Tag: Coastal Careers

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TCS Professional Spotlight Sessions in 2023: Two More Members Who Light the Way

By Steven MacLeod and Ashley Gordon

The Coastal Society hosted two Professional Spotlight sessions in 2023, featuring seasoned TCS professionals who discuss their career paths and provide career tips to students and young professional members. The Professional Spotlight sessions are TCS member-focused events that are part of the Coastal Connections web conferencing series. The video sessions were recorded via Zoom; TCS members may request a link to these recordings by sending an email here. To receive invitations for future Professional Spotlight sessions, please be sure your TCS membership is current. Join or renew at Membership – The Coastal Society. You can also read more about the Coastal Connections series on the TCS website. 

Larry Cahoon (Ph.D.), Professor of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and current Director on the TCS Board, was our guest speaker during the session on April 11, 2023. Dr. Cahoon shared tales about his educational background at Washington and Lee University and Duke University, and approximately 40 years of experience as a professor, with research focusing on biological oceanography (which he calls a “contact sport”) and coastal ecosystem dynamics.

Larry also discussed his experiences in public policy in North Carolina, including an appointment by the North Carolina Governor beginning in 1985 to serve on the NC Marine Science Council. Larry also served as chair of the NC Ocean Resources Task Force from 1993 to 1996 and later was involved in the NC Legislative Study Subcommittee on Offshore Energy. He gained further notoriety for his role in identifying the extent of per/polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contaminants in the Cape Fear River.

Larry highlighted his three key elements of teaching: 1) know your stuff, 2) meet students where they are, and 3) show them you care that they learn. He also advised that preparation is the key to academic and professional success in whatever you do, including meetings, publishing your work, developing proposals, and testifying in court. Larry emphasized the importance of honesty and maintaining personal and professional integrity when encountering potential deception, manipulation, or abuse.

Discussion following Dr. Cahoon’s presentation focused on topics including navigating an academic career path, student mentorship from academic faculty, science communication tips, and trends in academic teaching methods over the past several decades.

Jill Meyer, Senior Vice President at Lynker Technologies, was our guest speaker during the session on July 6, 2023. She described her path to becoming a consultant following an undergraduate focus on biological research (including 2 years in Costa Rica) and a shift to science and policy management graduate program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Following a Knauss SeaGrant Fellowship supporting several federal projects (with a focus on remote sensing), Ms. Meyer joined the consulting world as a Project Manager with a former company. She has since ascended to her current role at Lynker, wherein she manages multi-million-dollar government contracts.

Jill discussed pros and cons of serving as a government contractor, which depends partly on the employee focus of a given contracting group. For example, there is a broad range of work opportunities, but contract employees may be perceived as having less stature than full-time government employees. Jill also discussed skills for success as a manager, including a strong multi-disciplinary technical background, solid organizational and communication skills, and an adaptable leadership style with an ability to multi-task and motivate staff. Jill offered some takeaways for developing a professional career path, such as remaining curious and open to opportunities, letting go of “perfection”, developing a professional support network, continuously honing communications skills, maintaining a focus on what motivates you, and recognizing when a position/project is not a good fit.

Following her presentation, Jill responded to questions by noting that she stays plugged into scientific developments through proposal writing. She encouraged participants interested in a certain government organization to ask them who they contract with and look for postings on forums like Indeed. Jill again emphasized the value of improving communication skills through books like “22 Talk Shifts” and apps that help refine your language.

We thank both our guest speakers for taking time to share their insights! 

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TCS Hosts Forum on Priority Issues in North Carolina with UNC Wilmington and North Carolina Sea Grant

By Ellis Kalaidjian

The North Carolina coastline is a treasure trove of natural beauty and biodiversity. However, with this beauty comes a complex tapestry of coastal issues that are ever-evolving. From the threat of rising sea levels and intensifying storms to the delicate balance of preserving ecosystems while accommodating human activities, the coastal region of North Carolina finds itself at the intersection of environmental challenges and community resilience. Such challenges demand thoughtful discourse amongst the state’s coastal stakeholders, which prompted The Coastal Society to join forces with North Carolina Sea Grant and the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) to host a Forum on Priority Issues in North Carolina on November 6th, 2023.

