Attention Marine Biology Alumni: If you want to remain on the Marine Biology Google Group list and continue to receive notices from us, you must provide us with a non-URI email address because all my.uri.edu accounts are being deleted in Spring 2023. Send your information to: urimbio@etal.uri.edu ASAP.
We would love to know what you have been doing since graduation. Please send updates via e-mail to: urimbio@etal.uri.edu.
We are using LinkedIn to track MBio alumni, so please join LinkedIn and ask to connect with “Jacqueline Webb”.
The information below represents the first few degrees/jobs/positions taken after graduation from URI.
Class of 2023
Katie Gheysen – Graduate student Texas A& M Corpus Christie
Ben Poepsel – Peace Corps Volunteer
We need information about: Rosie Bailey, Greg Bales, Victoria Bain, Duncan Bates, John Biechler, Ian Bush, Jennifer Campbell, Brandon Chapman, Lidja Cross, Jake Denelsbeck, Natalie Devitt, Christina DiFranco, Emily Drappeau, Willow Dunster, Cat Eno, Hana-lei Evans, Lily Fitzgerald, Kayla Fraser, Samantha Gardner, Chloe Gilligan, Kevin Giordano, Rebecca Goodridge, Joshua Hall, Ariana Helger, Patricia Henle, Kevin Henkel, Jillian Hettrich, Jennifer Hopkins, Katrina Kulesh, Leland Macey, Tori March, Kalyn Markuns, Piper Marmion, Nicole Masone, Kimberly Masse, Connor Mathis, Rachel Matisko, Marguerite McNamara, Janelle Mercer, Hailey Millett, Naomy Rabalo Moreno , Madison Piti, Jacob Rancourt, Sierra Richardson, Gwenevier Riendeau, Zac Robinson, Tyler Simonenko, Viv Stansell, Daravuth Tep, Miguel Vazquez-Fontane, Ashley Velzis, Cassie Wandell, Brooke Withers
Class of 2022
Ashley Champagne – working for EPA, Aquaculture Support
Max Hampton – doing MS in the Webb Lab at URI
Bailey Jenkins – (double major in OCE) – working in industry
Myles Wagner – graduate student in marine ecology at Texas A & M
We need information about: Nicole Adelsohn, Drew Alves, Glynnis Boyce, Hannah Brown, Zyan Brown, Dario Castillo, Ashlee Clarke, Katrina Davis, Kristen Doyle, Joseph Dyer, Ellie Felderman, Emma Gerike, Kels Gillen, Finn Harty, Marie Haviland, Harrison Hepding, Allison Infante, Kerri Johnson, Gianna Lourenco Joe Maiorano, Ryan McCabe, Danielle McClendon, Melvin Perez-Bereg, Brigitte Pinault, Peyton Reusch, Tessa Seebeck, Jackson Werner
Class of 2021
Bethany Deloof – MS student at URI (w/Dr. Brad Wetherbee)
Emily Fredsbo – Intern, Beluga & Pinniped department, Mystic Aquarium
Allison Gallagher – graduate student, SUNY Stony Brook; had studied marine ecology in Korea
Cara Megill – PhD student, University of Hawaii
Elizabeth Saraf – NSF Graduate Research Fellow and graduate student at Nova Southeastern University; had worked for Dr. Prada (BIO/CELS)
Sarah O’Sullivan – doing 5th year MO at GSO
We need information about: Adam Antonitis, Lindsay Agvent, Greg Bales, Kayley Balken, Kristen Daye, Annie DiCerbo, Fiona Edwards, Emma Gerike, Caitlin Germek, Thomas Gmoser, Sierra Gray, Britney Howland, Mia Luzietti, Erin Magliano, Kimberly Masse, Kelsey Mudry, Abby Patterson, Mark Read, Sean Schaefer, Eli Valentine
Class of 2020
Anna Byczynski – Research Assistant at MBL, Woods Hole, working on regeneration and cell development inPlaytnereis.
Maranda Ealahan – MS student, Nova Southeastern University, studying hammerhead shark behavior (Nadler Lab); had been Marine Science Educator, New England Science and Sailing Foundation (CT)
Jessi Florendo – MS student, University of Washington, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
Karla Haiat – Lab Technician, Peter Girguis Lab at Harvard University
Benjamin Hooks – working for URI Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
Danielle Jorge – Research Assistant, Suckling Lab (CELS/URI)
Haley Kenyon – MS student, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, College of Charleston
Alyssa Lopez – NSF Graduate Research Fellow, University of Washington; Fisheries Observer in Alaska
Chris Mayer – MS student, Nova Southeastern University
Malachy McCaffrey – Lab Tech, Marine Science Institute, UTexas, Port Aransas; Had been North Pacific Fisheries Observer at Saltwater Inc.
Ana McMenamin – Research Assistant, Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole); had been Coral Physiology Lab Assistant, University of Rhode Island
Gabby Pantoni – Laboratory Technician, Coral Reef Health and Ecology Lab, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (Florida Atlantic University), working with Dr. Joshua Voss.
Marina Sapeta – Groundfish Observer, Alaskan Observers, Inc.
Juliette Straub – Husbandry Assistant at Seaworld
Melati Tarrant – Quality Control Microbiologist at Sheffield Pharmaceuticals, LLC
Erin Tully – MS student, Oregon State University in Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences
Max Zavell – PhD student, UCONN (Baumann Lab) – ocean acidification effects on fish
We need information about: Olivia Amante, Laura Berard, Andrew Cammisa, Erin Carlson, Gabrielle Caruso, Ashlee Clarke, Joey Clayton, Richie Cuadra, Sharil Deleon, Jen Diduk, Kevin Dyer, Alexa Farraj, Ian Fletcher, Jaime Glennon, Jess Hiltz, Annemarie Holmes, James Holmes, Matthew Kenyon, Nicole MacKinnon, Alec Mauk, Alexis Miket, Danielle Nadeau, Bailey Nevins, Mekenna Peter, Nate Pierce, Stacy Robichaud, Margaret Rodrigue, Allison Scannell, Sean Schaefer, Jess Starace, Andrea Stevens, Madison Thornhill, Zac Tressin, Maureen Twomey
Class of 2019
Gyasi Alexander – Environmental Educator, Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum (Sanibel, FL); had been Assistant Science Lab Coordinator, Hagerstown Community College
Natascha Borgstein – MS student (Marine Biology), University of Groningen, Netherlands
Kathryn Brooks – Shellfish Assistant, Town of Barnstable (MA)
Mike Burgess – MS student (as of 9/21), UCONN EEB program, working on migration of juvenile river herring (with with Dr. Eric Schultz); had been Research Associate at Yale – Zebrafish facility
Nicholas Celico – Master of Oceanography (MO) at GSO – developed shellfish restoration plan for Winnapaug Pond in Misquamicut, R.I. See PROFILE.
Erin Chille – MS in Putnam Lab (BioSci/CELS)
Evan Ernst – Intern, Mote Marine Laboratory, Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research
Emma Ferrante (MB minor) – Intern, CRMC RI Intern; Fish Facility Manager, Harvard Medical School; Coastal Research Management Council (RI); Peace Corps
Deanna Gardner – MS Student, Environmental Science and Policy, Johns Hopkins University: had been Naturalist/Deckhand, Pacific Whale Foundation, Hawaii
Nick Houseman – Biology/Physical Science Teacher, Hollis-Brookline HS (Providence, RI)
Elizabeth Ilagan – Masters student in Education, Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning, Cambridge, MA; student teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Lauren Kittell-Porter – Graduate Research Assistant, U. Maryland Eastern Shore – studying storm impacts on water dynamics in Maryland Coastal Bays
Rachel Loffredo – Environmental Specialist, Triumvirate Environmental
Nicole McAdams – Aquarist, Biomes Marine Biology Center; had been Marine Educator, Project Oceanology (CT)
Shannon McCarthy – At-Sea Monitor/Northeast Groundfish Observer, Fathom Resources (Middletown, RI); Master of Oceanography (MO) at GSO; NOAA fisheries observer
Amanda Merritt – MS student, James Cook University (Australia)
Dawn Parry – PhD student, Cornell University, Marine Bioacoustics
Amy Pisacreta – Associate Scientist, bluebird bio (Cambridge, MA)
Kiran Reed – M.S. Student, California State University, Northridge
Lauren Richards – Fisheries Observer, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Ben Sacco – Intern, New England Aquarium (tropical gallery); had been Seasonal Shellfish Assistant, Town of Barnstable (MA)
Sara Shapiro – Lab Technician, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MA)
Madeleine Sherman – Communications and Educational Associate, Gates Coral Laboratory, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology; working on community-focused coral restoration project (RestoreWithResilience.org); had been Lab Tech at Hawaii Pacific University and Teacher, St. Andrews Schools (Hawaii)
Evelyn Spencer – Graduate student, GSO
Aditi Tripathy – PhD student, University of New Hampshire – bioacoustics
Samantha Ward – working in wildlife rehabilitation; applying for graduate school
We need information about: Lauryl Byrnes, Jenny Camerlengo, Daniel Caplen, Kyle Fountain, Seanna Gray, Suzy Gungor, Christopher Jenkins, Sanderson Kemp, Kendall Lewis, Joshua Long, Kristin Lyons, Laura McCloud, Joseph McGee, Elizabeth Molnar, Nicholas Mongeau, Cecilia (Skylar) Nelson, Kyle Overwood, Andrew Petlock, Nate Pierce, Sydney Smith, Chloe Smith, Emily Young, Sam Zabronsky, Parker Simmons.
Class of 2018
Michael Blanco – Fisheries Observer, A.I.S., Inc., Northeast Fisheries Observer Program
Erin Bowman – Intern, Coral Restoration Foundation, Key Largo FL
Alison Frey – MS Student, UMass Dartmouth; had been Laboratory Technician, NOAA-NMFS, Narragansett – analysis of plankton samples and otoliths, and helping with NEFSC field surveys.
