Kevin Wheeler Joins Seafood Harvesters

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Kevin Wheeler Joins Seafood Harvesters

New executive director brings extensive oceans and public affairs expertise to leading commercial fishing group

(WASHINGTON – December 12, 2016) The Seafood Harvesters of America announced today that they have hired Kevin Wheeler, of Arlington, VA, as their executive director.Kevin comes to the Seafood Harvesters after serving ten years as Vice President and Director of Public Affairs at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, where he was responsible for developing, advocating for and implementing ocean research priorities on behalf of more than 100 of the nation’s leading ocean research and educational institutions. In that role he served as primary liaison between the ocean science community and Congress, the executive branch, federal agencies and non-governmental organizations. He and his staff also led advocacy coalitions in support of budgets for federal agencies including NSF, NOAA and DOD.Formerly, Kevin was the Director of Federal Relations for Brown University; worked on the Science Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives; served as the Special Assistant to the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and also worked on Capitol Hill as Press Secretary and Legislative Assistant to former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY).“Our organization is at an exciting growth stage and we really wanted to get this hire right,” said Seafood Harvesters’ President Christopher Brown. “Kevin is extremely well prepared to take our members to a new level of engagement and influence at the federal level. His management experience, his Capitol Hill committee and staff work, and his years at Ocean Leadership are great preparation, and we could not be happier about welcoming him on board.”“I am truly honored to have been chosen to lead and provide a unified voice for the Seafood Harvesters at this most critical time, given the political transition occurring in Washington coupled with a rapidly changing ocean environment,” said Wheeler. “Together we will champion accountability, responsibility and innovation throughout our industry to ensure that future generations will have healthy, robust and sustainable fisheries to harvest.”Kevin holds advanced degrees in Environmental Management and Public Administration from Duke and Binghamton Universities respectively. Kevin and his wife Marina reside in Arlington Virginia where they are raising their children Nikolai and Ekaterina.

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The Seafood Harvesters of America represent 17 member associations and over 3,900 commercial fishing businesses operating in waters of the North Pacific, West Coast, Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Please learn more at seafoodharvesters.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.