The forum was held at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science, where 85 registrants from professional organizations (50 participants) and students (35 participants) gathered for the day.  The forum kicked off with a thought-provoking keynote presentation from the Director of the NC Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM), Dr. Braxton Davis, followed by the first of three plenary panels of speakers hailing from academic institutions, state government, and non-profit organizations. The first plenary panel covered topics in natural and community resilience. Amongst the panel were the Research Director of the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory, Dr. Arthur Greer, whose talk focused on the Collaboratory’s role in facilitating research partnerships and coastal marsh protection; Mackenzie Todd, the Coastal Resiliency Coordinator at the NCDM, who delved into the NC Resilient Communities Program; Ryan Davenport, Carteret County’s Shore Protection Manager, presented on the intricacies of locality beach management planning; and the Executive Director of the NC Coastal Federation, Todd Miller, who covered the policy, strategies, and lessons learned surrounding living shoreline implementation.

Karly Lohan chats with CMS Director Dr. Ken Halanych & TCS Executive Director Judy Tucker in the main lobby of the Center for Marine Science. In the background are TCS planning team members Dr. Larry Cahoon & Dr. Jenny Biddle.

The second plenary panel delivered a series of presentations on the research and management of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are among the most pervasive industrial compounds in NC’s watersheds. Presenters included Rachylle Hart, Program Coordinator of UNCW’s Center for Marine Science; Dr. Pingping Meng, Assistant Professor at Eastern Carolina University; Riley Lewis, White Oak Waterkeeper with Coastal Carolina Riverwatch; Dana Sargent, the Executive Director of Cape Fear River Watch; and Emily Donovan, Co-Founder of Clean Cape Fear. The final panel featured three presentations on the ecological, policy, and management dimensions of offshore wind development in NC, given by Karly Lohan, the NC Program and Outreach Manager of the Southeastern Wind Coalition; Daniel Govoni, the Federal Consistency Coordinator of the NCDCM; and Dr. Martin Posey, Professor of Biology & Marine Biology at UNCW. Concurrent breakout sessions for both panels saw active engagement and rich discourse amongst their audiences.

NCDCM’s Daniel Govoni talks about the Federal Consistency review process for offshore wind.

The forum also included a student poster presentation session, where several NC students were able to showcase their research to the forum’s audience of practitioners and fellow academics, and concluded with remarks from TCS’s newest president, Dr. Paul Ticco, and a networking event held at Wilmington Brewing Company to end the day! We would like to congratulate first-place poster presentation winner, Olivia Trahan from UNCW, on her presentation titled “Species Richness and Abundance of Ascidian Species in Larval Collector Bags from Penobscot Bay of P. magellanicus”, and Jillian Eller, a Ph.D. candidate from ECU, whose presentation titled “Exploring the MSP Challenge: A Map for Marine Energy Engagement” won second place .

Once again, TCS and its partners succeeded in facilitating fruitful conversations about coastal conservation measures of ever-increasing importance amongst a diverse landscape of coastal stakeholders. In the end, we were delighted to learn that this event introduced 70 non-members to TCS, a significant milestone in our mission to engage with broad audiences on coastal management and conservation. As always, be on the lookout for upcoming web-based and in-person events on our website!

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TCS Professional Spotlights in 2022: TCS Members Learned about Coastal Career Paths

By Ashley Gordon

As part of The Coastal Society’s Coastal Connections web conferencing series, the Coastal Society (TCS) hosted two Professional Spotlight sessions featuring TCS members in 2022. During these Spotlight sessions, TCS members have the opportunity to learn about the career path of a featured TCS member, discuss career tips, and connect with other TCS members at various stages of their careers. To receive invitations for future Professional Spotlight sessions, please be sure your TCS membership is current. Join or renew at Membership – The Coastal Society. You can also read more about the Coastal Connections series on the TCS website. 

Our 2022 featured speakers included Amy Whitt, founder and CEO of Azura Consulting, LLC, and Don Davis, Director of Oral History for the Louisiana Sea Grant Program. Highlights from each of the sessions are shared below. To access recordings of these sessions, TCS members may request a link by sending an email to admin@thecoastalsociety.org.

Amy Whitt, founder and CEO of Azura Consulting, LLC, was our guest speaker during the session held on May 17, 2022. Amy provided an overview of her career path to starting and growing an environmental consulting firm that provides services focused on the research, conservation, and management of protected species, populations, and habitats, outreach and education, and professional communication. The Azura team has worked with federal and state agencies, private organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and the offshore energy industry. Amy also shared her experiences working in marine mammal and sea turtle research, coastal environmental management, conservation and education, and ocean policy.