Tiare Fridrich – MS in Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management, U. Miami; Manatee Biologist, Save the Manatee Club in Florida; had been Fish and Wildlife Technician, NYS DEC DMR, Bureau of Marine Habitat Protection (in NYC) – marine habitat related assessment and monitoring; Scientific Methodology Liaison for ReefSave; Seasonal Assistant Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Sea Explorers Marine Camp
Danielle Jordan – PhD student, Univ. Aberdeen (Scotland) (as of 9/21) studying calcium transport mechanisms in invertebrates using CRISPR (with Dr. Victoria Sleight); lab technician, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL, Woods Hole) using CRISPR in amphibians (in Horb Lab).
Liheng Ma – MS student in Conservation Biology, University of Queensland, Australia; underwater photographer
Amelia May – MS student in Biology, Boston University; had worked at Biscayne National Park with the Future Park Leaders internship program; had taught HS environmental science and chemistry.
Melina Metaxas – Research Internship, Mystic Aquarium – worked with Dr. Paul Anderson on “A framework for the selection of marine aquarium fishes to target for sustainable species selection and aquaculture”.
Emily Pepin – Student, Veterinary School, Melbourne Australia; had been Intern, Florida Fish and Wildlife manatee rescue program
Julia Rucko – Arborist, Bartlett Tree Experts, had been Arborist Intern, Longwood Gardens (PA)
Lauren Salisbury – Research Assoc., HelixBind, Inc. (in Mass.); MSc, University of St. Andrews (Scotland) in marine mammal science; had been Research Assistant, URI NRS (with Dr. Mark Stolt) – Using Thin-Layer Deposition to Manage Sea-Level Rise in Tidal Marshes
Angela Stahl – MS Student, GSO (McMahon Lab); Intern, Animal Husbandry and Scuba Diving, New England Aquarium/New England Aquarium Quincy Animal Care Center.
Miranda Van Allen – Receiving and Processing Manager, Wellfleet Shellfish Company; had been Lead Scientist, New Logic Marine Science Camp in NJ; worked for AIS as a fisheries observer in Point Pleasant NJ
We need information about: Daniel Achilles, Johann Becker, Christina Cosquete, Jared Defond, Carly DeLiberty, Kirsten Fagan, Mackenzie Gendron, Matthew Gibson, Long Gong, Paige Gufler, Jane Hamilton, Elizabeth Hertzler, Ryan Housden, Randy Joslin, Gloria Keogh, Emily Krochin, Jordon Lyon, Kaitlyn Quirke, Ryan Smith, Michael Tortorelli, James Tuttle, Connor Ward, Nikki Wowaka, Amy Wentzel.
Class of 2017
Jessica Casey – doing environmental work (invasive species)
Lucas Crowley – Volunteer, Mystic Aquarium
Jessica Freedman – Environmental Planner, McLaughlin Corp.; MS Environmental Science and Policy, Johns Hopkins University; Had been on the RVIB Palmer with the Robinson lab at GSO (www.snowbirdstransect.org).
Christine Gardiner – MS student, GSO (in Lohmann Lab) – studying the presence of halogenated natural products (PFAS) in fish and algae tissues in Narragansett Bay
John (Jack) Girard – MS, Cal State Northridge (2021) – coral reef ecology; had been Research Assistant, Darrin Freshwater Institute (NY) – field sampling, and lab work pertaining to Lake George watershed
Katherine Hannibal – MS student, Cal State Northridge; spearheaded environmental outreach program for 5-9th graders; had been Assistant Coordinator, Teen Program, New England Aquarium.
Jessica Hutnick – Intern, Mote Marine Laboratory (FL)
Marguerite Kinsella – Teacher, Primrose Schools (NJ); Naturalist, Environmental Education Center in NJ.
Robert Krulee – Fish and Wildlife Researcher, RI Department of Environmental Management
Jennifer Lander – Intern, Coastal Systems Group
Nick Letarte – IFS Fisheries Observer, collecting data for NOAA and NMFS
Mitchell Mcgrane – working on an oyster farm
Danielle Moore – Marine Research Assistant I at GSO (Wishner Lab)
Katie Nickles – Working at GSO and in CELS; MS in Webb Lab (CELS) – studied developmental sensory biology of coral reef fishes
Thomas O’Brien – Fisheries Surveyer, RI Fish and Wildlife
Taylor Perrotta – Aquatic Specialist II, Charles River Laboratories, Charles River Laboratories (MA)
Darby Pochtar – MS Student, George Mason University, Environmental Science and Policy
Lauren Potak – Marine Science Educator, Sea Turtle Camp (NC) and Educator at Long Island Aquarium
Victoria Russo – working at Early Intervention Center
Haley Schanne – MS student, College of Charleston, in Environmental Studies and a Master’s of Public Administration; had worked for the Chesapeake Conservation Corps through the Chesapeake Bay Trust working in environmental education, creating and piloting service-learning curriculum that focuses on watershed issues and health (https://cbtrust.org/prospective/)
We need information about: Nicholas Castro, Joey Ehrhard, Bowman Halstead, Emily Haws, Nicole Labbe, Renee LaGarenne, Diana Lourenco, Katherine Lynch, Cynthia Michaud, Christian Schultz, Jennie Warrell, Michaela Wellman
Class of 2016
Renee Bakker – Intern, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
Kelsey Beachman – doing MS in Environmental Sciences/Coastal Management at University North Carolina, Wilmington.
Lauren Benoit – Working with Joe Romeiro, award-winning underwater cinematographer and naturalist known for his work with sharks (frequently seen on Shark Week); Received Master of Oceanography from GSO (5th year BS/MO); spent Summer 2016 working in Fiji on shark conservation. See photos at: laurenbenoit.com. See article here.
Jessica Bornstein – Intern, Save the Bay
Alexandra Bruce – Volunteer, Save the Bay
Emily Derome – Intern, Oceanarium in Bar Harbor, ME
Ciara Dawson – MS Student in Biomimicry, Arizona State University.
Camilla Di Persia – Research Technician, lab of Dr. Claire Paris, University of Miami (RSMAS)
Sean Duffey – Coastal Habitat Specialist, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; was NOAA Coastal Management Fellow (2 years) in Boston MA (via national competition); Received Master of Oceanography from GSO (5th year BS/MO); had Summer 2016 internship with RI DEM.
Madison Francoeur – Marine Science Instructor, SeaCamp (FL)
Jaclyn Friedman – MS Student, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS, College of William and Mary, VA), working with Drs. Elizabeth Shadwick and Juliette Smith on long-term patterns of carbon cycling in Chesapeake Bay.
Andrea Fusco – Biological Sciences Technician, US fish and Wildlife Service; Aquarist, Block Island Maritime Institute; Graduate Research Intern, MBL, Woods Hole; MS, Three Seas Program, Northeastern Univ.
David Gleeson – Landscape and Underwater Photographer (https://www.davegleeson.com); MO student at GSO (Fall 2017); had been Fisheries Observer.
Grace Hanson – Research Assistant, Nova Southeastern University – Coral Reef Restoration (w/ Dr. D. Gilliam); had been Marine Biologist and Mate in the Virgin Islands with Sail Caribbean – set up long-term data sets and taught HS campers about the ocean and assisted with their research projects.
Ann Kelly – Shellfish Assistant, Town of Barnstable
Kelsey Law – Mate on charter boat; Guest Engagement Intern, Florida Aquarium, Tampa; Camp Counselor/Intern, Nature’s Academy, Bradenton, FL
Kyle St. Pierre – Crew on SSV Oliver Hazard Perry (out of Newport)
Aimee Sugrue – Assistant Trainer at Mystic Aquarium; Sea Lion and Penguin Husbandry Intern, Mystic Aquarium
Steven Tadros – Junior Scientist, RPS, a science and technology solutions company located in South Kingstown (www.rpsgroup.com / www.asascience.com); MO from GSO (5th year BS/MO)
Albin Werwaiss – Fisheries Observer, Fathom Research LLC (Maine); Commercial Lobster Fisherman (stern man)
Daniel Wolf – Graduate Student, doing MS in Ohio
We need information about: Danielle Arpino, Kelsey Brown, Heather Chan, Alexander Claros, Emily Derome, Julianne Haesche, Nicole Marone, Kaylee Stanton, Hannah Vegh.
Class of 2015
Nathan Andrews – Fisheries Specialist and APAIS Field Technician, RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) – Working on the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey for the Atlantic Coast Cooperative Statistical Program, assisting DEM with other research projects, such as oyster restoration projects; had been an Intern, Friday Harbor Soundwatch Program, working with killer whales.
Dylan Bedortha – Intern at Turtle Island Restoration Network; Fisheries Observer, Pacific Island Regional Observer Program (http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/OBS/obs_index.html); had been Intern, Aquaculture and Aquaponics Farm in Maryland where he was hired by Farm Manager, Emily Becker (MBio Class of 2011; MS 2013).
Oliver Bender – MS Student, University of New Hampshire (with Dr. David Berlinsky, a URI alum); had been Intern, Southeast New England Ventless Trap Survey (lobsters); Intern, Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation; Research Assistant, Webb Lab/URI, (sensory biology of a coral reef goby).
Emily Bernstein – Animal Care and Training Intern, Dolphins Plus Bayside in Key Largo, FLA
Erin Bilbo – Substitute Teacher, North Providence School Department; Marine Research Specialist, Inner Space Center at GSO – assisted with education and outreach efforts, supports Center operations and leads Oceanography Explorer Camps.
