U.S. Board on Geographic Names
Member Directory
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: Kenia Allen, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
William R. Bredemeyer, Bureau of the Census
Thaddeus Ellerbe, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Andrew Flora, Bureau of the Census
Department of Defense (Domestic Names and Foreign Names)
Member: Marcus Allsup, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Foreign Names Committee Chair
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: Meghan Barrett, Domestic Names Committee Chair
Deputy Member: 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: Alesha Perdomo
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
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