MEET OUR TEAM

President, Captain Jeff Pierce

The president of Safeguard Marine is Captain Jeff Pierce. Captain Pierce is a licensed maritime pilot with federal licenses for all Puget Sound waters, South Central and Western Alaskan waters, and a State of Alaska licensed pilot to move very large crude carriers (VLCC) for South Central Alaska. He has Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers certification as an instructor for basic and advanced Polar Code Operations. He has been an Alaskan pilot for nearly forty years and performed over 5,000 ship movements. He is currently a member of the Southwest Alaska Pilots Association (SWAPA) and has served as President of the association multiple times. He has provided expert testimony about maritime navigation and environmental risks to the Alaska State Government.

Vice President Jonathan Pierce, Ph.D.

The vice president of Safeguard Marine is Jonathan Pierce, Ph.D. Dr. Pierce specializes in designing and conducting qualitative risk assessments. He is also a statistician and can perform a wide range of quantitative analyses, including policy and economic analysis. He has two decades of experience teaching and researching risk, judgment and decision-making, research design, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis. He received a doctorate in Public Affairs specializing in public policy from the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver. He has taught over 30 courses in public policy and analysis, statistics, quantitative and qualitative research methods and design, program evaluation, and advocacy at the University of the Pacific, Colorado College, the University of Colorado Denver, Seattle University, and Denver University. He has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on various public policy issues.

**Environmental Advisor, Nicole Schmitt**

Pilot Advisor, Captain Peter Garay

Captain Garay is a graduate of Linfield College (BA 1976) and California Maritime Academy (BS 1980). In 1988, he became licensed as an unlimited master mariner. Captain Garay has worked as an unlimited licensed marine pilot in Western Alaska since 1990 and recently retired in 2023. His favorite quote is: “Dry again?” said the crab to the tide pool. Replied the tide pool, “So would you be mister crab if you also had to satisfy the insatiable sea twice a day.”

Environmental Advisor, Nicole Schmitt

Nicole is the Executive Director of Alaska Wildlife Alliance based in Anchorage, Alaska, and has dedicated her professional life to grassroots mobilization and philanthropic administration. Nicole studied geography and international development at the University of Denver in partnership with Peking University in Beijing, China. Nicole has worked in research and grants management for various government agencies and nonprofit organizations—including the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Yosemite National Park, and the Global Greengrants Fund. Nicole was excited to return to Alaska in 2018 to exercise her skills for Alaska’s wildlife, and since then has been recognized as an “outstanding young professional” in Alaska’s 2022 Top Forty Under 40 class. When she’s not in the office, Nicole can be found biking, running, kayaking, or climbing across Alaska with her dog, Riley.