Janet Coit

An environmental leader for more than thirty years, Janet Coit works at the intersection of law, science and natural resource management. She is the former director of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency responsible for stewardship of U.S. living marine resources. Serving at NOAA from 2021 to January 2025, Janet worked closely with states, tribes and partners, while leading the nation’s efforts to ensure sustainable and “climate-ready” management of our fisheries, conserve marine mammals and imperiled species, and restore coastal and marine habitats. For the ten years before her NOAA tenure, Janet served as the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), the state agency that implements environmental protection laws and manages fish, wildlife, forestry, agriculture and the state park system. At RIDEM, Janet focused on reducing pollution, conserving natural habitats and growing local food systems; she also led the statewide efforts to prepare for and mitigate climate change impacts. Before her time at RIDEM, Janet spent a decade as a leader of the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy where she launched a state and regional marine program. Earlier in her career, she handled environmental issues for three U.S. senators from New England and served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Janet is on the Board of Regents at the American College of Environmental Lawyers. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School where she was president of the Environmental Law Society.