Bob Mace was known for his integrity, dedication, professionalism, and conservation ethic while serving as a council member for 23 years and representing the State of Oregon. In Bob’s honor, the Council established the Bob Mace Distinguished Service Award. This award is only occasionally bestowed by the Council, to an individual that exemplifies the highest levels of dedication, professionalism and conservation ethic necessary to make the fisheries off Alaska the best managed in the world.
The Council has selected Jennifer Mondragon as a recipient of this highly prestigious award.
The Council recognizes Jennifer Mondragon for her exemplary efforts in support of the sustainable management of Alaska fisheries. Throughout her 20-year tenure with NOAA, Jennifer demonstrated exceptional leadership, professionalism, and an uncanny ability to approach complex problems pragmatically and find workable solutions. She reached out across organizational lines to contribute her wide-ranging expertise and was an admired mentor for numerous staff across the Alaska Region.
As Chief of the Catch Accounting and Data Quality Branch, Jennifer provided leadership in creating a world-leading catch monitoring program. Due to her efforts, the Alaska Region is able to deliver near real-time catch information, leveraging state-of-the-art technologies that provide robust monitoring and cost
efficiencies. Jennifer is particularly recognized by the Council for her work with fishery-dependent monitoring data, including the observer and electronic monitoring programs. She and her group were instrumental in the development of the restructured observer program and the electronic monitoring initiatives that followed, including both the implementation aspects and regulatory development and analysis. Jennifer played a key role in developing those programs through her direct involvement with the Council and its committees, highlighting her extraordinary ability to communicate highly technical information to decision-makers and the public, and to foster development of practical solutions.
Finally, Jennifer also helped establish AKFIN as a core data provider of catch accounting products to the Council and the Science Center, while also creating internal processes to streamline information workflows. These efforts significantly improved the transparency of the accounting processes and strengthened the implementation of Council programs.
Jennifer’s professionalism, integrity and fairness have earned her the respect, confidence, and trust from all sectors of the fishing industry, other agency and Council staff, and her coworkers. Jennifer’s incredible work ethic and her dedication has greatly contributed to the success of fisheries management off Alaska. Congratulations!