and I keep that up with

Just do it. Get into the ? eld; it doesn’t matter your skill set my girls. I surf when I can and we love to boat, I love to ? sh or experience base. There is a job for everyone in this commu- when my kids let me. Really, anything ocean related, from nity; we’re making discoveries every day, and the well-being museums to aquariums, we do for fun. I consider myself lucky of everyone (on the planet) depends on our oceans. to have a job in a ? eld that I love.

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