Vera Alexander Award
for Marine Science and Education
The PCCRC Vera Alexander Award for Marine Science and Education is named in honor of Dr. Vera Alexander and given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and education to improve understanding and management of the priceless natural resource heritage of the North Pacific.
Award Recipients
Stephanie Madsen, January 2025
Stephanie Madsen is a longtime PCCRC Advisory Board member and supporter. She retired in 2024 after a long career as the executive director of the At-Sea Processors Association. Madsen also served as vice president of the Pacific Seafood Processors Association and chair of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Jan Jacobs, January 2021
Jan Jacobs is a founding member and long-serving vice-chairman of the PCCRC Advisory Board who has devoted much of his life to fishing and furthering the sustainability of Alaska's commercial fisheries. Jacobs’ tenure and engagement in Alaska-region fisheries have fostered good governance and encouraged marine science and education needed to ensure the sustainability of these fisheries and the ecosystems they depend on.
Dave Benson, August 2017
Dave Benson is a founding board member of the PCCRC and has devoted much of his life to fishing and furthering the sustainability of Alaska's commercial fisheries. In the early 1990s, Benson took the position of Director of Government Affairs for Arctic Alaska, a large Seattle-based fishing company. In 1993 he was appointed by the Secretary of State to serve on the Bering Sea Fisheries Advisory Body to advise on the Donut Hole Treaty and U.S./Russia bilateral relations. Benson has had a profound impact on managing marine fishery resources as well as research activities off the Alaska coast. He served on both the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the North Pacific Research Board in several roles.
Vera Alexander, January 2015
Vera Alexander was a prominent expert in the field of biological oceanography. Her research interests included primary production and nitrogen dynamics and high-latitude limnology. In 1965 she became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska. In 1987, when UAF formed the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, she became its first dean and served for 17 years. She served as one of the three commissioners on the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, chair of PICES (the North Pacific Marine Science Organization), and chair of the International Committee for the Society of Sigma Xi.