Emily Bishop – Owner/Marine Biologist at Westward Ecology (Independent contractor providing services in data collection, species observation, QA/QC, analysis, and reporting); had been Education and Outreach Assistant, North Olympic Salmon Coalition, Port Hadlock, WA (w/Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program). Had been Intern, Guillemot Research Group, http://pigeonguillemot.org, monitoring pigeon guillemots that breed in the bluffs around Whidbey Island, WA. “If you ever have students that are interested in hearing from a former student/moving to WA/ or need a connection to some Puget Sound marine resources, feel free to send them my way!”
Michael Donnell – Intern, New England Aquarium
Alexandra Egan – PhD student in New Zealand (School of Veterinary Science, Massey University) – studying environmental and economic impacts of oil spills within New Zealand; had completed MS in Environmental Manaagement (A.Egan@massey.ac.nz)
Katharine Egan – Associate Scientist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research; Sea Grant Knauss Fellow (2018; working at NOAA); NOAA Hollings Scholar; MS, U. Virgin Islands (2018) – worked on modelling endangered coral species abundance in mesophotic and shallow coral reefs in the Virgin Islands; Biologist, NOAA Beaufort Laboratory in Beaufort, NC, and GIS Analyst for the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP); working on developing a tool to assess the population status of threatened corals in U.S. jurisdictions. “If any students are interested in GIS analyses, quantitative ecology, data science, coral reef ecology, applying to grad school, or working for NOAA, please feel free to pass my URI email along to them (katharineegan34@gmail.com). I would love to be able to help students figure out what interests them the most in addition to giving helpful advice.”
Flora Gibbs – Fish Hatchery Specialist, WA Department of Fish & Wildlife; MS student, Walla Walla University; had been Intern, RI Department of Health assessing water quality at all the Rhode Island beaches; Intern, Mote Marine Lab/Aquarium – Sea turtle care, training, and research.
Rebecca Griffin – Lead Scientist, New Logic Marine Science Camp (K-8). In charge of running/planning activities at several different locations along the Jersey shore (www.marinesciencecamp.com).
Maureen Hayden – Ph.D. student, Texas A&M University in Marine Biology (with Dr. Mary Wicksten); MS, Walla Walla University (with Dr. Kirt Onthank) – worked on thermal preferences in the Smoothskin Octopus (Muusoctopus leioderma).
Teegan Innis – Research Specialist, U. Penn. (symbiosis of reef-building corals using molecular biology, physiology and microbial laboratory techniques); MS, Three Seas Program – Northeastern University (Marine Biology).
Meagan Leppicello – Aquarist and Education Intern, Save The Bay
Katherine Marr – Master Educator, Chincoteague Bay Field Station; Adult and Family Educator, Chincoteague Bay Field Station (as per LinkedIn); had been Intern, Reef Environmental Education Foundation, in Key Largo, Florida.
Fiona Mackechnie – MS Student, University of Highlands and Islands (Scottish Association for Marine Science), Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Aquaculture, Environment and Society.
Jillon McGreal – Marine Technician, Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS); had been Marine Technician Intern, GSO/URI on R/V Endeavor; Field Technician, GSO; Research Assistant, Maria Mitchell Association on Nantucket.
Suzanne Meiman – Guest Services, Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, FLA
Alexandra Moen – Assistant Dive Safety Officer, URI.
Allison Myers – Peace Corps Volunteer/Coastal Resource Management Volunteer in the Philippines. “I’m so excited to use my knowledge and experience in such a rewarding way! CRM Volunteers work in partnership with local government officials and cooperate closely with NGOs and academic institutions. Together they assist coastal populations in developing, implementing, and managing integrated CRM plans and projects. They also assist communities with organization, environmental education and training, and establishing the bases for legal protection of fish stocks and marine habitats”.
Rachel Revolinski – Aquarist Intern, Coral World Ocean Park, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Mary Catherine Rocca – Intern, Mote Marine Laboratory (marine mammals)
Dr. Krystal Schultz – Veterinarian, Small Animal at South Windsor Veterinary Clinic; DVM, Tufts University Veterinary School (2019).
Teresa Schwemmer – PhD student, Stony Brook University (School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences) – working on physiological effects of ocean acidification on Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia.; had worked for Dr. Seibel, URI.
Clarisse Sullivan – MS, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, in Biological Oceanography (Rappé Lab) – working on bioinformatic analysis of DNA sequence data from Juan de Fuca Ridge Axis; Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations Graduate Fellow; participated in research cruise to North Pond in the Atlantic Ocean in 2017 to collect ocean crustal fluids from borehole observatories.
Katherine Viducic – MS Student at URI with Dr. Austin Humphries
Michael Vondras – Intern, Hudson River Mercury Surveillance (with Dr Holsen at Clarkson University); teaching Marine Biology classes to home schoolers for Homeschoolers on the Hudson.
We need information about: William Botta, Rhianna Bozzi, Rachael Desfosses, Bryanne Fontaine, Ryan Kenneally, Katrina Kleinhans, Nicholas Koester, Kelley McBride, Michael McNally, Jessica Perreault, Michael Petitpas, Elizabeth Raymond, Thomas Reiske, Richard Turcotte, Vanessa Van Schaik, Jacqueline Weeks, Amy Whitehead, Quentin Wysopal
Class of 2014
Michael Canton – PhD student and RISE Scholar (MS 2016), New Mexico State University (environmental and wildlife science)
Taylor Clement – MS student, Western Washington University (marine genomics)
Dennis Conetta – PhD student in the Putnam Lab, URI.
Katelyn (Dash) Walland – Lab Manager/Research Technician, Marder Lab Brandeis University; MS in Lane Lab (BioSci/CELS) at URI.
Allison Holevoet – Fisheries observer in North Pacific.
Christopher Holland – Post-doc in Fisheries at Oregon State Univ.; PhD, Texas A&M University (animal behavior; lab of Dr. G. Rosenthal); taught middle school in Alaska in Spring 2014.
Nicholas Jouett – doing research at BIOS in Bermuda.
Dr. Eilea Knotts – Instructional Faculty/Lab Coordinator, Univ. South Carolina; PhD , Integrative Biology, University of South Carolina – worked on effects of inhibited carbonic anhydrase on the natural phytoplankton communities in coastal waters at the Baruch Marine Field Lab; MS in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC
Megan Landis – working with Soundwatch on San Juan Island in association with Friday Harbor Labs (U. Wash.) – monitoring whale acoustics and looking at boat regulations in relation to cetacean movement.
Michael Long – (FAVS major, minor in Marine Biology) – MS student at UMass Amherst – working for Mass Audubon at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod on horseshoe crab acoustic telemetry in Wellfleet Harbor; had worked for the Southern New England Cooperative Ventless Trap Survey through GSO, the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, and the city of Attleboro Conservation Commission.
Sarah Merolla – Researcher at Bodega Bay Marine Lab (UC Davis); MS, California State University Northridge – worked on effects of ocean acidification, water flow, and morphology on coralline algae in Moorea, French Polynesia
Hayleigh Mildon – Veterinarian Assistant, Bluffs Animal Hospital (FLA).
Rebecca Scott – PhD student, University of South Florida (lab of Cameron Ainsworth), working on Atlantis ecosystem model, supported by NOAA Marine Resource Assessment Fellowship; MS at Georgia Southern University (stream fish community ecology); had been Ecosystem Modeler, NOAA NMFS’s Chesapeake Bay Office. Used statistical modeling to estimate disease-associated mortality of mycobacteriosis in striped bass; provided modeling/data/GIS support tomodelers in the Chesapeake Bay Office; involved in the creation of an ecosystem model of the Upper San Francisco Estuary and an Atlantis model of the Chesapeake Bay.
Benjamin Sevey – Teaching HS computer science in VT; had been Substitute Teacher, Middletown Board of Education, Newington, CT; completed a second major in Computer Science at URI.
Ryan Shanaghan – West Coast Groundfish Fisheries Observer, Alaskan Observers, Inc.; Marine Science Instructor, Seacamp and Newfound Harbor Marine Institute, Big Pine Key, FL., leading groups (grades 4-12) on 3-5 day field trips in the Florida Keys; building sea time to earn his captain’s license. SMALL WORLD STORY – bumped into Caroline Breakell at the NMFS office in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Alicia Siravo – MS, California State University – Northridge, worked on coral reef ecophysiology (in Moorea); had been Coastal Fellow with Dr. Forrester (“Comparing methods of coral restoration: do corals benefit from a nursery period prior to transplanting on the reef?”)
Chelsea (Stephens) Gomez – Research Assistant, Brown University, Dep’t. Cognitive, Linguistics, and Psychological Sciences; MS in Irvine Lab (BioSci/CELS) at URI (developmental biology).
Callie Veelenturf – MS, Purdue University (lab of Dr. Paladino, a world expert on sea turtles) – spent time on a remote island off of West Africa studying sea turtles. She is most interested in combining social science and conservation biology; had done several sea turtle-related internships in Florida, Costa Rica and Panama.
We need information about: Nikolas Blenis, Crysania Brady, Wynton Brewster, Jessica Burke, Annalisa Caruso, , Miguel Costa, Kyle Crothers, Jason Greenberg, Caitlyn Hackmann, Kristin Horn, Jesse Iacono, Michael Kenslea, Megan Landis, Callie Longval, Hayleigh Mildon, Sarah Miller, Kaitlyn Nevers, Justin Warrener.
Class of 2013
Jonathan Bartlett – working for Wildlife International in Easton, MD doing ecotoxicology. He reports that:”Wildlife International is currently hiring……willing to fully train anyone with a marine science degree who has just finished school. Any recent grads who are interested in ecotoxicology should definitely check it out.”
Amy Battocletti – Ph.D. student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Georgetown Univ. – studying impact of genetic variation within plant species in salt marsh ecosystems; US Navy Veteran (2001-2008; First Class Petty Officer, tactical meteorological and oceanographic forecaster at the Naval European Meteorology and Oceanography Facility and the Naval Oceanography Anti-Submarine Warfare Detachment with the 6th Fleet Command in Naples, Italy)
Carly Crane – Ass’t. Director/Program Assistant Fairfax County Park Authority; Admin Asst. – National Zoo, Washington DC; Intern, Mossel Bay South Africa (shark ecology).
