Fagatele Bay NMS is administered by a Sanctuary Superintendent, Gene Brighouse and a Deputy Superintendent, Kevin Grant. The site will be recruiting an education/outreach coordinator to lead outreach and public awareness programs. All the positions are based in Pago Pago. The Sanctuary operates through a cooperative agreement between NOAA and the ASG's Department of Commerce. The Sanctuary Office operates from the Department of Commerce, Convention Center in Utulei. Enforcement is a cooperative effort between the Sanctuary, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Conservation Division.
Gene Brighouse,
Superintendent
Genevieve was born and raised in Western Samoa, attended St Mary's College & boarding school in Auckland New Zealand during her junior and senior years of high school. She earned her bachelor degree from the University of Auckland, New Zealand with a degree in Planning, majoring in Environmental Planning. She is a strong advocate of environmental management & resource protection in island ecosystems and has actively worked on local and regional issues with Fiji, the Cook Islands, and Samoa, all of which face similar environmental, sociological, and economic challenges. She earned an East West Center scholarship to complete her Master’s Degree in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa with a focus in environmental planning. She later worked as a Research Intern for East West Center for 9 months with the Pacific Island Development Program. Prior to the Superintendent position, she served as the American Samoa Coastal Management Program manager since 1999 and worked in the American Samoa Government, Department of Commerce since 1992.
Genevieve is a mother of three (2 daughters and 1 son), and married to Ali‘i Failauga who works as the Safety Manager for Heinz International Inc.
Kevin Grant,
Deputy Superintendent
Even though he was raised in Wisconsin, Kevin has always had a passion for the sea. Kevin received a B.S. in Biology/Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1996. At the age of 21 he gained his first experience as a marine biologist working as a Fisheries Observer in Alaska. He knew that he wanted to start a career in the marine sciences, but felt a desire to broaden his horizons first. He did just that in the Peace Corps.
Kevin served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching High School science in the Solomon Islands. Kevin always emphasized the importance of conservation, and tried to share his enthusiasm for the sea with his students. He succeeded in taking eight students on a five-day field trip to the Arnavon Marine Conservation Area (AMCA), one of the only official Marine Protected Areas in the Solomon Islands. This experience piqued Kevin’s interest in the value of Marine Protected Areas.
After returning from the Peace Corps, Kevin got a job as a Fisheries Biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducting fisheries assessments. After two and a half years of fisheries fieldwork Kevin still had an interest in marine protected areas and his focus had shifted towards marine policy, so he went back to school. Kevin earned a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs. He then spent a year as a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow for the National Marine Sanctuary Program at their headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. After gaining invaluable experience at headquarters, Kevin transferred to Hawaiʻi and spent two years working as a Policy Specialist with the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
