Biography

Thaïs joined CRC as a coastal resilience specialist in 2023, bringing with her the interdisciplinary skills needed to assist coastal communities in becoming more resilient to the effects of climate change. Born in Fall River, MA, Thaïs is a coastal ecologist whose international research has taken her overseas from New Zealand to work on conservation of overharvested shellfish, to an archipelago in Mexico assessing the effects of climate and marine input on terrestrial communities. Thaïs also spent two years in Rwanda teaching biology with the U.S. Peace Corps.

Thaïs gained a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Hampshire and was later awarded a M.S. in Marine Science from the University of San Diego, where she concentrated on habitat connectivity amongst coastal communities. Early in her career, Thaïs worked in several National Estuarine Research Reserves monitoring invasive species in coastal habitats and human induced effects related to climate change. Thaïs has a strong commitment to integrating outreach and education throughout her scientific career; she has spent time at the Mystic Aquarium in CT where she cared for California sea lions while providing marine mammal education to the community. Additionally, she has led middle school and high school students on outdoor interpretive ecology programs as a Naturalist.

Before joining CRC, Thaïs worked for the Town of Nantucket’s Natural Resources Department as their Water Resource Specialist, overseeing the Island’s estuarine monitoring and research program. Prior to her role on Nantucket, Thaïs worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to develop recommendations on policy and program issues to better characterize potential impacts of biosolids on water quality and human health.