The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is comprised of representatives of Federal agencies who share the responsibility of standardizing geographic names with the Secretary of the Interior. Members and deptuty members are appointed every two years. The committee on which the agency serves is identified next to the agency name.

 

United States Board on Geographic Names

Chair: Tara Wallace

Department of Commerce

Vice-Chair: Marcus Allsup

Department of Defense

 

Executive Secretary for Domestic Names

Vacant

U.S. Geological Survey

523 National Center

Reston, VA 20192-0523

Phone/fax: (703) 648-4552/ (703) 648-4722

E-mail: BGNEXEC@usgs.gov

 

Executive Secretary for Foreign Names

Trent Palmer

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

7500 GEOINT Drive Mail Stop N62

Springfield, VA 22150-7500

Phone/fax: (571) 557-7028/ (571) 558-3113

E-mail: bgnexec@nga.mil

 

Members and Deputy Members (October 1, 2019 - September 30, 2021)

Department of Agriculture (Domestic Names)

Member: Elizabeth K. (Betsy) Kanalley, U.S. Forest Service

Deputy Member: vacant

 

Central Intelligence Agency (Foreign Names)

Member: R. David W.

Deputy Members: Ingert K., Foreign Names Committee Vice-Chair

                            Christopher G.

 

Department of Commerce (Domestic Names and Foreign Names)

Member: Tara Wallace, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Deputy Members: Thaddeus Ellerbe, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

                            William R. Bredemeyer, Bureau of the Census

                            Andrew Flora, Bureau of the Census

 

Department of Defense (Domestic Names and Foreign Names)

Member: Marcus Allsup, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Deputy Members: Nancy Blyler, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

                            Andrew Griffin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

                            David de Hosson

                            Susan Lyon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Domestic Names Committee Vice-Chair

                            Marianne Petty, Office of the Secretary of Defense

 

Government Publishing Office (Domestic Names)

Member: Brenda-Anne C. Forrest

Deputy Member: vacant

 

Department of Homeland Security (Domestic Names and Foreign Names)

Member: Michael Karau, Domestic Names Committee Chair

Deputy Member: Meghan Barrett

                          Curtis Ross

 

Department of the Interior (Domestic Names)

Member: Michael Tischler, U.S. Geological Survey

Deputy Members: Wendi-Starr Brown, Bureau of Indian Affairs

                            Debbie Fugate, U.S. Geological Survey

                            Chris Hammond, U.S. Geological Survey

                            Patrick Mahoney, Bureau of Land Management

                            Ron Salz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

                            Michael Shelton, National Park Service

                            Jeremy Smith, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

 

Library of Congress ( Domestic Names and Foreign Names)

Member: Paulette Hasier

Deputy Members: Veronica Ranieri

                            Timothy St. Onge

 

Postal Service (Domestic Names)

Member: Liz Flake

Deputy Member: Earl Johnson, Jr.

 

Department of State (Foreign Names)

Member: Brooke Marston

Deputy Members: Michael Crino, U.S. Agency for International Development

                            Eric Doornbos

                            Leo I. Dillon, Foreign Names Committee Chair

                            Carrie Stokes, U.S. Agency for International Development

                            M. Scott Thompson, U.S. Agency for International Development

                            

Advisory Committees:

Antarctic Names (ACAN)

Chair: Scott Borg, National Science Foundation

Members: Raymond Arnaudo, Department of State, retired

                Manuel Castro, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

                Bob Glover, U.S. Geological Survey

                Tom Neumann, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

                Mark Rockmore, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, retired

                George Troop, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, retired

Secretary: Roger L. Payne, U.S. Geological Survey

                 E-mail: BGNEXEC@usgs.gov

 

Undersea Features (ACUF)

Chair: Gerard (Gerry) J. Walter, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Members: Ginger Barth, U.S. Geological Survey

                Norman Z. Cherkis, Naval Research Laboratory, retired

                John Smith, University of Hawaii

                Christine M. Taylor, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

                Tara Wallace, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

                Amanda Williams, Department of State

Secretary: Bobby Jovanovski, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

                E-mail: underseafeatures@nga.mil

 

Extra-Terrestrial Features

Chair: vacant

Secretary: Tenielle Gaither, U.S. Geological Survey