Russell Dauksis – Field Biologist, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM); MS, California State University at Northridge (fish ecology)
Michelle Dennis – working for Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division as Environmental Compliance Specialist in the Coastal District office, Brunswick, GA; had been Student Researcher, Department of Environmental Management; MS in URI MESM program.
Kaeli Fertal – Environmental Education Coordinator, Sound Salmon Solutions (WA state); had been Research Biologist at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Principal investigator for the blue crab project out of Cedar Key, FL working to assess the health of the spawning stock. Also assists in baseline monitoring of stone crabs and assists Fisheries Independent Monitoring team with fish IDs and dissections.
Crisostomo Gomez – Graduate Student, University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology
Jacob Harris – working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Christina Horstmann – MSc, James Cook University (Australia); Contractor for EPA – working on projects involving regional coral reef conservation management strategies for Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and the Florida Keys.
Nicole Kovara – Zookeeper at the Staten Island (NY) zoo.
Teresa Lincoln – Naturalist for whale watch company in Juneau, AK.
Brandyn Lucca – PhD student, Stony Brook University (2014) working with Dr. Joseph Warren (Acoustic Laboratory for Ecological Studies, www.somas.stonybrook.edu/~warren/jdw.site.html) studying ecological impacts of artificial reef deployments using active acoustics.
Samuel Martin – started his own marketing business.
Catherine McCaughey – Video Intern for Nautilus Live (www.nautiluslive.org); Working at URI/GSO.
Meg McConville – MS in Marine Science at University of North Carolina, Wilmington; had been Educator for Save The Bay and Pow!Science! LLC.
Iain McCoy – MS in URI MESM program; participated in GSO cruises to Antarctica (2013, 2014); worked at GSO in Dr. Durbin’s lab; worked with Dr. Rod Mather in Bermuda on Underwater Archaeology project.
Sean McNally – PhD student, Inter-campus Marine Science Program, UMass Boston; Sea Grant Knauss Fellow; had worked at WHOI on coral microbe interactions; TA and science diver at BIOS in Bermuda; (sean.mcnally001[at]umb.edu)
Ivy Mlsna – Ocean and Coastal Protection Unit Fellow, United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Samantha Musser – Assistant for J-term Bonaire course w/ Dr. Forrester; Lab Technician at Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories (Lancaster, PA).
Dr. Shelby Rinehardt – Assistant Professor, Drexel University (PA); Post-Doc, Hebrew University Institute of Life Sciences; PhD andNSF Graduate Research Fellow @ Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology, San Diego State University and UC Davis – studied population and community dynamics of omnivores in southern CA salt marshes.
Katherine Rodrigue – Research Assistant, Marine Fisheries, RI Division of Fish and Wildlife; Science/Data Assistant aboard the E/V Nautilus (www.nautiluslive.org); had worked in Thornber lab
Dr. Ryann Rossi – ORISE Post-Doc, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (modeling of ecosystem services); Post-Doc, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium; PhD (2018) North Carolina State University; NSF Graduate Research Fellow, North Carolina State University – working on mangrove ecology (Layman Lab)
Casey Tremper – ORAU Contractor at US EPA; MA in Marine Affairs @ URI; had worked at New England Institute of Technology as administrative assistant; was an AmeriCorps Volunteer at New England Science and Sailing Foundation (in New London, CT).
We need information about: Michelle Aguiar, Lindsey Beausoleil, Keith Bruni, Andrew Casal, Kimberly Delaney, Ryan Hall, Dylan Harris, Aaron Hawkins, Alexandra Karaczynski, Rebecca Kraut, Charles Markos, Patrick McGovern, Colleen Murray, Dillon Reilly, Sam Seeland, Jeffrey Swanlund, Joshua Zaffino
Class of 2012
Lauren Carter –Fisheries Technician at Idaho Fish and Game; worked for NOAA in Louisiana; had been Research Technician, NOAA Fisheries, Narragansett, RI; Volunteer Technician, North Attleboro (MA) National Fish Hatchery; Seasonal Diadromous Fisheries Technician, MA Division of Marine Fisheries; MS at URI, in Webb Lab (BioSci/CELS) – development of the lateral line system in cichlid fishes.
Betsy Cohen – works at Pfizer; MS in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, UMass-Dartmouth.
Caitlin (Del Sesto) Bucci – Research Assistant, Charles River Laboratories; Had been Manufacturing Associate at Shire; MS at URI with Dr. Gomez-Chiarri (FAVS/CELS) working on sea star wasting disease – READ about it; had been Intern, New England Aquarium and Mystic Aquarium.
Megan Ferguson – MS Student (Daly Lab) working on project related to Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill; Research Associate, Louisiana State University, with Dr. Mark Benfield – processing ROV video and using a Zooscan to scan zooplankton samples from research cruises after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; had worked with Dr. Menden-Deuer at URI/GSO.
Brandon Fuller – MESM at URI; had worked for the URI Coastal Institute; co-directed documentary focused on the RI BioBlitz; wrote about science communication and worked with the Climate Change Collaborative.
Alethia Hartenstine –Working at the URI Outreach and Energy Center.
Michael Justa – Wilderness Guide, Juneau, Alaska; had worked as a naturalist on a whale watch boat.
Alexa Kretsch – Specialist, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, – analyzing fisheries data and advising the Commission (VA’s regulatory body for fisheries and marine habitat).
Nicole (Leporacci) Lineberry – Senior Environmental Scientist, Division of Planning at RI Dep’t. Transportation (2017); completed MESM at URI; had been Intern, Mote Marine Laboratory and Science Instructor at Seacamp in Big Pine Key, Florida
Leah Lewis – Staff Researcher, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; MA Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD, 2017); NSF Graduate Research Fellow – worked in Marine Bioacoustics Lab on behavioral context of blue whale calls in Southern California); had worked at NMFS Narrangansett- genetic identification of fish eggs using DNA barcoding, and identification of paralarval cephalopods.
Amber Lisi – Department of Marine Resources – leads research efforts for the state scallop fishery; MS, UMass – Dartmouth – American eel migration and ecology.
Benjamin Negrete – PhD student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow, University of Texas Marine Science Institute (2017) – fish physiology. He had been working in San Diego – instructional assistant for kids with behavioral, and/or learning disabilities for the past several years.
Megan Nepshinsky – Field Assistant and Intern, Massachusetts’ Audubon Society, working to protect shorebird habitat on Monomoy Island, Chatham.
Bryan Pestone – Commissioned Officer, NOAA Corps (2013), stationed on the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer; had been Science Instructor at Seacamp in Big Pine Key, Florida.
Julie Reiske – Seasonal Environmental Educator, US Fish and Wildlife Service at Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona. Also, part-time bio tech and limnologist for a fish hatchery in Kingman, AZ; flying into the Grand Canyon next month to survey endangered fish species on the lower Colorado River.
Tanja Schollmeier – PhD student, Univ. Alaska – working on benthic food webs in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; has been on three Arctic research cruises and spent 6 weeks on a Coast Guard icebreaker taking benthic samples and ice cores for her research; will be participating in science open water trials of the new U. Alaska research vessel Sikuliaq.
Rachael Thompson – Executive Director, Glynn Environmental Coalition (Education and Environmental Advocacy), Brunswick, Georgia; Watershed Outreach and Development Assistant at Still Riverkeeper (GA); Naturalist, Little St. Simons Island, Georgia – developed and presented environmental programs; had been Intern in bioacoustics lab, U. South Carolina (Beaufort) with URI Alum Dr. Eric Montie; had been Environmental Educator, Jekyll Island 4H Center in Georgia.
Christy Varga – works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium; had been Senior Lead Fish Technology, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute; worked at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Elizabeth Walsh – Intern, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium working with sea turtles and sea horses.
Angela Williams – MS student, URI – Medical Lab Science (cytopathology).
Melissa Wands – Husbandry Assistant, SeaWorld Orlando; had been Animal Rescue and Pinniped Husbandry Intern, Mystic Aquarium. Also working as a teacher’s aid with high functioning special needs pre-schoolers; volunteer with the Mystic’s Animal Rescue Program.
Dr. Amanda Ziegler – Post-Doc in Norway; Ph.D., Univ. Hawaii, Biological Oceanography (http://amandaziegler.weebly.com)
We need information about: Michael Cohen, Haley Fillo, Kirsten Gash, Charles Harwood, Nicole Langlais, Lauren Liberti, Michael O’Brien, Taylor Perkins, Corey Petrella, Thomas Seckel, David Vendettuoli.
Class of 2011
Emily Becker – Lab Technician (Bradley lab) at URI: Wildlife Biologist II, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Waddell Aquaculture Center; Armstrong State University (Georgia) developing and building their Aquaponics Department/research facility; Manager, Fish Farm (in Maryland); Assistant Manager, Zebrafish Facility, Duke University Medical School; MS in Webb Lab (BioSci/CELS) on development of lateral line system of cichlid fishes.
Correna Blewett – Staff Biologist, Natural Resource Services, Inc. (Burrillville, RI); Research Assistant/Diver, Aquarium Manager, Maria Mitchell Association (Nantucket); Farm Hand, Matunuck Oyster Farm; completed URI’s “Blue MBA” program (business and oceanography) .
Jessica Bonamusa – Environmental Analyst at New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission; Head of Development, The River Project; MS – Duke University, Master of Environmental Management.
Kristina Camarena – Working in Dr. Lisa Levin’s lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography…getting ready to start applying to graduate school……!”
