Biography

I am a marine ecologist with a life-long passion for ecosystems at the edge of the sea (or the edge of the land depending on your perspective). The places where people, nature, and water come together. I lead the Oregon Sea Grant College Program, a collaboration between NOAA and Oregon State University, whose mission is to spark discovery, understanding, and collaboration to foster healthy, inclusive, and resilient coastal communities and ecosystems. My research projects have focused on the ecology, oceanography, and biogeochemistry of the coastal fringe and nearshore waters, from the wild and wave-swept outer coast to urban estuaries. Themes I am especially interested in include climate change and its impacts (especially, coastal acidification, hypoxia, marine heat waves, sea level rise); stewardship, conservation, and restoration; biodiversity; climate adaptation. My teaching experience includes courses on marine biology and ecology, invertebrate biology, marine plants and algae, biological oceanography, data visualization and analysis, science writing, and science communication. My service work has focused on connecting science to environmental policy and public science engagement. My values prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and access; multicultural understanding; democracy.

Read a bit more about my personal journey here.

Publications

Download my CV.

Interests

  • Climate change
  • Biodiversity
  • Environmental policy
  • Environmental justice
  • Data visualization
  • Science engagement & extension
  • Inclusive pedagogy
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and access
  • STEAM
  • Interdisciplinary, use-inspired, co-developed research

Education

  • PhD in Zoology, 1998

    Oregon State University

  • BS in Biology, 1992

    Brooklyn College - City University of New York

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