Bio

Having evolved from an undergraduate education in leadership and science, through command of ships at sea, personnel management, and ultimately graduate education and professional experience in business and government performance management, Jason recently graduated from the Masters in Industrial Arts program for product design at San Francisco State University.

Industrial Design was the ideal next step after a long career with the U.S. government, where Jason spent the last three years using design methodology to guide strategic thinking at the organizational level. This work sparked a passion for design that, combined with his lifelong tendency for innovation, has lead him to follow his dreams to a new career.

His strengths in problem solving, strategic planning, project management, facilitation, and leadership, as well as his ability to simplify and communicate complex subjects in an understandable way, were the foundation of his work as the Strategy Team lead in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) for the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As part of the Performance, Risk, Strategy and Social Sciences group, he helped NOAA excel in the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) environment that holds government agencies accountable for their performance.

After graduating with honors from Fork Union Military Academy, Jason went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in biology from Villanova University, and a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in acquisitions and contracting, as well as coursework in entrepreneurship, from the Naval Postgraduate School.

His sea going career began with the Alaskan fishing industry, and included sailing commercially as well as working as a contract Fisheries Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Seeking to apply his commercial and scientific experience to the management of data acquisition platforms for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he accepted a commission in the NOAA Corps. He subsequently served on NOAA Ships David Starr Jordan, Albatross IV, Oregon II, Ronald H. Brown and NOAA R/V Gloria Michelle. During these assignments, he acquired eight years of sea-going experience serving as Navigation Officer, Medical Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer; and operated in 11 countries and Midway Atoll.

Through his career, Jason has continually sought new challenges, becoming a licensed pilot and a licensed ship's Captain, certified as a ship’s Senior Watch Officer of the Deck, a Contracting Officer’s Representative, an Emergency Medical Technician, and a NOAA Dive Master.

Jason's professional resumé also includes logistics and management experience coordinating large scale survey operations for NMFS Protected Resources Division, managing budget and funding as the Executive Officer of the NMFS Environmental Research Division in Pacific Grove, CA, and management and oversight of operations, planning, and logistics for NOAA’s Atlantic fleet, as the Chief of Operations for NOAA's Marine Operations Center - Atlantic.

Prior to joining NOAA OCFO, Jason lead change through IT and service delivery solutions to management problems within the NOAA fleet, and worked on organizational transformation with NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Planning and Performance Management Division, as well as with the valuation of scientific Earth observation systems by NOAA's Technology Planning and Integration Office.