Dr. Connor Capizzano – Post-Doc, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (North Chatham, MA); PhD, UMass Boston, Marine Science and Technology (2020), NSF IGERT Fellow; MS, University of New England (fish biology); had been Intern, Shark Behavioral Ecology at Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota FLA; worked on BP oil-spill related cruise in the Gulf of Mexico.
Emily Carter – Has worked at Shedd Aquarium and Oregon Coast Aquarium; Intern at Disney’s The Seas; Intern, Bimini Biological Field Station, lemon shark biology and ecology (2011).
Dr. Kendall Day – Veterinarian, Center for Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Care (Lewisville, TX); DVM, Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine; had been Intern, Wildlife Pathology Unit, NY State Department of Environmental Conservation
Alison Dombrowski – MA in Secondary Education and Teaching, Quinniapac University (CT); had been Intern at the Sound School in CT.
Jeffrey Duxbury – PhD Student, Louisiana State University; managing sedimentology research laboratory; UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot (Army Reserve); had been US Army Chemical Officer (Environmental Compliance Officer); did second BS in Geology at Louisiana State University.
Rosmin Ennis – Research Analyst, U. Virgin Islands; MS, U. Virgin Islands 2014 (“Coral reef health responses to chronic and acute changes in water quality gradients in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands”); worked for Dr. Oviatt (GSO) on nutrient input into the Bay from various waste water treatment facilities in the Narragansett Bay watershed; rennis917@gmail.com.
Lilli (Falconer) Deering – Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Swimming; Veterinary Technology degree in 2014; had been Intern, Animal Rehabilitation Program at Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FLA (2011).
Lynn Ficarra – PhD student, UMass Boston (lab of Dr. Ron Etter) – studying processes and biogeographic patterns of evolution in the deep ocean.
Dr. Joshua Hower – Veterinarian (DVM), College Road and Carolina Beach Animal Hospital (Wilmington, NC); DVM, University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School (Class of 2015)
Kayla Hunt – Associate Scientist, Amgen; had been Marine Educator, Seacamp in the Florida Keys, and worked in public education at the Key West Aquarium.
Thor Jensen – volunteering in Falkowski Lab at Rutgers Univ. working on molecular biology of coral calcification; working for an Aquarium company and starting his own company.
Brooke Konkle – MS at Texas A & M Corpus Christi, working on algae and biofuels.
Christina (Lemnotis) Caccioppoli – doing MBA at URI (Fall 2017); had worked at Mystic Aquarium
Brittany McGee – Marine Science Instructor, Guided Discoveries (Catalina Island); Marine Science Instructor, Catalina Island Marine Institute (May 2014); MA in Environmental Studies, Montclair State U. (2014); had been Watershed Ambassador for the NJ-DEP through AmeriCorps; environmental/marine educator at Wetlands Institute, Stone Harbor, NJ.
Dr. Nicole Millette – Woods Hole Sea Grant Postdoc Fellow at WHOI; had been Post-Doc at Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division (Northern Gulf Institute), NOAA; PhD, University of Maryland, Horn Point Lab, in Biological Oceanography.
Eric Muhlbach – Research Technician, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Megan O’Brien – Fulbright Fellow and MS student in Iceland studying fisheries biology; MS in Dr. Chris Lane’s Lab (Bio Sci) on algal genomics (project started as an undergraduate)
Amanda Pratt – MS Student in Marine Sciences at Stony Brook University.
Rebecca Sacks – Analytical Chemist/Laboratory Technician, Founders Science Group in Cumberland, RI
Stephanie Schofield – Educator, Education and Conservation Department, SeaWorld Orlando, FLA.
Allison (Seifter) Bruscato – Assistant Trainer (Cetaceans, Pinnepeds), Mystic Aquarium; had been Marine Mammal Observer in Alaska for LGL Ltd., an environmental research company doing population and species surveys mostly in the Chukchi Sea’ worked for Sea to Shore Alliance conducting Right Whale Aerial Surveys in Georgia in collaboration with NOAA; Intern, Whale Center of New England.
Katie Stryker – Marine Mammal Intern at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
Kerianne Taylor – Assistant Director, Camp Seewee (South Carolina)
Kristina Terpis – Lab Technician, Lane Lab, URI, working on algal genomics; had been lab tech with Dr. Mike Lomas lab at BIOS (Bermuda) working on relationships between phytoplankton diversity and macronutrient cycles; had worked for Dr. Bob Campbell (GSO) on Arctic amphipods and effects of warming of the oceans.
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Jeremy Carey, Alex Milton, James Riddle, Thomas Tedeschi, Kristin Vanhouwe
Class of 2010
Ashley Bertrand – Assistant Researcher, Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Joanna (Borr) Leonhardt – Teacher of Exceptional Children – Charleston County School District (SC); Supervising Teacher, Upper Elementary, Louisiana Resource Center for Educators (Baton Rouge); had several other teaching posts; Director, SeaQuest Program at Camp Fuller (YMCA) in Narragansett. Justin Leonhardt (Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology, 2010) is a biologist with the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries.
Christopher Cilfone – Naturalist/Deckhand. Dolphin Jet Boat Tours and Harv and Marv’s Alaska Whale Watching. Juneau. AK.
Callie Crawford – PhD student, NJ Institute of Technology (Flamming Lab); MS, College of Charleston, worked on CT imaging, variation in the skeletal anatomy and phylogeny of cartilaginous fishes with Dr. Gavin Naylor; received the Carrier Award at the 2014 JMIH meeting for her MS work; had been Intern at Mote Marine Lab (Sarasota, FLA) in animal rehabilitation and Marine Naturalist Intern at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (WA).
Heather Cyr – did research on Costa Rican coast on the ecology of the planktonic cyanobacteria with Dr. Dreux Chappell (post-doc in Dr. Bethany Jenkins’ lab, CMB)
Jennifer (Dautrich) Gautam – Marine Science Instructor, Project Oceanology (in CT); had been Intern, NUWC in Newport (whale bioacoustics data); Camp Counselor for Save the Bay (RI).
Heather (Drumm) Riddle – Data analyst working on whale bioacoustics at Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.
Ananda Fraser – Program Servicing Officer, RI DEM; Adjunct Professor in Environment and Biological Science, Johnson & Wales University; MS in URI’s MESM program with Dr. Forrester.
Emily (Frederick) Stephens – Working with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Commercial Fisheries Division) in Haines, AK; had been Naturalist/Deckhand, Dolphin Jet Boat Tours and Harv and Marv’s Alaska Whale Watching, Juneau, AK. (NOTE: Emily did Study Abroad in Alaska, and was hooked!)
Karin Fulkerson – working with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Species Modeling team on the interaction of anthropogenic sound and marine mammal and sea turtle populations.
Kevin Tan Fung – MS student, University of New Haven, studying seasonal movements of shortnose sturgeon in the Connecticut River.
Melissa Genazzio – Staff Scientist for SAVI-CoopEUS for NEON (NSF-National Ecological Observatory Network, in Colorado); Had been Science Assistant in the Geosciences Directorate, Ocean Sciences Division of NSF . MS at UNCW; had been Research Assistant in Coral Reef Ecology Laboratory at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON); Intern, Gulf of Maine Research Institute (Portland, ME) investigating alewife stock structure in different watersheds and and comparing growth rates using otolith analysis.
Ashley Heinze – Research Assistant, Updike Lab, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (http://updikelab.mdibl.org). MS from College of the Atlantic – did thesis on impacts of whale watching; had been intern with Cape Ann Whale Watching Co. in Gloucester, MA.
Annamaria Izzi – working for NOAA – NEFSC’s Protected Species Branch; MS student/Research Assistant, Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University (with Dr. Chris Clark). Working on processing acoustic data on marine mammals from the Gulf of Mexico after the Deep Horizon oil spill and monitoring right whales off the east coast to prevent ship strikes. Had been Data Entry Clerk, whale bioacoustics study at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, RI. Now (e-mail: the_izzi@hotmail.com)
Amy Kolb – Supervisor, Zebrafish Ops at University of Massachusetts Medical School; had been Aquaculture Specialist, Boston Children’s Hospital; MS, Hofstra University (fish nutrition and development); Animal Care Technician, Charles River Laboratories; Assistant in Dr. Collie’s lab (GSO) assisting with Narragansett Bay trawls and doing stomach content analysis on New England fishes.
Dr. Robert Kozol – Post-Doc, Florida Atlantic University (sensory motor behaviors in fish); PhD, U. Miami (worked on developmental genetics of zebrafish; mutant models for autism); Research Associate, U. Miami with Dr. Julia Dallman (zebrafish genetics); had worked at UConn in Dr. Ann Bucklin’s lab as manager of Census of Marine Zooplankton Database; also worked on a research project regarding phylogeny of two calanid (copepod) species (rkozol@my.uri.edu)
Peter Lewis – Director, Astyanax (Blind cavefish) Stock Center, Florida Atlantic University; had been Animal Care Technician, Charles River Laboratories, contracted at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, specializing in care and breeding of wild type and transgenic zebrafish; had been environmental biologist in MA.
Joseph Marini III – Natural Resource Technician, Town of Plymouth, MA; presented a paper at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Providence RI in July based on shark work with Dr. Wetherbee.
Amy Maynard – MS student studying to be a Pathology Assistant at Quinnipiac University. Pathology assistants assist pathologists in autopsies and prepare surgical specimens for histological slides; had been Research Assistant at Pfizer in CT.
Meghan McGowan – MS in Library Studies
Matt Pezzullo (FAVS 2010) – Worked with the NMFS Apex Predator Program for two years and now has 3-month contract doing work with their tag database and research in Delaware Bay and at several shark tournaments.
Ben Quatromoni – teaching at private school in RI.
Dr. Ashley Stoehr – Assistant Professor of Biology, Fairfield University (CT); Adjunct Professor, University of Bridgeport; Faculty, Shoals Marine Laboratory; Ph.D., UMass Dartmouth – worked on thermal physiology of high performance fishes with an emphasis on swordfish.
