Dennis "Denny" Takahashi-Kelso

Originally from Iowa, Dennis "Denny" Takahashi-Kelso was the second director of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Division of Subsistence, serving from 1981 until 1983. Subsequently, he was Deputy Commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation where he oversaw the state's response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. After leaving Alaska, Denny has been a program officer in conservation and science at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, assistant professor of environmental studies and the associate director of the STEPS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Policy, and Society) Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, senior counsel at the Ocean Conservancy, and an independent consultant advising on natural resources and environmental protection issues in Alaska and Washington. In 2021, he was leading the Marine Conservation Initiative for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, overseeing the foundation's work on ocean planning and reforming fisheries management. Denny holds a B.S. in psychology from Iowa State University, a J.D. in environmental law from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley.