Daniel Stuermer, Ph.D., became fascinated with the ocean as a child growing up on the shores of southern California, where he began sailing and surfing at an early age. This eventually led him to pursue a career in oceanography and earn a Ph.D. degree in the subject from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dan's career highlights include stints as research scientist, California winery owner, executive of Thermo Electron's environmental laboratories division, and currently as Vice President for External Relations at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dan has sailed on the coasts of California and British Columbia, in the Chesapeake Bay, the Virgin Islands, Scotland, and the Galapagos, and considers an offshore adventure from Annapolis to Nova Scotia via Bermuda his sailing highlight. He now plies the water around Cape Cod in his Alberg 37 yawl, Joyous. Beyond a passion for the oceans, Dan brings to the board an appreciation for marine science as a basis for sound decision-making in ocean affairs.