Amy offered several tips for pursuing a career path in environmental consulting, including the importance of writing skills, maintaining a personal resume database of your skills, training, and certifications, building your professional network, and volunteering time to give back to the scientific community. View Amy’s presentation HERE.

Don Davis (PhD), Director of Oral History for the Louisiana Sea Grant program, was our guest speaker during the session held on October 6, 2022. Don recently co-authored a book, Asian-Cajun Fusion: Shrimp from the Bay to the Bayou, with Carl Brasseaux. This book traces the origins of the shrimp drying industry in the United States back to 1870, when Chinese immigrants founded the industry in New Orleans. The coastal Lousiana region continues to export dried shrimp to Asian markets domestically and internationally. Don noted that “the [coastal Louisiana] landscape is and has always been a working coast. The coast is not a place but a process; it only becomes a place when people live there.”

Don offered several pieces of advice based on his experiences, including how critical it is to understand the human dimension and engage with people before making decisions. Don also emphasized the importance of following your passion, learning something new everyday, and working hard while maintaining a work-life balance. View Don’s presentation HERE.

We thank all our guest speakers for taking time to share their stories! Stay tuned for more TCS Coastal Connections sessions coming in 2023!

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2022 TCS Coastal Career Workshop in New Orleans

By Tom Bigford

On December 4th, 2022, TCS convened its 22nd Coastal Career workshop in New Orleans. This ongoing workshop series is part of TCS’s Margaret A. Davidson (MAD) Coastal Career Development Program, which was initiated in 2018 to prepare the next generation of coastal professionals. The workshop was sponsored by Louisiana Sea Grant, the National Academy of Science’s Gulf Research Program, and the Louisiana Science Teachers Association (LSTA), and was hosted by the Meraux Foundation. Among the workshop’s key partners were Restore America’s Estuaries, which was hosting its biennial summit the following week, and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

Strong sponsor support enabled TCS to test five approaches not attempted in earlier MAD workshops:

1. Given that this was the first completely in-person event in the last two years, we established clear protocols to reduce the risk of covid-19 and classroom or field accidents. We employed safe distancing when indoors and every one of our 62 attendees completed a legal release for accidents. This was very important as we switched venues for talks and breaks around the host campus and then used bus transportation to offsite destinations

2. Next, we collaborated with the LSTA to reach STEM high schools, thereby shifting beyond our traditional focus on graduate schools to include students as early as 10th grade. We had a particularly strong showing from the high school upper-classes.

A view of the audience in the opening sessions of the MAD New Orleans workshop in December 2022. Attendees heard from four coastal experts before breaking into smaller groups for discussions about job trends, career options, professional skills, and much more.

3. We designed special activities and talks for the younger students in high school, at community colleges, or early in a four-year program while continuing to provide academic and professional career advice to attendees closer to their terminal degree. The most popular hands-on module was underwater research, and favorite talks covered job-hunting skills, networking, USAJobs, and contracting with state and federal agencies.

4. We supplemented our morning of introductory talks and break-out sessions with three afternoon stops along the Mississippi River to view a sampling of the coastal careers shared by our morning speakers – tree farming to provide material for shoreline protection, oyster restoration efforts supported by shell recycling programs, and one of many diversion structures redirecting river waters into coastal marshes.

Workshop participants visit the plant and tree nursery at the Meraux Foundation campus. Roots of small shrubs and trees help to strengthen coastal lands and reduce erosion.
Shift change at the oyster shell recycling site managed by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. Bags of recycled shells are placed in coastal waters to provide clean settling surfaces for oyster larvae and to dampen storm surge and coastal erosion.

5. Finally, we made a conscious effort to attract a more diverse audience than had participated in earlier workshops. We greatly exceeded expectations with student attendees but not our speakers. Our efforts will continue as we seek a representative cross-section of students and speakers.

This workshop was the most recent example of how TCS is improving the MAD Coastal Career Development Program. We look forward to continued success with our slate of workshops in 2023. Watch https://thecoastalsociety.org/ for the latest on upcoming MAD workshops.

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TCS Members in the Spotlight during the 2021 Coastal Connections Series

By Steven MacLeod and Ashley Gordon

The Coastal Society (TCS) hosted three Professional Spotlight sessions featuring TCS members in 2021. Each Spotlight session features seasoned TCS professionals who share their career paths and provide career tips to students and young professional members. These events also serve as an opportunity for members to connect and network. The Professional Spotlight events are hosted as part of the Coastal Connections series to benefit TCS members. The video sessions were recorded via Zoom; TCS members may request a link to these recordings by sending an email here. To receive invitations for future Professional Spotlight sessions, please be sure your TCS membership is current. Join or renew at Membership – The Coastal Society. You can also read more about the Coastal Connections series on the TCS website.  

