Joe Gaydos has been elected Chair of the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel, and will assume the gavel on January 25th. Bill Labiosa will serve as Vice Chair.

The Science Panel is an adviser to the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) as it plans and prepares restoration efforts for the Puget Sound region. Panel members are appointed by the PSP Leadership Council and are chosen from leading scientists around Washington State. The Science Panel also serves as an adviser to the Puget Sound Institute.

Gaydos is the Chief Scientist for the SeaDoc Society, a marine ecosystem health program of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center. Over the past eight years, he has actively participated in the collection and dissemination of scientific data on marine wildlife ecosystems focusing on the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin. He is a trained biologist and veterinarian with an advanced degree specializing in the health and diseases of wildlife populations.

Labiosa has worked as a Research Physical Scientist with USGS since 2001, specializing in watershed/ecosystems management decision analysis and decision support. He has extensive ecological experience and knowledge of Puget Sound serving as the project manager and PI for the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model project – a model-based evaluation of ecosystem services and metrics of human well-being as influenced by land use change and regional-scale coastal anthropogenic modifications. Prior to working for USGS, he worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water in Washington, D.C.