ABOUT THE EXPERT:

Russell Smith is the principal at Flen Consulting LLC, where he advises domestic and international organizations on various ocean-related issues. Mr. Smith previously served as the deputy assistant secretary for International Fisheries at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While at NOAA, he was the U.S. lead for various bilateral and multilateral negotiations on a range of issues, including the sustainable management of shared fisheries, the conservation and management of whales, and the global effort to combat illegal fishing. He was also a leader of President Obama’s Task Force on Combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud and of the international convening of the organizations responsible for managing tuna fisheries. Before joining NOAA, Mr. Smith worked as a negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and before that, as a lawyer in the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. He has served as the U.S. lead negotiator on various environment-related trade commitments and has been part of the U.S. delegation for many international environment agreements. Mr. Smith began practicing law with Spiegel & McDiarmid in Washington, D.C.

He graduated from Yale College and the University of Michigan Law School.

CONTACT:

Contact Russell F. Smith at Experts@diversegreen.org.