Noelle Tubbs – MS student, University of Cape Town, South Africa – studying endangered African penguin, looking at behavior and physiology with respect to predictions of the effects of future climate change; had worked at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB); Was Intern, RI Department of Environmental Management, Office of Water Resources.
Alexandra (Widmer) Mattia – Development Officer, Corporate Engagement at Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo/NY Aquarium); had been Key Account Manager, GENEWIZ (in NY tri-state area), a contract research organization (CRO) that specializes in DNA services: DNA sequencing, Gene Synthesis, Plasmid DNA prep, Next Generation Sequencing, cloning, genotyping, etc.
Emily Vincent – MS student, Central Connecticut State University.
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Justin Benttinen, Elizabeth Czok, Marc Fischer, Marie Gaura, Stephanie Gildea, Victoria Gomez, Jared Griffin, Daniel Hofmann, Kayla Hyman, Lauren Kondracke, Kira Marino, Jacqueline Niles, Alexander Paradise, Marisa Pardo, Adam Salisbury, Rurainy Sirois, Nicole Tamanini, Christie Wilson
Class of 2009
Emily Blair – MS student, Cal State Long Beach – wetland restoration ecology.
Thomas Cardillo – Analytical Chemist at Alpha Analytical
Nathaniel Coolidge – Outreach Educator, Save the Bay/Americorps (2009)
Catherine Donahue – Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa and working on oyster mortalilty with funding from a United Nations Development Programme grant. (ceedonahue@gmail.com)
Kendalyn Eldredge – working at NUWC in Newport doing environmental planning and marine mammal modeling; attended a training course in West Virginia on Endangered Species Act interagency consultation. (kjeldredge@gmail.com)
Emily Field – Ph.D. student, Florida State University in algal/marine ecology (with Dr. Randall Hughes) (emfield87@gmail.com)
Elizabeth (Hansel) Simounet – Associate Scientist, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in Providence (“We have offices all over the world so I frequently get plugged into some really interesting projects. We often hire local talent. We have 3 URI alum’s here in our office! We hire geologists, engineers, and scientist (even marine biologists like myself.”); had worked for RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) in marine policy involving mapping and checking businesses/industries that affect the Blackstone River watershed.
Rebecca Karis – working for Dr. Graham Forrester (URI, Dept. of Natural Resources Science) in Carribean on coral transplantation project (summer 09)
Lauren Killea – working at Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, CT doing science outreach/teaching; did MS at URI/GSO in biological oceanography (“Microbial community composition of marine biofilms in a northern temperate estuary”) with Dr. Miranda; Assistant Coach of URI Rowing Team. (lkillea@gmail.com)
Nicholas Larghi – MS student, U. South Florida (with Dr. Stephen Deban; nlarghi@gmail.com); had worked at the Sawyer School as an Instructor in the Medical Department (taught Medical Terminology and Health Science).
Jocelyn Pelser – working in Dr. Karen Wishner’s lab at GSO (summer 09)
Katherine Saiya – Aquarist Specialist for Charles River Laboratories at the National Institute of Health (Bethesda, MD), caring for zebrafish and frogs for NICHD researchers. (PugPups13@aol.com)
Andrea Scott – working for Connecticut Dep’t. Environmental Protection.
Megan Shearer – Research Assistant, Cardiac Research Lab, Rhode Island Hospital. (megshearer@gmail.com)
Dawn Simmons – working for RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) as Intern (Summer 09) (dawn.simmons1986@gmail.com)
Dr. Rachel (Wigton) Jastrebsky – Faculty, The Holderness School (Plymouth NH); Adjunct Faculty at Virginia Wesleyan University; PhD, Old Dominion University – worked on cephalopod biomechanics; had worked at NUWC in Newport; taught Algebra and Marine Biology at Portsmouth Abbey School.
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT : Ashley Burch, Julie Furmanski, Tara Gardner, Melissa Gebert, Deborah Hamilton, Peter Heaton, Nicole Heidt, Jessica Potvin, Jaime Robinson, Karen Rogers, Amy Viveiros
Class of 2008
David Bailey – Researcher in Woods Hole in Aquaculture; MS at Univ. New Hampshire; had been Diver/Collector for the MBL in Woods Hole, MA; Teaching Assistant at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences; NMFS Fisheries Observer; Coastal Engineer at Woods Hole Group, an international environmental, scientific, and engineering consulting organization. Now
Chelsea Burau – NBEP Intern, Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Nicole Charriere – works at NOAA’s NMFS in Woods Hole, MA as a sea-going biological technician on NOAA research vessels (2011) (Nicole.Charriere@noaa.gov)
Laura Chartier – EPSCoR Summer 2008 Fellow (Spatial Variation in Marine Invertebrate Reproduction throughout New England) then moving to Hawaii.
Christina D’Agostino – Fisheries Specialist and Task Leader at NOAA NERO Fisheries Statistics and Logistics Office, Gloucester, MA. Currently overseeing the Vessel Trip Report Data Processing Center in the Fisheries Statistics Office. The data we process is used by biological samplers, port agents, statisticians, scientists, etc. to set federal catch regulations each year. “I’ve found that one of the best ways to get your foot in the door is networking- it’s how I landed my current position! NOAA has many volunteer and internship opportunities available on the east coast that could open a lot of doors come graduation time.” Christina.D’Agostino@noaa.gov
Renee DiPippo – Research Assistant with Dr. Darryl Keith (US EPA Narragansett), trying to find a way to monitor harmful algal blooms more efficiently through airborne remote sensing; did Rhode Island School of Design’s Natural Science Illustration program.
Mitchell Doctor – Microsoft Specialist at Microsoft FLA; MS, Nova Southeastern University (FLA)
Rebekah Duhamel – Research Assistant, Costa Rica Expedition with Department of Natural Resources Science (URI).
Corey Eddy – PhD student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow, UMass Dartmouth; had been Teaching Assistant, URI/BIOS in Bermuda; worked for NMFS Apex Predator Program, NOAA Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.
Cherisa Friedlander – Commissioned Officer in NOAA Corps (noaacorps.noaa.gov/), stationed on Fisheries Survey Vessel, NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker; doing MS at California State University Monterey Bay in Applied Marine and Watershed Science, while assigned to Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA; will be leading a research project dealing with reproductive ecology of Petrale Sole (Eopsetta jordani). Had been Bay Camp Director and Education Specialist at Save the Bay. (cherisa.l.friedlander@noaa.gov)
Emily Greenhalgh – science writer at MBL in Woods Hole; Science Writer, NOAA’s Climate Program Office in Silver Spring, Md; MS in Science & Medical Journalism, Boston University; had been fisheries observer and a data specialist at NOAA/NMFS, Woods Hole. Had been Student Services Contractor/ Biological Sciences technician, US Environmental Protection Agency. (emily.greenhalgh@noaa.gov)
Joshua Helms – (double major in MAF). Works for Regulatory Division at the New England District Office, Concord, MA; had been Project Manager/ Biologist for the US Army Corps of Engineers. MS at UMiami, worked at WHOI, was Salt Marsh Monitoring Intern (Association to Preserve Cape Cod), Environmental Consultant, MA Natural Resource Officer, National Park Service Biological technician. Joshua.m.helms@usace.army.mil
Susanna Izzo – Education Intern, Discovery Cove, Sea World
Matthew James – Intern, Save the Bay
Danielle Jones – Technical Assistant, McLaughlin Research Corp./Naval Undersea Warfare Center (Newport RI)
Kasi Kelly – Volunteer, Whale Enrichment Team and Diver, Mystic Aquarium.
Monique LaFrance – completed MS at GSO/URI (King Lab) working on ‘Integration of biotic and abiotic data to map benthic habitats within Block Island and Rhode Island Sounds’; Researcher, King Lab – Mapping and monitoring the habitats of RI’s coastal waters.
Christopher Lapointe – MS student in in Coastal Zone Management and Marine Biology, Nova Southeastern University; Research Assistant, National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University. (clapoint@nova.edu)
Evan Lindsay – Intern, Town of Nantucket, MA, Marine Coastal Resources Department
Sara MacSorley – Founder and Author, Super Cool Scientists LLC, an organization working to promote inclusion in science, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM), I celebrate women in science through story and coloring books (see: Super Cool Scientists on Amazon; 2nd edition forthcoming); Had been Director, Green Street Arts Center and Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science, Wesleyan University (CT); had been Project Administrator, RI NSF EPSCoR (www.riepscor.org) where she coordinated a statewide program to advance marine life science research and education in Rhode Island; student in URI’s “Blue MBA” program (Oceanography and Business).
Jennifer McGovern – Teaching surf lessons/waitressing, waiting to hear from Triumvirate for a position as an Environmental Specialist.
Elizabeth Mellon – Shellfish Hatchery Assistant, Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group
Melissa Mercier – working for Beckman Coulter (Manager, Manufacturing Science); MS at GSO/URI (Rynearson Lab) – worked on Genetics of coastal and estuarine diatoms; Research Assistant in the Rynearson lab (GSO)
Matthew Miller – Fishes and Special Exhibit Intern, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, then returned to RI
Jessica Morris – Data Manager, NBIC at Smithsonian Institution; had been Seasonal Resource Assistant, Connecticut Dep’t. Environmental Protection; worked as marine instructor on Catalina Island, CA for the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI). “I teach 4th-12th grade marine science and lead 3-5 day snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking trips for school groups.” jessym218@yahoo.com
Andrew Mroczka – Planning to obtain a graduate degree in Education to teach Biology
Kelly Pennoyer – MS at Texas A&M Corpus Christi – studying molecular ecology and evolution; MS, University of New England (2013); Intern at Camp Emerald Bay, Catalina Island, CA; had beenTeaching Assistant, BIO 101 at the URI CCE campus, and Assistant Instructor for AFS 270 to get dive master certification.
