Kristen Fletcher

Kristen M. Fletcher is Principal of Fletcher Coastal Consulting in Pacific Grove, California. She offers 16 years of experience in ocean and coastal law and policy analysis, research and outreach. Fletcher's work includes advancing coastal management at the state, regional and national levels including issues around the Coastal Zone Management Act, coastal and marine spatial planning, the National Ocean Policy, climate change adaptation, and coastal and marine renewable energy. Current and recent clients include World Ocean Council, Conservation International, Battelle Memorial Institute, and Coastal States Organization. Fletcher also works as a photographer and focuses on telling the story of the services of Monterey County Nonprofits through photos. Photography clients include Easter Seals Central California, Community Foundation of Monterey County, Leadership Monterey Peninsula and UnChained, Inc.

From 2007 – 2012, Fletcher was Executive Director of the Coastal States Organization (CSO) which represents the governors of the nation’s 35 coastal states and territories on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues. While at CSO, she developed positions and represented state interests in national policies, testified before Congress on appropriations and legislative priorities and maintained the financial and operational health of the organization. Previously, Fletcher directed the Marine Affairs Institute and Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program at Roger Williams University School of Law (RWU) where she advised university researchers, federal and state agencies, and other Sea Grant constituents on ocean and coastal law issues and directed research and outreach projects. While at RWU, she taught Ocean and Coastal Law, Natural Resources Law, and Fisheries Law. She also directed the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program and was founding director of the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Fletcher earned her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Auburn University, J.D. from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, and Master of Laws in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. Fletcher is a Board Member of UnChained, a Santa Cruz County Nonprofit that pairs shelter dogs with at-risk youth for canine training and compassion. Fletcher is a Past-President of The Coastal Society, an Alumni Fellow with Leadership Monterey Peninsula, and a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program. In October 2014, she was honored as a Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School.