Kristen Fletcher (J.D.), Faculty Associate at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, was our guest speaker during the session held on Monday, May 10, 2021. Kristen provided an overview of her professional journey, stemming from law degrees at Notre Dame and Lewis and Clark Law School. This included working for NOAA Sea Grant for 10 years at the University of Mississippi and Roger Williams University. She then took the role of Executive Director of the Coastal States Organization. During this time, she became involved with TCS and served a term as TCS President.

Kristen and her family later moved to California, where she explored several employment options (such as founding her own environmental consulting firm) before joining the NPS. At the NPS, she has helped lead the development of the NPS Climate and Security Network. Kristen noted several professional lessons learned, including being open to change (whether you choose it or not!) and being generous with your time to connect with others. She encouraged participants to ask for support from their professional network.

Discussion following Kristen’s presentation focused on topics such as facilitating multiple ocean uses through marine spatial planning, balancing multiple professional interests in your career, and the value of identifying metrics to track your professional accomplishments (e.g., percent growth of your organization). View Kristen’s presentation HERE.

Michael Orbach (PhD), Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Marine Affairs and Policy at Duke University, was our guest speaker during the session held on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Mike discussed his educational background leading to a Ph.D. in Anthropology from U.C. San Diego. He then took a position with NOAA as a social science advisor before returning to academic roles at UC Santa Cruz, East Carolina University, and Duke University. He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including a role as President of The Coastal Society in the mid-1990s and a current position as chair of the National Research Council’s Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment which advises the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Mike’s research has focused on domestic and international fishery management and social science applications in coastal management and policy. He advised young professionals to be creative and willing to make a change to do something out of the ordinary. Mike also stressed the importance of developing a network of contacts, noting that this was key to his own career transitions and led to a relatively unique position as a “professor of practice”.

Following Mike’s presentation, discussion with participants included a “bottom-up” approach to stakeholder engagement, whereby Mike observed that we cannot “force a solution” and expect to achieve consensus. He suggested that while research and advocacy were important in achieving a conservation goal, most of the work relates to facilitating the coordination and implementation of ideas. Mike also offered tips for pursuing international jobs. View Mike’s presentation HERE.

Rebekah Padgett was our guest speaker for the session on Thursday, December 15, 2021. Rebekah is the 401/CZM Federal Permit Manager for the Washington (State) Department of Ecology (DOE) responsible for water quality certification and coastal consistency reviews, a role she has held since 2004. She outlined her educational background leading to a Master’s in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. She noted brief roles with the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a consulting firm before joining DOE. In 2019 and 2020, she was on sabbatical, performing marine debris research for the Centre for Action Environment Science Society (CARESS) in Tamil Nadu, India.

Rebekah emphasized the importance of building lasting, reciprocal relationships and seeking different perspectives. She also spoke on the value of continuous learning, being flexible, staying open to new opportunities, and volunteering. Rebekah previously served on the Board of Directors for TCS and is currently volunteering with Ecologists Without Borders as their representative to Global Partnership on Marine Litter.

Rebekah’s presentation was followed by a discussion that covered exploring fellowship opportunities as a student, building a network with others in your field, how to highlight skills developed through diverse experiences when applying for a new job, and how regulatory/permitting positions can provide exposure to diverse types of projects.

We thank all our guest speakers for taking time to share their stories! 

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Recent TCS Partnership Seeks to Diversify the Ocean and Coastal Science Career Space

By Elise Mason

The COVID-19 pandemic not only shuttered our shared work and study spaces, but it also coincided with nationally palpable social unrest that highlighted ongoing social justice issues within higher education, and governmental and corporate institutions, regarding bias and discrimination faced by many students and professional scientists of color. The unfortunate truth is not something that has occurred by happenstance: a lack of diversity breeds discriminatory behaviors which often drive people of color out of positions in the coastal, ocean, and marine (COM) sciences or keep them from entering in the first place (Berhe et al., 2021). All Americans have supposedly been afforded equal rights since The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 (or Juneteenth in 1865, depending on whom you ask), and yet Black Americans often were not allowed to partake in marine science endeavors alongside White Americans until nearly 40 years ago—over a decade after the height of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and the beginnings of integrating the segregated public school system following the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme court decision in 19541. For instance, Evan B. Ford was the first Black scientist to participate in research dives aboard a deep-sea submersible in 19792.