Kate Pisano – Training and Development Manager at Kenzan; Had been Director of AmeriCorps Programs at Serve Rhode Island, Rhode Island Area; had been Americorps intern with OSEEC (Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative), which includes Save the Bay, Roger Williams Zoo, and the Norman Bird Sanctuary. “At Save the Bay, I am doing outreach to the South County community through programs for elementary school students and the general public, such as our film festival. I have been able to work at the Exploration Center in Newport, helping at touch tanks, shore line walks, and seal watches, as in the Providence office where Americorps work with various schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs. While my goals as a marine bio graduate still include grad school and ultimately doing research, the education aspect has been very interesting and rewarding, and I would recommend Americorps to anyone looking to get their foot in the door.” (kfp0425@savebay.org)
Dr. Jessie Sanders – Veterinarian (DVM); Owner of Aquatic Veterinary Services & Santa Cruz Koi (CA); Owner, Aquatic Veterinary Services of Northern California; DVM, Tufts University (Class of 2012)
Jillian Schneider – Lab Technician for Dr. Seibel (URI, Dept. Biological Sciences)
Carla Scocchi – One of the Founders of the Maine Ocean School (http://www.maineoceanschool.org; in Searsport, ME), a new public magnet high school dedicated to the maritime arts that provides a “hands-on, minds-on” education on the water, in the lab, and in the classroom (Vice Chair of Board of Trustees); Director of Science Program, Boothbay Sea and Science Center (2014); MS in Education at U. Maine (2015; Maine Center for Research in STEM Education); had been Senior Assistant Scientist and Admission Counselor with the Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu; see video of Carla on the SSV Cramer).
Kevin Smith – Internship at RI Department of Marine Fisheries
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Michael Collins, Joseph Connor, Raymond Deckel, Timothy Delp, Jeffrey Devine, Sandra Giovannini, Philip Kalf, Thomas Kinahan, Simon King-Trudeau, Renee Mevs.
Class of 2007
Breena Apgar-Kurtz – Finfish Biologist for the Lummi Nation (Pacific Northwest); Had been Fisheries Technician, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Completed Master in Marine Affairs (MMA) at University of Washington with a specialty in salmon management; Had been Visitor Information Service Officer, Glacier Bay National Park (tatshenshiniriver@hotmail.com)
Charles Bangley – PhD. Student, East Carolina University (Ichthyology)
Danielle Duquette – Research Assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Had been Marine Research Assistant, GSO/URI, helping to run the seawater facilities at GSO and set-up/management of the new freshwater recirculating system at East Farm; MS at University of New Hampshire (with URI Alum David Berlinsky) on sex change/sex differentiation and the effects of cortisol/stress on black sea bass. Had worked as a Student Services Contractor for the EPA – Population Ecology Branch, then as volunteer and intern at the Mystic Aquarium (dduquette@mail.uri.edu)
Erika (Goblin) Tavares – Lab Manager/Research Assistant, Brown University for biomechanics and functional morphology labs in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; had been Naturalist, RI Dept. Environ. Management; worked at Save The Bay with AmeriCorps (Erika_Tavares@brown.edu).
Dr. Stephanie Guertin – completed PhD a URI (w/ Dr. Kass-Simon)
Jillian Hesse – Biologist and Administrative Assistant at McLaughlin Research Corporation; Naturalist/Interpreter, Disney World, Florida, then internship at Dolphin Quest Bermuda, and then worked at Beavertail Aquarium (Jamestown, RI)
Dr. Cara Hotchkin – Ph.D. in Bioacoustics, Penn State Univ. Working for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Norfolk, VA as a natural resources specialist. hotchkin.cara@gmail.com.
Robbie Hudson – Restoration Ecologist, Save the Bay; had been intern at Save the Bay as an undergraduate (rhudson@savebay.org)
Billy Linehan – Fisheries Observer, NMFS, Alaska
Dr. Patrick Lyons – Faculty member at CIEE research station in Bonaire (Dutch Caribbean); had beenIntroductory Biology and Marine Biology instructor at Oregon Coast Community College (Newport, OR); received PhD at Stony Brook University; (patrick.lyons5@gmail.com)
Melissa Parr – Teaching Assistant, Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences; will then work in San Salvadore as a Divemaster
Amie Parris – Beach Coordinator for Beach Monitoring Program at the RI Department of Health
Alexia Pool – Lab/Field Research Technician at Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill) working in the Coastal Fisheries Oceanography and Ecology Laboratory; member Morehead City Masters Swim Team. Had been Peace Corps Volunteer on Vanuatu, a small island nation in the South Pacific (2007-2010) (alexia.pool@gmail.com)
Linnae (Rondeau) Delp – Teaching biology and chemistry at Chicopee High School in Chicopee, MA; working on her PhD in Geology at UMass Amherst with a focus on foraminifera distribution in the Gulf of Maine; had worked with RI DEM, doing macroalgae helicopter surveys in Narragansett Bay (linnae939@yahoo.com)
Kathryn Vogel – PhD student in Marine Biology (physiology), University of Maine
Heather Wolfer – Scientist at Merck; PhD student, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore working on the behavioral and physiological effects of hypoxia on the Atlantic croaker in Chesapeake Bay (hmwolfer@umes.edu)
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: , Matt Griffin, Yvette Haughney, Amanda Karch, Christa Salvatore.
Class of 2006
Dr. Leanne Birden – Post-doc at Yale; PhD in Seibel lab at URI working on pteropod mollusks and the effects of global climate change
Samantha Kelly – Intern,Training Seals for US Navy in San Diego
Adriaina Ortiz – Marine Research??
Megan Priede – working at Mystic Aquarium and at URI tick lab
Heather Shannon – MS in Biological Sciences and Geological Oceanography; now Adjunct Professor, Johnson and Wales Univ. (RI)
Nora Sturgeon – Graduate student, College of Charleston
Daniel Syriala – Graduate student, GSO; now works for NOAA/NMFS Fishery Statistics Office.
Marianna Zahra – in charge of culturing all jellyfish species at Sea World Orlando and work directly with their turtle rescue and rehabilitation program (mczahra@aol.com).
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Erin Baxter, Kristin Colavito, Erin Connors, Susan Henry, Matthew Holt, Colleen O’Neill, Lindsey Pollard, Heather Smith, Tara Syc, Jennifer Tidswell, Alexandra Wilcox
Class of 2005
Ashley Abcunas – Naturalist, Seacoast Science Center, NH
Melissa Chalek – Law Clerk, Rhode Island Supreme Court; Graduated from Roger Williams University School of Law; Research Assistant, Rhode Island Sea Grant (drafted legal framework chapter of Rhode Island Shellfish Management Plan); had worked as a zoo keeper since graduation first at Roger Williams Park Zoo (Prov, RI) and Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA). (kyhopper13@comcast.net)
Amanda Chesler – Hatchery Specialist, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (Oyster Hatchery; Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center)
Andrew DiMatteo – working at Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Norfolk, VA; MS in Environmental Management, Duke University
Dr. David Hudson – Research Scientist at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (CT); PhD at U. Conn. (2011); Fulbright Fellowship to study freshwater crabs in South America; Won Best Student Poster at 2011 SICB meeting for his work on “Invasive crab salinity preference: effects of acclimation and implications for estuarine distribution”.
Heather Leba – MS student, University of Hawaii (fish/ Dr. Cassie Cole)
Dr. Emily Shumchenia – Owns Science Communications firm (E&C Enviroscape); PhD at GSO (2010), and stayed on as post-doc.
Allison Stueben – Medical Technician (certification program)
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Amy Botti, Kevin Earp, Anne Farahi, Rebecca Ferrazza, Jennifer Hamilton, Trevor Higgins, Tracy Jamula, Kane LaRoche, Mandy Monroe, Michael Partica, Jennifer Picard, Frances Ann Raymond, Benjamin Rutt, Tina Sharp
Class of 2004
Rachel Anderson – Environmental testing/education
Darcie Blanding – Mystic Aquarium?, graduate student, URI
Andrea Bonosoro – ? Substitute teacher, Long Island
George Kamajian – Medical Student, Penn. Coll. Osteopathic Med.
Michelle Kraczkowski – Graduate student, Wesleyan University
Jenna Krug – MS student, Cal. State Univ., Northridge (Marine ecology)
Karlee Markovich – Marine biologist educator/aquarist, New England Aquarium
Kevin Neves – Graduate student, Delaware State University
Abbey Novia – MS student in Biology Education, UC Berkeley
Christen Pick – Microbiologist
Vincent Politano – ? Graduate student, University of Florida
Amanda Whispell – PhD student in Entomology at Rutgers University
Jason Theuman – Docent Program Manager, Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo (2018); had been Educator, Buttonwood Park Zoo
Jessica Wellington – Tufts University, Cummings School of Vet. Med.
Dr. Jeremy Wright – Curator of Fishes, NY State Museum, Albany. PhD, U. Michigan (catfish).
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: David Carlson, Michael Concodello, Desiree Corideo, Devon Drewes, Amanda Henry, Gabriel Hiller, Ralph Riccio, Kate Ryan, Jennifer Thibodeau, Steve Versace
Class of 2003
Christopher Bannon – working in NRS/URI
Rebecca Owens Bannon – working in NRS/URI
Michelle Bromley – Volunteer, Mystic Aq; Educator, New England Aquarium
Nathan Cartier – Working as a musician
Jill Dematas – Dolphin Trainer, Marineland, FLA
Jocelyne Dolce – Senior Instructor of Science Laboratory, Department of Biology, Wellesey College; MS in BioSci at URI (Wilga Lab).
