SAO Chair David Balton visits Tromsø 17 July 2015The United States The new Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials paid a visit to the Arctic Council Secretariat in Tromsø... Ambassador Balton is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries in the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science. He is responsible for coordinating the development of U.S. foreign policy concerning oceans and fisheries, and overseeing U.S. participation in international organizations dealing with these issues. Dr. Carlo is the former Executive Director of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, and is also a former American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation. Accompanying Balton and Carlo was Ambassador Balton’s well-travelled companion Ponce de Leon.