Marine Protected Areas Staff Biographies

Joseph A. Uravitch

Joseph Uravitch has worked for more than 20 years in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) coastal, estuarine, Great Lakes, and ocean management programs. During his career with NOAA, he has served as associate director of the Office of Ocean and Coastal Management with responsibility for strategic planning and international affairs, and as the program manager for the Coastal Zone Management, National Estuarine Research Reserve, and National Marine Sanctuary Programs. In November 2000, he was tasked with developing the National Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Center, authorized by Presidential Executive Order 13158. Mr. Uravitch serves as the MPA Center’s Director, overseeing its mandate to design the framework for a national system of MPAs, provide scientific and technical support for improving the stewardship of MPAs, and consult with federal, state, and tribal agencies and other stakeholders about a national system of MPAs.

Mr. Uravitch served as a technical member of National Committee of the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program’s Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Directorate. He also was NOAA’s representative on the Man and the Biosphere National Committee from 1988 to1996. In addition, Mr. Uravitch was a member of the first U.S. coastal delegation to the Peoples’ Republic of China in 1985.

He helped draft various publications including Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife for the Wider Caribbean Region and the International Maritime Organization’s Guidelines for Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas.

Mr. Uravitch received his bachelor of arts degree with department honors in political science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Uravitch is a charter member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the professional institute of the American Planning Association.

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Charlie Wahle, Ph.D.

Dr. Charlie Wahle is a marine ecologist with extensive experience working at the interface between science and policy of marine conservation and protected areas. Prior to joining the MPA Center, he served as NOAA's liaison to three key interagency marine conservation initiatives: the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, the Invasive Species Council, and the national MPA initiative. From 1993 to 1999, he led the national programs for science, education, and conservation policy for the National Marine Sanctuaries Program and the National Estuarine Research Reserves Systems at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Prior to joining NOAA, Dr. Wahle developed and managed a marine research and teaching laboratory on the New Jersey coast for Lehigh University. He has conducted extensive field research on Caribbean coral reefs and mid-Atlantic coastal ecosystems. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. Wahle earned his doctorate in ecology and evolution from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in aquatic biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

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