Staff Directory

Keith Chanon

Keith Chanon portrait
Email:
kchanon@nsf.gov
Phone:
(703) 292-7305
Fax:
(703) 292-9481
Room:
W 17249
Organization:
OISE
Title:
Program Director

Program Responsibilities:
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)
Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks (SRS RNs)

Biography:

Keith Chanon is a Program Director in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of International Science & Engineering.  Keith manages the Australia, New Zealand, Nordic region, and Sub-Saharan Africa portfolios.  Keith has three decades of international experience and expertise encompassing environmental protection, chemicals and food safety, fisheries/living marine resources, and children’s environmental health.  

Over the last 30 years, he has managed international portfolios for several Federal agencies and international organizations.  Keith began his career with the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and led efforts to reduce risks from persistent organic pollutants (i.e., DDT, Lindane, Chlordane) globally and provided regulatory capacity building for Mexico and countries in Central America to strengthen chemicals management.  At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he coordinated international science activities for NOAA Fisheries and oversaw the development and implementation of its International Science Strategic Plan.  He also undertook a rotational assignment working on Arctic issues for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and served as Deputy Director of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program.  At the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Keith managed partnerships with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Branch Chief and coordinated food safety capacity building activities for countries in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

In addition to his Federal service, he led international activities working for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in Montreal, Canada.

Keith earned a Masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science from The American University.

Keith enjoys outdoor activities (hiking, biking, x-country skiing) with his family and playing the violin (a hobby from the age of