The White House named 12 people as Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood, including Monica Jain, founder and executive director of Fish 2.0, and Linda Behnken,executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, among others.

They will be honored at a White House event Friday.

• Robin Alden is the founding executive director of Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine’s center for coastal fisheries in Stonington, Maine. She is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources and a public member of the New England Fishery Management Council.
• Linda Behnken is executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and was formerly on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, advisor for the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the National Academy of Science Individual Fishing Quota Review Panel, and co-chair on the Council's Essential Fish Habitat committee. She is also a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust
• Chris Brown is president of the Seafood Harvesters of America, president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen's Association, the founder and executive director of the Rhode Island Fluke Conservation Cooperative and he heads up the University of Rhode Island's East Farm Fisheries Center.
• Jason DeLaCruz is the president of Wild Seafood Co., executive director of Gulf Wild and VP of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance
• Byron Encalade is president of the Louisiana Oysterman Association, is currently serving as Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Constable third ward, president of South Plaquemines United Fisheries Cooperative and as an American Legion Post 430 Judge Advocate.
• Monica Jain is the founding director of Fish 2.0, executive director at Manta Consulting and previously worked for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Ocean Conservancy, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program.
• Bun Lai is the owner and chef of Miya’s Sushi, the world’s first sustainable sushi restaurant, recipient of the prestigious 2011 Seafood Ambassador Award from Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch Ambassador and previously worked as a director of Cooking and Nutrition for an NGO.
• Alan Lovewell is the CEO and Co-founder of Real Good Fish and was previously a Sea Grant Fellow
• Kevan Main is the senior scientist and program manager at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and immediate past president of the World Aquaculture Society.
• Luka Mossman is part of the Conservation International Hawaii program, where he serves as the Fisheries Outreach Coordinator.
• Brad Pettinger is the director of the Oregon Trawl Commission and previous collaborator of the Pacific Fishery Management Council process.
• Richard B. Robins, Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs Seafood Market and Ocean Perfect Seafoods, Inc. and he was chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and previously an associate member of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

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