Over the past nine months, The Coastal Society (TCS) has partnered with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Education and Outreach group on a unique diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) effort that fits within the paradigm of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) one-year grant, supported TCS in co-organizing a series of free, virtual career development events for faculty and underrepresented minorities (URM) in the COM sciences fields at federally designated minority serving institutions (MSIs)3. The effort is in response to mounting anecdotal and empirical evidence of the underrepresentation of Black Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities within the COM fields relative to other demographic groups in the United States (NSF & NCSES, 2017). Although racial and ethnic minority representation is similarly scarce in other spaces of higher education, the lack of diversity in the COM science disciplines is particularly persistent (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018) and the effects are visible in the academic and non-academic workforce.

COM sciences are interdisciplinary which can translate to ill-defined career paths; opportunities extend across biological sciences, engineering, math and technology, economics, and social science sectors. Jobs and “the workforce” are vital institutional structures that impact survival, well-being and public health outcomes, and social status. A career path that exemplifies one’s individual passions, values, and skills is important for all, including people of color. It is NSF’s stance that a robust STEM workforce is a national priority4, and a strong national workforce is a diverse one. Professional societies like TCS can expand their support to a diverse ocean and coastal workforce of researchers, educators, practitioners, and government officials. TCS has begun to strengthen this diversity within its membership, both through its collaboration with NCAR and the newly developed 5-year DEI Strategic Plan.

The TCS-NCAR partnership proposed two main goals: (1) retain and support undergraduate and graduate students in pursuing careers in these fields; and (2) build faculty and staff capacity at MSIs to provide students with career development training. This was to be accomplished through a set of virtual outreach activities, which developed over the course of the project. The challenge was to address these ambitious goals within a short timeframe. What objectives would realistically be feasible given our resources and how could they be achieved?

The project team of three painstakingly collected contact information of COM faculty from online directories at 16 MSIs with relevant curricula. We arranged informal small group meetings with faculty at seven of the 16 schools and it became apparent from these conversations that the second goal—to build faculty and staff capacity at MSIs—did not align with the capacity of the faculty at these institutions. Nevertheless, the majority remained open to communicating suggestions that would create professional opportunities for their students during and after their formal education. 

By the conclusion of the project, four free public career development workshop events and one faculty forum were hosted through Zoom and Google Meet platforms. Designating events as Zoom meetings rather than webinars created a more intimate setting for the events. Through this format, participants could see each other and speak live directly to the group. All events were offered between September 2021 and February 2022 and were around 75 minutes in duration. The workshops attracted both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled at MSIs and those who were not. The faculty forum allowed for an informal dialogue about career development projects undertaken by different departments and an opportunity to expand inter-institutional networks. 

The feedback received from attendees was limited yet positive and supportive of the endeavor. Students reported interest in, “[m]ore networking opportunities for both as a scientist and for people of color, URM in these fields,” and appreciated that, “panelists were very candid and sincere about their experiences.” One student remarked that, “The advice I really appreciated was opening my eyes to the fact I did not need to solely rely on loans for grad school and that I could be picky about my options.” Another participant shared in the virtual chat, “The opportunity to ask questions regarding grad school really made my decision much more clear to start working towards a future in grad school”5. 

It is my hope that these meaningful programmatic events continue to be incorporated at TCS. The experience of co-facilitating this project has been invaluable to me, one of many emerging professional scientists of color working outside academia. I recommend that future DEI efforts work toward smaller, more easily measurable goals, that projects and opportunities for students of color are designed with students, faculty, and professionals of color, and that those projects are reflective and mutually beneficial for all participants.

Disclaimer: This post does not serve as an endorsement of the author’s opinion, nor does it express the views of the Coastal Society.

