Courtesy / Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
Alexa Dayton
September 27, 2022
New chief of Stonington fisheries group has science and policy background
Courtesy / Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries in Stonington hired a new executive director who has 25 years of leadership experience.
The new executive director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries in Stonington brings 25 years of leadership experience through senior positions with L.L.Bean, Maine Huts & Trails, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and, most recently, the University of Maine System.
The center’s board of directors said this week it appointed Alexa Dayton to the position.
“Alexa's background, experience, connections and excitement about the MCCF mission make her a great person to lead MCCF into its next phase,” Jane Osborne, the board’s chair, said in a news release.
The nonprofit center works with community and fishery partners from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border. It’s mission is to develop innovative and collaborative programs that consider varied perspectives and knowledge of multiple constituencies and stakeholders, as well as the complex challenges of the effects of climate change, gentrification and ecosystem-based management.
Dayton will be in Stonington regularly beginning early October. She will be tasked with leading the 10-person staff and operations of the organization, as well as stewardship of the center’s signature building and wharf front site in the working waterfront of downtown Stonington.
The role includes fundraising for the organization, which has an annual budget of $1.4 million.
“The vision of vibrant fisheries and sustainable coastal Maine communities forever really resonates with me, empowering the next generation with hope for a bright future and sustainable economic outlook is everything,” said Dayton. “It takes a mix of science, education and getting out into the community for a lot of listening, to bring this vision to reality.”
Dayton brings 15 years of direct experience in fisheries science and policy. She has worked with commercial, charter and recreational fishermen around the U.S. through her leadership of the Portland-based Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Marine Resource Education Program.
She is a founding trustee of Fishing into the Future, a U.K.-based charity to promote evidence-based fisheries co-management in the United Kingdom. She has a doctorate from University of Maine, where she worked directly with the lobster industry from York to Machias on fishery economics and licensing questions.
She serves on the board of the United Way of Southern Maine, supporting community wellness.
Dayton steps in for Paul Anderson, who announced his retirement earlier this year but said he would continue to lead the organization until the position is filled.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments