Mike Emerson

With climate change altering and opening up the Arctic region, the U.S. Coast Guard has a sense of urgency anchored by the 2022 U.S. National Strategy for the Arctic to chart a path forward in the evolving region while confronting the regional dominance ambitions of Russia and China. The change is rapid and so are the challenges to maritime security and national security. Mike Emerson is the Director for Marine Transportation Systems and Senior Arctic Policy Advisor at Coast Guard Headquarters. He manages a broad portfolio of marine navigation, waterway, and bridge programs, and is also responsible for a wide variety of Polar and Arctic safety and security initiatives. Emerson returned to Coast Guard Headquarters in August 2015 following a three-year assignment in the Office of Operations at the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters. After 30 years of service, Emerson retired from the Coast Guard in 2014. His tours of duty included Senior Fellow for the CNO Strategic Studies Group in Newport, R.I., Chief of Aviation Forces at Coast Guard Headquarters, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., Chief of Drug Interdiction at Coast Guard Headquarters, four tours in aviation as a C-130 pilot, and two tours at sea. He is immediate past president of the Coast Guard Aviation Association.