In May 2023, SMEA established the Director’s Council to support the school’s mission, strengthen our connections in the community, and provide vital additional philanthropic support.  The Council is currently composed of eight individuals. It is chaired by Dan Hull.

Dan Hull, Council Chair

Retired, Alaska commercial fisherman and marine policy maker

Dan Hull is a long-time participant in marine resource conservation, management, and research in Alaska. He fished commercially for ~40 years, primarily for salmon and halibut out of Cordova, Alaska, as captain and vessel owner, retiring in 2023.  He has served in a variety of leadership positions in the marine policy world, including as an Alaska representative and Chairman of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, U.S. Commissioner to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, the North Pacific Research Board, Prince William Sound Science Center, and Cordova District Fishermen United.  Dan is a recipient of the NPFMC’s Bob Mace Distinguished Service Award.

Dan grew up in Seattle and earned his MMA from the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs in 1992.

Tanya Pelach, Council Member

Deputy Director of Quinault’s Division of Natural Resources at the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians

Tanya Pelach (she/her) is a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation and serves as the Deputy Director for her Tribe’s Division of Natural Resources. In this role, she supports the Nation’s efforts to steward and protect its lands, waters, and treaty-reserved resources. Previously, Tanya worked as the Natural Resource Program Manager for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI), where she supported policy development and regional coordination on fisheries, forest, and other environmental issues. Her work at ATNI provided valuable experience engaging with Tribal leaders and advancing intertribal collaboration on critical environmental challenges.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. Her graduate research focused on addressing inequities in Tribal access and participation within a Washington State floodplain management program.

In her free time, Tanya enjoys cooking, camping, and walking the beaches with her husband (also a SMEA alum.) and their dogs, Callie and George

Dave Fluharty, Council Member

Associate Professor Emeritus, UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs

David Fluharty, Professor Emeritus, SMEA, studies marine resource management and policy. His research and teaching examine ways to take ecosystem-based approaches to the management of fisheries, marine protected areas and in marine spatial planning. He studies the regional effects of climate change on societies in the Pacific Northwest, and fisheries management in the Arctic and elsewhere. Fluharty has a distinguished record of public service at national and international levels. He has chaired or sat on boards and committees for NOAA and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and consulted on projects from West Africa to the Yellow Sea.

His service was recognized in 2013 with the College of the Environment’s Outstanding Public Service Award.

Allen Shimada, Council Member

NOAA Office of Marine & Aviation Operations (Emeritus)

Allen Shimada is a second-generation College of Fisheries graduate, and an alum of the Institute for Marine Studies (now SMEA) and Northwestern University’s Weinberg College. First venturing to Alaska as a foreign fisheries observer in 1974, Allen retired after 46 years at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the NMFS Office of Science & Technology and Office of Marine & Aviation Operations at NOAA Headquarters. His national portfolio included budget formulation and program management for living marine resources and integrated ecosystem assessments, fishery-independent surveys, and external partnerships for six regional fisheries science centers.

As NMFS vessel coordinator, Allen contributed to the justification and acquisition of the five Oscar Dyson-class fishery survey vessels, including NOAA Ships Bell M. Shimada and Reuben Lasker. Allen is a Fellow, past-Treasurer, and Investment Committee Chair for the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists founded by W.F. Thompson at the UW Fisheries Research Institute in 1956.

Devon Emily Thorsell, Council Member

Vice President of Operations, Washington Maritime Blue

Devon Emily Thorsell (she/her) is Chief Operating Officer at Washington Maritime Blue, a nonprofit strategic alliance propelling the Pacific Northwest toward global leadership in ocean-based innovation. Devon has almost a decade of experience in nonprofit management leading organizations and  operationalizing values to create work environments that put people first.

Devon also sits on the Board of Earth Economics where she serves as Treasurer and the advisory committee for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. Devon is a graduate of the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and the Jackson School of International Studies, where she received masters degrees. She also holds an MBA and Global Business Certificate from the Foster School of Business.

Usha Varanasi, Council Member

Marine Scientist & Ecotoxicologist
Emerita Director, NOAA Northwest Fisheries and Science Center

Usha Varanasi was the science and research director of the NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center from 1994-2010, where she was the first woman to lead a fisheries field office. She also served from 2004-2010 as the director of NOAA’s West Coast Center of Excellence for Ocean and Human Health which was dedicated to studying and informing policymakers how the degradation of oceans and aquatic ecosystems can affect the health and well-being of people.

Currently, as an affiliate Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and a Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the College of the Environment, University of Washington, she is interested in the projects that define and encourage positive engagement of people with nature leading to reciprocal healing of ecological and human health and serves on the steering committee for UW’s Nature and Health program.

Brett Veerhusen, Council Member

Principal – Ocean Strategies

Ocean Strategies founder Brett Veerhusen is lifelong Alaskan commercial fisherman, policy expert, strategist, and communicator. He founded Ocean Strategies in 2017 and built the nation’s go-to public affairs firm focused on seafood, fisheries, and marine resources. The firm has served over 20 clients across private and non-profit sectors.

Brett’s pioneered some of the most influential seafood and fisheries initiatives of the past decade. He helped obtain unprecedented action to protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine in both the Obama and Trump Administrations. Previously, he served as the founding Executive Director of the Seafood Harvesters of America in Washington, D.C.  Brett holds a Masters of Marine Affairs from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington and Bachelor Degrees in Business and Spanish from the University of Puget Sound. When not home in Capitol Hill (Seattle), you can find Brett running and hiking the Pacific Northwest trails.