References and Further Reading:

  1. Berhe, A. A., Barnes, R. T., Hastings, M. G., Mattheis, A., Schneider, B., Williams, B. M., & Marín-Spiotta, E. (2022). Scientists from historically excluded groups face a hostile obstacle course. Nature Geoscience, 15(1), 2-4.
  2. Bernard, R. E., & Cooperdock, E. H. (2018). No progress on diversity in 40 years. Nature Geoscience, 11(5), 292-295.
  3. Gasman, M., Nguyen, T. H., & Conrad, C. F. (2015). Lives intertwined: A primer on the history and emergence of minority serving institutions. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(2), 120.
  4. National Science Foundation, & National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2017). Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2017. Special Report NSF 17–310. Arlington, VA. Retrieved from: www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/.
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TCS Continues Successful Shift to Virtual Coastal Career Workshops in 2021

By Jeff Flood, Tom Bigford, Adrian Laufer, & Lisa Kim

Following a successful series of Margaret A. Davidson (MAD) Coastal Career Workshops in 2020, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TCS has refined its processes for planning and conducting virtual events while also broadening its approach to include more speakers from diverse backgrounds and tailoring workshop topics to the interests and regional characteristics of the hosting institutions. Workshop formats also varied to meet the needs of attendees and reflected the creative thinking of TCS MAD Coastal Career Development Committee (welcoming two new members). The result was five successful workshops, described in more detail below.

Atlantic Estuarine Research Society

On April 27, 2021, TCS partnered with the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) to host a half-day workshop in conjunction with their joint spring meeting with the New England Estuarine Research Society (NERRS). This event marked the fourth consecutive virtual workshop during the pandemic and demonstrated continued success in recruiting speakers of diverse backgrounds and utilizing virtual breakout sessions to promote more interaction by attendees. MAD Committee co-chair Tom Bigford led the planning team effort with support from MAD Committee co-chair Jeff Flood and TCS Members Cassie Wilson and Trystan Sill.

University of Rhode Island

Current leadership and recent graduates of the University of Rhode Island’s TCS student chapter hosted a half-day event on May 18, 2021 focused on broad topics such as jobs in international ocean policy and marine industry opportunities and technical advice on virtual networking, applying for Federal agency jobs, and crafting diversity statements for job applications and organizations once you’re hired. Jeff led the planning team effort with support from Tom, Cassie, Trystan, and URI Chapter President Courtney Milley as well as recent URI graduates Joe Dwyer and Eric Kretsch.

Oregon Sea Grant

On June 29 and 30, 2021, former NOAA Coastal Management Fellow (and current TCS Board Member) Adrian Laufer collaborated with Oregon Sea Grant to sponsor and host a West Coast workshop for graduate-level fellows. Adrian worked directly with current Oregon Sea Grant graduate fellows, leveraging their Community of Practice to engage with other graduate fellows in Oregon, California, Washington, Alaska, Hawai’i, and Pacific Islands. Oregon graduate fellows played a role in determining the workshop topics, The workshop reached a total of 56 attendees: five from Alaska; eight from California; four from Hawai’i and the Pacific; 19 from Oregon; nine from Washington; and eight with no west coast Sea Grant affiliation. The planning team also coordinated an ocean and coastal themed trivia event, hosted by the Surfrider Foundation, to follow the last day of the workshop, as a means of facilitating community building across west coast fellows. The workshop was incredibly well-received, with 100% of attendees reporting that they are inclined to participate in more TCS events or become TCS members. In addition, the TCS planning team members made valuable regional connections, establishing a solid foundation to bring more resources to enhance student and young professionals’ experience in this area.

Michigan Sea Grant

TCS designed a hybrid in-person and virtual full-day MAD workshop on November 16, 2021 to meet the specific needs of the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The event was sponsored by the College’s Fisheries and Wildlife Department, easing participation by 22 graduate students. The program featured plenary sessions on the shifting employment landscape and careers outside academia and offered content on six professional skills needed to launch a rewarding career, including mentors, networks, virtual and in-person interviews, working in public and private sectors, and work-life balance. This workshop was a return to the full-day program TCS has missed since switching to a virtual format. Tom led the workshop effort with assistance from Jeff and new MAD Committee Member Lisa Kim.

Duke University

Despite a busy semester, the Duke student chapter showed tremendous leadership and resolve in planning and hosting a workshop on December 3, 2021 that featured several Duke alumni and was characterized by a more free-flowing discussion between participants and speakers than in previous workshops. In addition to being an outstanding experience for all those involved, the new agenda format provided yet another example of how the TCS planning team can learn a great deal from the host institution. Duke Chapter Vice President Kara Nunnally led the planning team with assistance from Chapter officers and TCS MAD Committee Members Jeff, Tom, Lisa, and Kelly Dobroski.

At each of the 2021 workshops, skilled speakers representing many sectors and perspectives shared their personal stories and tips for how to be successful in a coastal career. Nearly all registrants (90% average) felt the workshops were a good use of their time and most (75%) thought the nominal registration fee was appropriate.

