Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Marine Wildlife Scientist, Science

Based in: Washington, DC, USA

I grew up in Northern VA and California so I was always relatively close to the coast.  My family regularly vacationed at the beach and I’ve always loved the Ocean.  One of the best parts of going to the beach was sometimes getting to see dolphins.

In college I was lucky enough to spend two weeks doing research in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.  One morning, while sleeping on a river boat, I decided to get up early and see the sunrise.  I heard a splashing noise and looked down to see several boto, also known as Amazon river dolphins, playing in the water. I watched these beautiful pink dolphins playing in the glow of the sunrise and wondered what would become of them if the Amazon region continued down its current path.

When I got back to the U.S., I started an internship at the National Aquarium in Baltimore as a marine mammal trainer.  Working at the aquarium gave me the opportunity to work first hand with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, as well as harp, harbor and grey seals.  I was amazed and how intelligent the marine mammals were and how they seemed to each have a unique relationship with each trainer.  Through my work with the aquarium, I began to see that we knew very little about marine mammals in the wild and that better policies were needed to protect them.

After college, I chose a graduate program that would allow me to study both the science and policy related to protected species, such as marine mammals and sea turtles.  I have been working on protected species science and policy ever since and love that fact that I have a job where I feel like I am really making a difference.