Stacy Doner – ? ENSR Marine and Coastal Center
Dr. Allison Fong – Working at Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany; PhD in Oceanography, University of Hawaii (PhD Dissertation: Effects of micro-environments and bacterial cell density on open-ocean microbial processes); MS (2006) in Oceanography, University of Hawaii (Thesis: Mesoscale variability in nitrogen-fixing bacteria and rates of nitrogen fixation in the North Pacific Ocean).
Amy (Kowalski) Greene – MPA student, Suffolk University
Alyssa (Cole) Mages – Surgical Vet Assistant, and now Head Veterinary Technician at a small clinic in South Philadelphia. Going to school to become a certified veterinary technician (CVT).
Leonard Maiuri III – Water quality, PA Dep’t. Environmental Protection
Stefanie Masse – ? Branford High School teacher
Scott McGinley – First mate, schooners/tugboats
Dr. Monique Perron – Post-doctoral research fellow at Brown University conducting research at EPA in Narragansett, RI; MS (2005) and Ph.D. (2009) in Environmental Health, Harvard University School of Public Health.
Tiffany Risch – Biology Teacher, Coventry High School
Amy (Schneider) Greene – Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Non Profit Management (2008). Currently Assistant Director of the Center for Community Based Learning at Lasell College
Jacqueline Shapo – NOAA, Coastal Management Fellow
Hillary Welch Vargas – (Double major in Ocean Engineering); Engineer, Raytheon; MS student in Ocean Engineering at URI with Dr. Jim Miller.
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Christie Blackwelder, Scott Cunningham, Lucia Herald, Maureen Kelly, Andrew Levine, Colin Lickwar, Michael Phillips, Sarah Pierce, Laura Smith, Tiffany Wallahora.
Class of 2002
Amber (Bifolck) Fisher – Staff Research Associate at UC Berkeley in neurobiology, working on signaling pathways in the brain. Planning to relocate to Boston in 2011 and following a career in conservation biology. (abifolck@gmail.com)
Brendan Bray – NOAA, Silver Spring MD
Dr. Abigail (Knee) Fusaro – Assistant Professor, Marygrove College (Detroit) Fall 2014; had been Lecturer, University of Michigan-Dearborn; Postdoctoral fellow at Wayne State University and worked for The Ocean Genome Legacy in Mass.; received PhD from MIT/WHOI in Biological Oceanography.
Larissa Gillon – MS in Bio Sci at URI (w/ Dr. Cobb)
Rebecca Graves – Connecticut Dep’t. Environmental Protection
Elizabeth Kordowski – Executive Director, RI Lobstermen’s Association
Kara (Mahoney) Robinson – Student Programs Coordinator, New England Aquarium in Boston; Right Whale EWS Aerial Observer
Jennifer Messineo – Division of Fish and Wildlife, St. Thomas Virgin Islands
Randall Meyer – Self-employed, research
Mary-Elizabeth Miller – Graduate student; research assistant at Cornell Univ.
Melissa Patrician – Research Assistant, WHOI
Lesley (Fillow?) Rossi – Division of Fish and Wildlife, St. Thomas Virgin Islands
Daniel Wieczorek ? Physical Science Technician, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory, NOAA
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Joseph Aiello, Erin Bodnar, Melissa Cassidy, Stephanie Forschner, Jennifer Haag, Katherine Kerr,Kelly Kreis, Jennifer Lally, Elizabeth Little, Melissa Novak, Jarrod Olbres, Christopher Renzi, Emily Sibley, Jillian Smith, Michael Smith, Jennifer Tilton, Kathleen Wall, Susan Wilson, Sharlene Woodman.
Class of 2001
Christina Altimari – Environmental Scientist, ESS Group, Inc
Dr. Marina Ayrapetov – Research Fellow in Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was Research Associate, Rhode Island Hospital
Shanna (Brazee) Muise – MS 2004 at URI (with Emily Carrington)
Melissa Bugg – Staff, Chesapeake Research Consortium ?
Melissa (Casper) Silva – Adjunct faculty at Bryant University, Johnson & Wales, and University of Phoenix. I work for Brown University as a assessment coordinator in the CAAS. (melissa_silva@brown.edu)
Michelle (Henly) Fye – Production Scientist II, Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., now Environmental Scientist with Fairway Laboratories, Altoona, PA.
Brian Gervelis – Contractor, NOAA NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries Sampling Branch; Master’s degree in fisheries science at URI while studying the age and growth of the thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) in the Northwest Atlantic with the API. Upon completing his Master’s work, Brian took a position with the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program, working as a data editor. He later served as NEFOP’s Northeast area lead assistant, working on a variety of issues facing observers stationed in the Northeast region.
Andrea Kecskes – Program Coordinator, GSO Office of Marine Programs at URI
Matthew Koehler – Ingenious Labs (biotech)
Christopher Mueller – BS Marine Biology, MS Biological Oceanography at GSO; works for Applied Science Associates
Jessica Powell – MS at URI
Jenifer Schadlick – MA Program in the Humanities, U. Chicago
Paul Sokoloff – ? MS student, UNH
Michelle Thomson – Adjunct faculty, Roger Williams University
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Karah Armstrong, Jason Bresnick, Laura DeStefaniz, Stephanie Kenyon, Hannah Liuzzo, Christina Miner, Rebecca Mitchell, Jill Olson, Michelle Orecchio, Kelly Rock, Leslie Smith
Class of 2000
Elizabeth Bacon – High school teacher (Marine biology), York, ME
Brandi Bornt – Ducks Unlimited; Anitoch NE graduate
Michelle Burnett – RI Dep’t Environ. Mangement, Marine Fisheries
Catherine Colgan – Marine science educator
Pieter deHart -Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies, University of Wisconsin – GreenBay; had been Dean of Environmental Conservation and Research and professor of Biology at Unity College; Asst. Professor of Biology, Virginia Military Institute, doing research in various aspects of marine and aquatic ecology. dehartpa@vmi.edu
Dr. Libby Ellwood – Global Communications Manager at iDigBio ; Ph.D. and post-doc at Boston University (Primack Lab), her work on ecological aspects of climate change was featured on “Living on Earth” on NPR in Spring 2012.
Kerry Mahoney – Wastewater management specialist, South Kingstown RI
David Medici – Graduate student in Louisiana; Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Inc.
Ted Racine – (Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology major) – NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester, MA. Task Leader for Fishing Vessel Trip Reporting project, and now working for NOAA Fisheries – Fisheries Statistics Office (FSO). “During my time at URI I worked in both Stan Cobb’s lab and at the Fisheries Center at East Farm. I worked on various lobster related projects, including the artificial reef project located in Dutch Harbor, a lobster tagging project and a Salt Marsh Assessment project. Because all of these project had been funded, in one way or another, by the NMFS (now NOAA Fisheries) I was able to meet and make some contacts within the agency. These contacts helped in obtaining my first “real job” (in my field of study) after college.”
Suzanne Randazzo – Research Laboratory Specialist, U. Michigan
Jennifer Skelly – MA education; teaching
Charlene Snyder – Medicine; dermatology
Geoffrey Sowan – zebra mussel research
Ryan Tainsh – MS student, URI (w/ Dr. Killingbeck)
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Joseph Cohen, Shawn Henderson, Christopher Ollerhead, Jessica Rumpf
Class of 1999
Kathryn Doyle – High School teacher
Jennifer DeAlteris – MBA, UMass Dartmouth; Graduate student, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
Shannon Kane – Senior Aquarist, Busch Gardens, Orlando
Sally Morehead – Research Scientist, Mission-Aransas NERR, U. Texas Marine Science Institute
WE NEED INFORMATION ABOUT: Allison Greaves, Raina Huebner, Kathryn McRedmond, Laura Stanish
Class of 1998
Laura Williams – Wildlife Section Supervisor, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife
Prior to 1998 – (Students from Zoology/Botany in the area of Marine Biology)
Dr. Michael Judge (BS Zoology 1983) — Professor of Biology, Manhattan College
Dr. Kathryn Van Alstyne (BS Zoology 1983) — Marine Scientist, Western Washington University
Greg Skomal – BS and MS (with Bill Kreuger in Zoology). See:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/07/eco.baskingsharks/index.html.
Robin Hadlock Seeley – (MS in Zoology, 1980 with Stan Cobb) – retired; had been Assistant Director, Shoals Marine Laboratory (Cornell University and University of New Hampshire)
James Barbosa – Pharmacological research
Bruce Moravchik (MS Biological Sciences, with Dr. Stan Cobb) – Education specialist in NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS). He is a key developer of NOS’s Education Web site, a series of innovative online materials for students and educators that convey NOAA’s research, technology, and activities. Also manages NOAA Climate Stewards, a national program to provide educators with sustained professional development in climate and related sciences, and use collaborative online tools so they may help build a climate-literate public that is actively engaged in climate stewardship activities. Prior working at NOAA he established and ran a marine and environmental studies program at a private high school in Rhode Island, working with teachers and students on coastal ecology, aquaculture, and habitat restoration. He has taught oceanography for the Sea Education Association; studied the behavioral ecology of lobster and crab populations in Rhode Island and Maine; and conducted research in coral reef ecology in the Red Sea.
Dr. Rom Lipcius (BS Zoology 1976) – Professor of Marine Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary and 2009 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Grace Wyngaard (BS Zoology 1975) – Professor of Biology at James Madison University
Dr. David Campbell (BS Zoology 1975, Ph.D. Zoology 1983) – Program Manager, NSF K-12 Division of Education.
Dr. David O’Neill (MS Zoology 1974) – Chair, Biology, Community College of Baltimore County
John B. Williams (BS in Zoology B.S., 1973) – Professor, Dept. of Biological & Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University. Awarded University Professor of the Year and Governor’s Distinguished Professor; PhD (Marine Science) at North Carolina State (1978, with B.J. Copeland).
Dr. Wayne Souza– Professor, UC Berkeley (Ecology)
Other URI Alumni in Marine Biology etc.
Liz Caporelli – WHOI ship scheduler.