John Bullard was director of the Office of Sustainable Development and Intergovernmental Affairs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, from 1993-present. He was the mayor of the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts from 1986-1992 and historic preservationist of New Bedford from 1974-1985. At NOAA, Bullard directed an office whose mission is to advise on sustainable development and was the administration's point person on the crisis caused by the collapse of Northeastern fisheries. New Bedford, the city where he was mayor, has been transformed by his reorganization of the fishing industry, his clean water policies, his work on crime and drug prevention, and his revitalization of the waterfront and New Bedford's historic district.