Since December of 2018, TCS has hosted 16 MAD Coastal Career Workshops. TCS is currently planning the rest of its 2022 calendar and anticipates partnering with The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to host a workshop in conjunction with Capitol Hill Oceans Week in early June, working with west coast Sea Grant offices to host another west coast graduate fellow workshop in early summer, and continuing to coordinate with TCS student chapters to tailor events to fit their need. The MAD Committee continues to coordinate with the DEIJ Working Group to reach historically underserved communities while also looking to access new geographic regions such as the Gulf Coast and Florida. Learn more about this workshop series and check back for updates to the schedule as events are finalized at: https://thecoastalsociety.org/margaret-a-davidson-coastal-career-development-program/   

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Benefits and Challenges of U.S. Offshore Wind Development for our Coastal Communities: A Coastal Connections Discussion

By Ashley Gordon, Melanie Perello, and Steven MacLeod

While only two small-scale offshore wind projects are currently operational along the East Coast, the U.S. offshore wind market is quickly expanding. In the coming decades, as much as 26 GW of wind power could be generated within existing offshore leases between Rhode Island and Virginia. To consider how this may affect coastal communities, The Coastal Society’s Coastal Connections session, held on February 26, 2021, focused on the benefits and challenges of offshore wind development. Moderated by Jennifer McCann, Director of U.S. Coastal Programs at the University of Rhode Island and Director of Extension with Rhode Island Sea Grant, a panel of experts highlighted the planning, economic, and environmental considerations associated with offshore wind project development for coastal communities, focusing on recent development along the East Coast.

Our panel of experts held a lively discussion, addressing questions about renewable energy and carbon emission life cycles, capacity building for supply chain and job creation, impacts to fisheries, benefits of regional partnership and marine spatial planning, and challenges for offshore wind development in other regions of the U.S.

You can watch a recording of the panel here, and highlights from each of the panelists’ presentations are provided below.

Mike Snyder, Ocean and Great Lakes Program Manager for the NY Department of State’s Office of Planning, Development, and Community Infrastructure

Mike Snyder provided an overview of the various types and scales of communities involved in offshore wind development. He recognized multiple challenges and opportunities that are nested across different scales related to fisheries, marine navigation, carbon emissions reductions, rate impacts to local taxpayers, recreation/public access, equity issues, and aesthetic impacts. In the state of New York, technical working groups have been created to address environmental, commercial, and recreational fishing, maritime, and jobs and supply chain considerations. Mike also emphasized the importance of an evolutionary approach to offshore wind development. (Presentation available here)

Matt Smith, Director of Offshore Wind for the Hampton Roads Alliance

Matt Smith discussed economic development opportunities associated with offshore wind. While the majority of the current supply chain capacity for offshore wind is in Europe, the Hampton Roads Alliance is focused on building a supply chain in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Matt reviewed the multi-year process for U.S. offshore wind projects, which includes siting and development, design and manufacture, construction and installation, and operations and maintenance. Two offshore wind projects, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia project and Avangrid Renewables’ Kitty Hawk project, will be serviced by the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. These two projects combined are anticipated to provide power to 1.4 million homes, avoid about 10 million tons of CO2 emissions, and provide a $1.43 billion direct economic impact from construction alone on the regional economy. (Presentation is available here)

Laurie Kutina, Environmental Scientist at WSP

Laurie Kutina reviewed the environmental considerations associated with offshore wind development and the U.S. agencies and regulations involved, including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She provided examples from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) New York Offshore Wind Master Plan, which charted a course to the procurement of an initial 2,400 MW of offshore wind capacity for the state. Anticipated environmental benefits to New York include 5 million tons of greenhouse gas reduction and air quality improvements, particularly in New York City and Long Island. Laurie also discussed wind turbine visibility considerations. In New York, the turbines of the closest planned wind farms would be located roughly 14 miles offshore and would be barely visible. Laurie highlighted opportunities that exist to engage in the offshore wind development process, including the NYSERDA offshore wind outreach webpage. (Presentation is available here)

For more information on previous and future sessions, visit the TCS Coastal Connections webpage. If you are interested in learning more or volunteering to help develop the Coastal Connections series, please contact us at TCSConnections@thecoastalsociety.org.

