Amber Mace

Amber Mace

Dr. Amber Mace is the Chief Executive Officer of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), a nonpartisan, nonprofit corporation established in 1988 to advise the state of California on matters of science and technology. As CEO, Mace provides strategic leadership grounded in CCST’s values of service, independence, and partnership, which are anchored in the institution’s foundational commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, to increase CCST’s impact informing and advancing science-based policy change for California, the fifth largest economy in the world.

As a systems thinker and a pragmatic problem solver, Mace brings to CCST more than two decades of leadership experience working at the nexus of science and policy, drawing on her extensive background in environmental policy and marine ecology. During her tenure, Mace has built a diverse and high-performing team to deliver scientific guidance to the state of California on a range of important issues including disaster resilience and adaptation, climate change, and energy policy.

Always driving toward continuous improvement, she has grown the organization in size and impact, raising over $40 million from individuals, foundations, and the state to support CCST programs, including the Disaster Resilience Initiative and the CCST Science Fellows Program. Through her collaborative and inclusive approach, Mace has convened thought leaders and spearheaded many cross-sectoral partnerships to tackle some of today’s most complex and pressing issues.

Mace began her career in ocean science and policy as a certified research SCUBA diving instructor at the University of California, Berkeley. She then joined the National Marine Sanctuary Program in San Francisco, where she led the development of a visitor center on Crissy Field. After completing her graduate work in ecology, she was named as a California Sea Grant State Fellow at the California Natural Resources Agency, then as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow in the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

Mace’s communication and analytical skills and her evidence-based approach to problem solving led to her being named the first science advisor to California’s Ocean Protection Council (OPC) as the Executive Director of the California Ocean Science Trust. Subsequently, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed her as the Assistant Secretary for Coastal Matters at the California Natural Resources Agency, where she held the position of Executive Director of California’s Ocean Protection Council.

Previously, Mace served as the inaugural Associate Director of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, where she continues to serve as a Policy Fellow. In addition, Mace served nine years on the National Sea Grant Advisory Board at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She is also a member of the California Sea Grant Advisory Board and the CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Selection Committee.

Fun facts: She participated as a scuba diver in an expedition to locate the oldest known shipwreck on the coast of California in great white shark feeding grounds; she was trained to pilot a one-person submersible vessel as part of the National Geographic Sustainable Seas Expedition; and she was recognized as a Coastal Hero by Sunset magazine in 2011.

Mace holds a BA in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley, a PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis and the Bodega Marine Laboratory, and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.