Jessica Morten

Jessica (Jess) Morten is the Director of Marine Resource Protection at the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF) and leads the resource protection projects that the foundation manages, including the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program. For the last 10 years, Jess has also supported the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a Resource Protection Specialist Affiliate with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ West Coast Region whale conservation team and plays a key role analyzing data, facilitating discussions, and working with researchers, managers, and industry to scope and implement protections for threatened and endangered whales. She currently serves on a variety of global and regional working groups and sub-committees, including the Northeast Pacific Collaborative to Reduce Vessel Impacts on Whales (PaC-Whale), the San Francisco Harbor Safety Committee Marine Mammals Subcommittee, the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, and the California Maritime Security Council Maritime Domain Awareness Subcommittee.

Jess began her work with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries as a California Sea Grant Fellow with NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in 2016. Her prior background includes population and behavioral field research work focused on humpback, North Atlantic right, and killer whales as well as policy research focused on evaluating impacts associated with fishery management strategies. Jess holds an M.A. in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Skidmore College.