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The Coastal Connections – Professional Spotlight Sessions showcase TCS leaders

By: Steven MacLeod and Ashley Gordon

The Coastal Society’s Coastal Connections Web Conferencing Series was initiated in 2020 with two concepts: Trending Topic sessions and Professional Spotlight sessions. Here we focus on the first two Professional Spotlight sessions, which are members-only events featuring seasoned TCS professionals who share their career paths and provide career tips to student and young professional members. It is also a chance for the guest speaker to reconnect with other long-time TCS members.

The first Professional Spotlight session, which was the second session in the overall Coastal Connections series, was held on Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 5 pm (Eastern) using Google Meet. TCS member Rick DeVoe was the guest speaker. Rick, the recently retired Executive Director of the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, provided an overview of his professional career path, including his educational background, his experiences with the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, and his involvement as one of the earliest members of The Coastal Society.

Rick shared several professional tips, including the importance of communication skills, building a network, and finding a great mentor. He advised us to “be prepared for the worst, and the best will result”. Rick noted that Margaret A. Davidson – the honorary namesake for our TCS career development program – was an influential mentor for him.

Discussion following Rick’s presentation covered advice for identifying a professional mentor, the role of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium in coastal management, and coastal resiliency planning. For example, Rick noted the importance of restoring habitat in a way that accounts for predicted environmental conditions such as higher sea levels. We wish Rick all the best as he embarks on his retirement adventures!

The second Professional Spotlight session (and fourth session in the overall series) was held on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 4 pm (Eastern) through Zoom. The session featured TCS member Lisa Phipps, the North Coast Regional Representative for the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Lisa discussed a career path that began with fisheries research for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. She then shifted to work in multiple levels of government in Oregon, including positions as a mayor and a judge, after she obtained a Master’s in Environmental Policy with a focus on coastal zone management from Vermont Law School. In her current role, Lisa works with coastal communities to supports the implementation of statewide planning goals.

Lisa shared lessons that she has learned, encouraging us to be adaptable and willing to try a new career/life path when faced with roadblocks. She noted that “sometimes what you thought was the destination is simply a stopover”. She summarized with a Winnie the Pooh quotation: “Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.”

Discussion following Lisa’s presentation touched on the value of seeking a job based on a desired type of work and/or geographic location to help ensure a rewarding experience. Lisa emphasized the importance of listening to and truly considering multiple stakeholder perspectives when working towards a conclusion. Lisa noted that some of her most satisfying experiences involved directly helping to improve the life of one person at a time. To receive invitations for future Professional Spotlight sessions, please be sure your TCS membership is current. Join or renew at the TCS website: Membership – The Coastal Society.

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TCS and CERF Team Up for a Margaret A. Davidson Coastal Career Workshop

By: Tom Bigford

November 4, 2020, marked our second joint coastal career workshop with the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). This year we partnered with the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society and Southeast Estuarine Research Society, the CERF regional affiliates for the Atlantic and Southeast states and territories.

Our common interests made for lively keynote talks (one by TCS President Steve MacLeod on being a private consultant and a society officer) and six breakouts on personal and professional skills (one lead by TCS Board member, and former CERF Board member, Geno Olmi on federal service). Together, the program offered career insights and optimism to students and recent graduates. There are jobs out there for stellar applicants with polished personal skills! See more detail at TCS MAD Program.

This workshop was smaller than most but that did not dampen enthusiasm.  Ben Fertig, AERS President and a speaker, wrote “Great workshop, nice job!!” and offered to be a mentor to interested registrants. Mike DeLuca, a Senior Associate Director in the Rutgers University Office of Research and a speaker, said “I truly enjoyed chatting with the students . . . at the MAD event. Thanks for including me.” Sage Riddick, a Duke graduate student, got the student registration fee by joining TCS. Nicole Marks, a recent graduate of the University of Delaware, said “I really appreciated the honesty of the presenters. I’ve heard about the perks of working in the different sectors before but a lot of people have a tendency to leave out the not as exciting details.”

As the workshop closed, Ben Fertig mentioned that AERS would welcome a workshop at its 2021 joint meeting with the New England Estuarine Research Society. I think we have an annual tradition!

Finally, HUGE thanks to East Carolina University’s Office of Continuing Education (Jolie Ann Busby and Ashley Cox) for their help on the Pathable platform, TCS Board members Tricia Hooper and Kim Grubert for their assistance, our CERF, AERS, and SEERS sponsors for accommodating TCS in their conference schedule, and East Carolina University professors Joe Luczkovich (past AERS President) and Enrique Reyes (current SEERS President) for their insights throughout the entire process.