From 1989 through 1992, he served as a senior program officer for the National Research Council's Commission on Life Sciences, where he studied ways to improve federal environmental research and the science that supports decision making. From 1983 through 1989, Gold served as a senior program officer with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has also held positions of visiting scientist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, environmental scientist with the Midwest Research Institute, and staff assistant with the science advisory board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is a member of Sigma Xi, the Ecological Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a current advisor and steering committee member for the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program of the ESA and has served as a member of the program advisory committee for the Harvard University's Senior Managers in Government Program.
Gold is married and has two children.
As the nation's largest water, earth and biological science, and civilian mapping agency, the USGS works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. This information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, contribute to the sound conservation and the economic and physical development of the nation's natural resources, and enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources.