With an outpouring of support, Julie Nakamoto is NOAA’s new Team Member of the Month. As an administrative specialist at the University of Honolulu’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Julie is key to the efforts of NOAA Fisheries’ principal investigators.

Julie joined the university’s Honolulu Laboratory in early 2000 with a human resources background. The lab is host to more than 50 employees of the Joint Institute who work closely with lab scientists under a cooperative agreement with NOAA. Julie is being cited for her diligence in bolstering the work of all 50 employees.

Julie said she values the unique nature of the lab’s work and especially the friendly atmosphere. “I jumped at the chance to work there,” she said. A native Hawaiian, Julie has a BA in psychology and her hobby is learning American Sign Language. She also enjoys taking Mah-li (Molly), her Miniature Schanuzer, to the “bark park."

Over the past year, Julie helped plan and execute a complex large-scale recruitment initiative that underscored her excellent organizational skills, persistence and sound grasp of university policy. For more efficient resource management, she both developed and implemented accurate, more up-to-date budget tracking programs. To respond almost immediately to requests for financial information related to grants and budgets, she created outstanding accounting practices, including on-target personnel cost projections for virtually any time frame. Lab staff count on Julie’s guidance in finding excellent student help and she is widely admired for her adeptness at ensuring equity, fairness and consistency in all of her efforts.

Julie’s nomination was supported on multiple levels – from the director, a supervisory economist, the acting chief of the Coral Reef Investigation, the head of the Marine Turtle Research Program and many others. Their comments all point to Julie’s “can do approach,” her pleasant professionalism and careful attention to detail, and her logical, sound and highly efficient contributions to NOAA initiatives.