Dr. Alison Cawood is the Director of Public Engagement at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. In this role, she oversees SERC’s environmental education, citizen science, and professional training programs, and works to make SERC science relevant and accessible to a wide range of audiences.
She will be co-leading the Estuary Science concentration. |
Dr. Matt Ogburn is a Marine Ecologist and Senior Scientist of the Fisheries Conservation Lab. He leads research on fishery species ranging from blue crabs to sharks and rays, fish habitat restoration, and long-term change in coastal ecosystems.
He will be co-leading the Estuary Science concentration. |
Dr. Katie Mika is an evolutionary geneticist, a SCUBA Instructor, and the Mission Committee Chair and a Board member for the Chicago Undersea Explorers Society (CUES). As a scientist, Katie is interested in the evolution of the incredible diversity of fish phenotypes we see today– from the morphology of fins to how fish adapt to changing pressures across depths. As a scuba instructor with CUES, she works to welcome new divers into the sport and build a more inclusive, accommodating, and welcoming dive community for all divers.
She will be co-leading the Science Diving concentration. |
Dr. Katie Whitlow researches fish biomechanics, behavior, and evolution as an assistant professor of Biology. She is a SCUBA instructor certified with the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and a board member for the Chicago Undersea Explorers Society (CUES). CUES is a social and training centered non-profit organization focused on increasing access, equity, and inclusion in the world of SCUBA. One of Katie’s roles at CUES is meeting folks where they are in the water: teaching the knowledge and skills needed to dive safely and sharing her love of the underwater world.
She will be co-leading the Science Diving concentration. |
Karen Tuttle specializes in aquarium water chemistry and leads a team of water scientists with specialties including marine microbiology, instrumentation, data management and water quality. With a background in environmental testing and analytical chemistry, Karen transitioned into the field of aquarium science, where they have become recognized as an industry leader, with contributions including the establishment of a water quality certification program and as an editor and author for the AALSO (Aquatic Animal Life Support Operators) Field Guide, and instructing aquarium professionals at conferences and workshops internationally. As the Water Science Laboratory Manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Karen enjoys supporting the Aquarium’s mission of Ocean Conservation through advancing analytical techniques, and supporting world-class animal care.
They will be leading the Aquarium Science concentration. |
Dr. Catherine Macdonald received her PhD from the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy at the University of Miami. Her research interests include the biology and ecology of sharks and rays, human-wildlife conflict, and the impacts of wildlife tourism. We recommend you don’t ask her questions about any of those topics unless you’ve got time to spare. From 2011-2016, she was the Intern Coordinator for the University of Miami's Shark Research and Conservation Program, where she discovered teaching and mentoring was the work she loved most. In addition to teaching at Field School, Catherine is also a Lecturer at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, where she is the head of the Marine Conservation Track for the Master of Professional Science program.
She will be leading the Tropical Ecology concentration |
Dr. Lauren Simonitis is an aquatic sensory biologist interested in how animals use sensory systems to understand their environment and mediate predator prey relationships. From the prey perspective, she focuses on how animals use ink as a chemically mediated antipredator defense. She also studies the olfactory system of sharks by describing the general morphology, distribution of sensory structures, and fluid dynamics of different Chondrichthyan nasal morphologies. Lauren is the Research and Biological Imaging Specialist at Florida Atlantic University Laboratory Schools.
She will be co-leading the Biovisualization concentration. Dr. Aubree Jones is a professor and researcher interested in how animals interact with their environment using sensory systems and how their systems have adapted to their environment, diet, and/or behavior. She is also passionate about collaborating across disciplines to take basic research to applied sciences and use information about sensory morphology for bio-technological applications.
She will be co-leading the Biovisualization concentration. |
About missMISS provides a community and funded opportunities for gender minorities of color who wish to enter the field of shark sciences. We aim to show that there are many gender minorities of color succeeding in and interested in this field.
We fundraise and apply for grants to create paid opportunities to attempt to knock down the financial barrier into shark sciences. We encourage other organizations in our field to do the same. |
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