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Coast Guard Foundation Welcomes Two New Board Members

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Jen Fyke Web
by Jennifer Crowley Fyke
March 26, 2020

The Coast Guard Foundation welcomed two new board members at the beginning of 2020. Eric Nagel of Houston, Texas and Clayton H. Spikes of Fort Myers, Florida will serve three-year terms on the Board of Trustees.

The Foundation currently has 77 active trustees and directors on the board, led by Will Jenkins as the chair.

Will Jenkins, Chair; Duncan Smith, Secretary; Cherrie Felder, Treasurer; and Chris Johnsen, Vice Chair, are featured in the photo above.

We are honored to have Eric and Clay join our board. They bring experience, knowledge, and a strong commitment to helping Coast Guard members and families, where and when they need it the most.

- Susan P. Ludwig, Coast Guard Foundation President

Eric Nagel is a 1995 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. After graduating with a Marine Transportation Bachelor of Science, he went on to sail in the U.S. flag industry from 1995 through 2000. Transitioning ashore, he initially worked with Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C. as a Marine Transportation Specialist prior to serving in various capacities with ExxonMobil. In the end of 2006, Nagel transitioned to the foreign flag side of the marine industry where he was with AET for almost 10 years gaining experience both in the United States around the company’s full-service lightering business as well as eight years shared between the company’s headquarters in Singapore and London. In 2015, Nagel joined Teekay Shipping and repatriated to Houston, Texas to become the Director of Atlantic Aframax and Global Support Services.


Clayton H. Spikes received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master’s degree in Physics/Oceanography from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. After an accomplished career, including two Vietnam tours, three years as Military Applications Officer with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), European Office, and Commanding Officer of Oceanographic Unit Three, he moved to the private sector as COO of a small business. He was the at-sea Test Director for ONR’s Acoustic Technology Experiment Program for 14 years in which he was responsible for all facets of the sea tests in the North Pacific, including all ships, submarines and aircraft involved. Spikes wrote the first Environmental Impact Statement for a U.S. Navy operational system and was Editor-in-Chief for the first environmental compliance document produced for the European Union. Spikes also was Program Manager for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP). He was Program Director for the Egyptian SH-2G(E) Helicopter ASW Tactics Development and Training Program, wherein he performed in-country training to Egyptian Air Force pilots in support of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command. As CEO, he continued as Principal Advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations for all Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) and Compact LFA environmental compliance requirements, monitoring and mitigation procedures, and litigation support for dealing with the Ninth District Court, San Francisco regarding LFA sonar.

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