Dr. Stacy Aguilera-Peterson leads the Ocean Policy Office at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Directorate Ocean Sciences Division (OCE). In this role, Aguilera-Peterson fulfills several functions, including serving as a policy advisor to the Cabinet-level Ocean Policy Committee Ocean Science and Technology subcommittee; chief executive secretary to the White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology; U.S. National Focal Point to the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative; and NSF United Nations Ocean Decade strategic lead.
The NSF OCE Ocean Policy Office formulates NSF policy positions, provides ocean-related science communication and outreach, represents NSF and the scientific enterprise in interagency and international forums, and contributes to ocean science and technology aspects of interagency ocean policy and governance planning and implementation. Prior to joining the NSF, Aguilera-Peterson served as a policy advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she contributed to developing and implementing national ocean policy.
Aguilera-Peterson earned a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University, a M.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science and Policy from the University of Miami. She is a Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow alumna and received the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami.