2026-nmfs-champions
2026 NMFS Openscapes Champions
Welcome to the 2026 NMFS Openscapes Champions Program for NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS)! This is the website for the three NOAA Fisheries Cohorts running concurrently in Fall 2026 with teams and individuals from across NMFS centers and offices. To learn more about what to expect (the purpose, outcomes, and process of our Cohort) and to browse the open lesson materials, please see the Champions Program Lesson Series.
Cohort Agendas
Each Cohort will meet via Zoom five times over two months for 1.5 hours each. Agendas are accessible to Cohort participants in our Cohort Google Drive Folders; they are an archive of our live google-doc’ing. Template versions of our agendas.
Cohort A: Sep 22, Oct 6, 20, Nov 3, 17. Tuesdays 1:00pm - 2:30pm PT - CohortFolder.
Cohort B: Sep 23, Oct 7, 21, Nov 4, 18. Wednesdays 10:00 - 11:30am PT - CohortFolder.
Cohort C: Sep 23, Oct 7, 21, Nov 4, 18. Wednesdays 1:00 - 2:30pm PT - CohortFolder.
| Cohort Call Topics | Lesson Series Chapters | Seaside Chat Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Openscapes mindset | mindset, better science for future us | Pathway trailhead; GitHub accounts |
| 2. GitHub for documentation & project management | publishing, project management | team awareness & collaboration strategies |
| 3. Cloud strategies | cloud migration approaches at NOAA Fisheries | cloud migration |
| 4. Open communities in the age of AI, & data strategies for future us | open communities, data archiving and preservation | prepare Pathways share |
| 5. Pathways share and next steps | pathways |
Coworking times (optional)
Coworking sessions are where all participants come to get their own work done at the same time together. Sometimes, this means quiet work with check-ins to break up focused work and get feedback, and sometimes this involves asking questions and screensharing to learn and problem solve. We will make breakout rooms so people working on related themes can meet and learn from each other.
- Dates: Tuesdays Sep 29, Oct 13, 27, Nov 10
- Times: 12:00 - 1:30pm PT
- Location: remotely, via Zoom
Participating teams and individuals
We’ll add some brief information about participating teams and individuals. Please add any edits directly (we’ll learn how in our GitHub Clinic!)
Shannon Barber-Meyer (@ShannonBarber-Meyer-NOAA), WCR PRD affiliate, focus = best coding & collaborative coding practices
Our Team
Julie Lowndes (@jules32), Openscapes
Stefanie Butland
(@stefaniebutland), Openscapes
Ileana Fenwick (@IleanaF), Openscapes
Eli Holmes (@eeholmes), NMFS Open
Science
Jon Peake (@jonpeake), NMFS Open
Science
NOAA Fisheries Openscapes
Mentors
More about Openscapes and the Champions program:
- Our path to better science in less time using open data science tools (Lowndes et al. 2017) - This describes a marine science team’s transition to open collaborative teamwork. It was the original inspiration for creating the Champions Program and heavily influences the Core Lessons. We’ll ask that everyone participating reads it before our first Cohort Call.
- Supercharge your research: a ten-week plan for open data science (Lowndes et al. 2019) - This was co-authored with the inaugural Champions Cohort, capturing the most valuable take-aways for marine and environmental science early career faculty.
- Shifting institutional culture to develop climate solutions with Open Science (Lowndes et al. 2024) - This was co-authored by Openscapes mentors across organizations – including NASA Earthdata, NOAA Fisheries, EPA, California Water Boards, Pathways to Open Science, Fred Hutch Cancer Center.
Meet the Teams!
TEAM MEUS (Marine Ecosystems of the United States)
- Corinne Burns, @corinneburns-NOAA, NMFS-OST
- Chris Kelble, @ckelble, NMFS-OST
- Will Klajbor, @willklaj, OAR-AOML
- Ron Klasky, NMFS-OST
- Avi Litwack, NMFS-OST
- Jay Peterson, @JayPeterson-NOAA, NMFS-OST
- Grace Roskar, @GraceRoskar, NMFS-OST
- Howard Townsend, @Htownsendis, NMFS-OST
- Ryan Vandermeulen, @ryanvandermeulen, NMFS-OST