Summer Morlock is the Assistant Director for Programs and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland. She oversees the Programs Team, which includes federal program officers for the Sea Grant programs and relevant areas such as Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (PIE), grants, and environmental compliance (aka NEPA). Summer also supports Sea Grant’s Resilient Communities and Economies focus area and coastal resilience and adaptation activities.

Summer has over twenty five years experience in coastal science, community engagement, management, and policy within public and private settings. Prior to NOAA she focused in various positions on land conservation, salmon restoration, and watershed-based organizations. She has worked at NOAA since 2005, including a focus on habitat conservation within NOAA Fisheries and agency budget development and communication within the NOAA Budget Office before joining Sea Grant (which she’d been eyeing for a long time) in 2020. Summer has a master’s from the University of Washington, School of Marine Affairs and undergraduate degrees in Biology and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Duke University.

Summer loves travel and getting outside as much as possible with her family for hiking, biking, etc. Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay kick-started her love of the water and interest in supporting sustainable coastal communities.

Email: summer.morlock@noaa.gov