James Geiger
James (call me Jaime) and Amelie Geiger bought a single family residence on Seabrook Island in 2010, and became full-time residents in late 2013 after Amelie retired from the Theatre and Dance Department of Amherst College and I did also following 35 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).
Seabrook Island is a special and unique paradise. Our three daughters and son-in-laws, and five grandchildren (with another on the way!) always look forward to spending time here. But paradise also has its own set of challenges. We must advance efforts to get more Seabrookers engaged and involved in governance efforts. We need to make governance more informative and interactive to allow more community input and transparency into decision-making. The community must have confidence in and credibility towards all those who make our community work effectively and efficiently. Our collective community must be forward thinking and proactive in how we deal with the increasing number and intensity of storm events. All engaged jurisdictions (such as SIPOA, the Town, Club, County, State, and other local coastal communities) must work together to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of our community from flooding, habitat degradation, and large-scale rainfall and tidal events. Our aging infrastructure such as water, power, sewage, drainage and telecommunications must be addressed in a thoughtful and proactive manner. Populations will continue to grow and add more pressures to existing old and degrading infrastructure and resources. Timely renovation and replacement schedules must be determined, approved, funded, and built. My background, experience, leadership, and ability to work collaboratively will help ensure these and other challenges are being met in a timely and cost-effective manner.
I have a B.S. degree from Tulane, a M.S. degree from Medical College of Virginia (now VCU), and a Ph.D. degree in Biology from Virginia Tech with specialization in biochemistry, toxicology, and fisheries science and management. My work began as a Fisheries Research Biologist and I have 27 peer- reviewed research and management publications during the course of my career. I have extensive state and national experience in supervision, management, and administrative leadership and in my last position supervised 27 field stations located in 13 Northeastern states with a FY 13 budget of over $18.5 million and over 110 full-time men and women. I was actively involved in new laboratory and Hatchery facility design and construction in Texas and West Virginia and in other positions with the Service. I represented the Service Director on numerous state and federal committees managing inter-jurisdictional fisheries and habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement efforts both in the Northeast and across the U.S. I also represented the U.S. Government on several international committees and was directly involved in Atlantic salmon recovery, restoration, and management across its historic range.
-Submitted by Jaime Geiger
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