2024 Chair, NASBLA Engineering, Reporting & Analysis Committee

Susan Weber is a statistician with the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety. Susan manages the national data collection of recreational boating incident reports from state agencies to produce and publish an annual 80-page statistics report. 

Annie Grenier has worked for the Alaska Office of Boating Safety for nine years and has been the Education Coordinator of the program for three years. Annie has a Master’s of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education with a focus in curriculum design. The virtual boating safety course she implemented in the early months of the COVID 19 pandemic is still being used today due to its popularity in Alaska. Annie’s education philosophy is the student should be an active participant in the learning process, and she strives to continue instructing with that belief through virtual education.

Retiring from the Coast Guard after 20 years, Kristin Williams spent the majority of her active duty investigating pollution incidents and marine casualties. As a pollution Investigator, she was responsible for managing large, federally funded multi-agency pollution responses. As Marine Casualty Investigator, she responded to, investigated and prosecuted mariners involved in marine incidents.  

Upon retirement from active duty, Kristin transitioned to civilian life and worked in the Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis as a MISLE data analyst. In 2017, she transferred to her current job in the Office of Boating Safety where she manages 26 states, multiple non-profit grants, and represents the office on various committees and organizations such as NASBLA VIRT Committee, CRLEA, WBSAA, and IAMI to foster continued improvement of boating safety policies.  

April Hughes started her career in 1999 for the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) as a part-time Data Entry Clerk in the fishing and hunting license section. She was soon promoted to the full-time front counter Customer Service Representative at Headquarters. Since then, April has continued to work her way up within the agency and currently serves as the Watercraft Section Administrator.

 In addition to this, April has been a vital member of the NASBLA Vessel, Identification, Registration & Titling (VIRT) Committee since 2012 and is now the longest serving state member on the VIRT Committee. 

Jim Emmons has been a passionate advocate of boating and boating safety for more than three decades. As the WSF Executive Director since 2010, Jim worked tirelessly to promote a culture of safety among recreational boaters and paddlers. Under Jim’s leadership and in partnership with the United States Coast Guard, the WSF’s consumer outreach campaigns have delivered nearly one billion online impressions.

He served 12 years as president of the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA), unifying major brands in support of the organization and laying the foundation for its continued success by creating membership benefits tailored to many segments and founding the biggest annual conference of industry leaders. In two decades as a boating media executive, Jim was co-founder and publisher of WakeBoarding magazine and publisher of WaterSki magazine and created the highly successful WakeAwards. Jim is a former Chair of the Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC). He currently chairs the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame and is a member of the NASBLA Paddlesports Committee.

Currently promoting safety through its relationships with 21 consumer media brands and dozens of social media influencers, the WSF’s safety projects cover all types of boating/paddling in both English and Spanish. During Emmons’ tenure, the WSF produced and promoted more than 250 boating and paddling safety video/audio PSAs and hundreds of boating safety articles.

Most recently, Emmons’ outreach efforts have encouraged big box department, sporting goods, and club store retailers – where the majority of entry-level paddle craft are sold – to promote paddlesports safety to new paddlers, the most at-risk group.

A lifelong boater and surfer, Jim lives with his wife in Deland, Florida.

Kimberly Sorensen joined the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Law Enforcement Division as the Boater Education Manager in January 2021.

Kimberly brings a wealth of knowledge of water safety, paddlesports safety, and boating safety to her role as Boating Education Manager. She is a graduate of the NASBLA Leadership Academy and serves on the NASBLA Education and Outreach committee. She is an American Canoe Association certified instructor trainer for SUP and Kayaking, an American Red Cross Lifeguard instructor, and an avid boater. Over the last twelve years, she has worked with local non-profits focused on drowning prevention and paddle sport educators to ensure proper skills and safety on and around the water. Working with her media team Kimberly created Texas Parks and Wildlife Boating and Water Safety Facebook and Instagram social media pages reaching more than 40,000 people during water safety month. The social media pages include weekly boating tips and safety messages. She shares many posts from partner organizations on the pages. In 2021 she partnered with Oncor Energy to fund education materials reminding boaters that water and electricity don’t mix. This partnership resulted in 40 new boat ramp safety signs and boater education materials that include information on safe boating around power lines and marinas. Working with the Game Warden Academy Kimberly created a Paddle Patrol course teaching officer’s safety and rescue skills and technical knowledge around paddling and using paddlecraft to patrol.

Lee Gatts is the Director of Government Affairs for the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA). In this role, Gatts leads WSIA’s advocacy and grassroots activities throughout the United States by developing best practices, maintaining waterway access rights, educating participants, promoting safety, and facilitating sustainable industry growth. 

Prior to joining WSIA, Gatts served as Manager of Policy & Engagement for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, covering 15 states in the southern region. During his time at NMMA, Lee was instrumental in building out the regional advocacy apparatus. He expanded member engagement throughout the Southern United States by facilitating on-site visits with members of Congress, state legislators, and local elected officials while protecting the boating industry from harmful legislation and advancing policies that supported boat & engine manufacturers, marine dealers, and accessory/component manufacturers alike. 

George Birdwell, a lifelong resident of Tennessee, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville  Wildlife and Fisheries Science. Birdwell started his career with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in 1998 as a wildlife technician. In 2000, he promoted to wildlife manager, and then in 2002, he transferred to a wildlife officer position in Unicoi County. In 2004, he became a full-time boating officer where he began to investigate many of the accidents occurring in his work district. Birdwell was promoted to statewide boating investigator in 2012. He assists in boat accident investigations, vessel theft investigations, and boat accident and BUI training throughout the state. Birdwell has assisted the NSBC Close-Quarter and Open Water Boat Control program as a master instructor, and he serves on the VIRT Committee for NASBLA. 

Brandy E. Elliott is an attorney for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (Commission) Division of Law Enforcement. One of her primary responsibilities is advising the Division’s Boating and Waterways Section on boating law issues in the state. She is, in fact, the state’s only attorney advising on legal issues related to boating. Brandy is a passionate advocate for safe and lawful boating in Florida.

Among her other responsibilities, Brandy served as the legal process expert for crafting the state’s standardized procedures to ensure due process in the removal and destruction of derelict vessels, and with Commission policy experts, trained law enforcement officers and local government authorities on these processes throughout Florida.

Brandy is a legal advisor to the state’s statutorily created Boating Advisory Council. She has worked with boating associations, lobbyists, and public officials crafting boating legislation and working for its successful passage by the Florida legislature for many years.

Brandy has been practicing law for 12 years and has been with the commission for 13. She is also a trial and appellate attorney handling all forms of boating litigation for the Commission. She has both a juris doctorate and a Masters in Applied American Politics and Policy from Florida State University.