Speed Dating with Scientists
The Science Advisory Committee began Speed Dating with a Scientist with the goal of engendering ever deeper interactions between the rich and diverse natural and social science conducted in the Northwest Straits Region of the Salish Sea and the Marine Resources Committees (MRCs) of the seven northern counties in Washington State.
For 30 minutes at monthly meetings, the Northwest Straits Commission speed dates with a researcher actively working in our region on projects that are, or could be, amenable to public involvement: they describe their work, Commissioners ask questions, science fills the airwaves, sparks fly, and new ideas emerge. We believe this is the essence of actionable science - authentic, place-based community engagement that speaks directly to the scientific merit and the broader impacts of grant-funded work.
Want to find a program that was mentioned or follow up with the researcher on an idea that came out of a speed date? Check out the resources from past speed dates below.
Thinking about how to engage coastal communities in your science? Interested in presenting to the Northwest Straits Commission on your actively funded work in our region, please feel free to contact Dana Oster (Marine Program Manager), or Julia Parrish (Chair of the Science Advisory Committee).
Braeden Van Deynze
Natural Resource Economist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Expertise:
• Recreation economics
• Design of landowner incentive programs
• Cost-effective conservation planning
• Research on the economics of restoration planning
Contact: Braeden.VanDeynze@dfw.wa.gov
Resources:
Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in Washington: Participation and Expenditures in 2022. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, Washington
What influences spatial variability in restoration costs? Econometric cost models for inference and prediction in restoration planning
Potential supply of Midwest cropland for conversion to in-field prairie strips
Double date: Jodie toft and hilary hayford
Jodie Toft: Deputy Director, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Hilary Hayford: Nearshore Ecologist and Habitat Research Director, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Expertise:
- Integrating people and partners in in-water habitat monitoring and restoration
- Coastal biological and oceanographic research
- Science-based restoration design and implementation to rebuild native shellfish and kelp habitat
- Underwater kelp community monitoring
Contact: hilary@restorationfund.org, jodie@restorationfund.org
Resources:
Eyes on Kelp - Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Bull Kelp Recovery - Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Olympia Oyster Restoration - Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Pinto Abalone Recovery - Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Chanda Littles
Coastal Ecologist and Science Lead, Estuary Program, Portland District of the US Army Corp of Engineers
Expertise:
- Coastal resource management and environmental stewardship.
- Population biology, seagrass ecology, wetland policy and regulation, and coastal ecosystem services.
- Beneficial use of dredged material to enhance habitat for juvenile salmonids and other species in the Lower Columbia River Estuary.
- Applied research that can inform decision-making.
Contact: Chanda.J.Littles@usace.army.mil
Resources:
Beneficial Uses Of Dredged Sediment (dren.mil)
Home Page - Engineering With Nature (dren.mil)
Seattle District > Missions > Civil Works > Programs and Projects > Authorities > Specifically Authorized Projects > Ecosystem Restoration (army.mil)
Christy Pattengill-Semmens
Co-Executive Director, for Science & Engagement
Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)
Expertise:
Fish and marine invertebrate identification for recreational divers.
Use of fish count data to track abundance, migration, reproduction, effects of disease, and ocean warming
Contact: christy@REEF.org
or Janna Nichols, Citizen Science Program Manager: janna@reef.org
Website: https://www.reef.org/
Drew Harvell
Professor Emeritus, Cornell University;
Affiliate Faculty and researcher at University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories
Expertise:
• Ocean biodiversity
• Ocean health and sustainability
• Ecology of infectious disease
• Invertebrate resistance to disease
• Climate change impacts in the ocean
Contact: cdh5@cornell.edu
Website: https://drewharvell.com/
JACKIE LINDSEY
Science Coordinator
Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST)
Expertise:
• Marine ecology
• Marine bird identification and monitoring
• Marine debris monitoring
• Beach surveys
• Public engagement in science
Contact: coasst@uw.edu
Website: https://coasst.org/
Chris Mantegna
PhD graduate student, UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Yellow Island Intertidal Monitoring (video)
- Mentorship Program Coordinator for BWEEMS - Black Women in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Science
- Science Communication Content Creator for BIMS - Black in Marine Science
- Research Mentor for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the UW, a decade-long program dedicated to making U.S. conservation a more inclusive, socially just and diverse space.
Contact: cnmntgna@uw.edu
Scott Pearson
Senior Research Scientist
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
Expertise:
- Western Washington Wildlife Research Team Leader for WDFW
- Wildlife ecology with a particular focus on birds, from Streaked Horned Larks to Snowy Plovers, Marbled Murrelets and Tufted Puffins
- Working to identify the mechanisms responsible for the decline of marine species of conservation concern, including habitat change, and climate change
Contact: Scott.Pearson@dfw.wa.gov
Resources:
Marine Birds and Mammals webmap
Jan Newton
Senior Principal Oceanographer, UW Applied Physics Lab & Affiliate Professor in the School of Oceanography and the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
Expertise:
- Biological oceanography, with a focus on the physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of Puget Sound and coastal Washington, including understanding effects from climate and humans on water properties.
- Ocean observing, including:
- Lead PI for Backyard Buoys, a project to empower Indigenous and other coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and the Pacific Islands to collect, steward, and use wave data to support their blue economy: maritime activities, food security, and coastal hazard protection.
- Executive Director of the Northwest Association of Networked Observing Systems
- Co-Director of the Washington Ocean Acidification Center
Contact: janewton@uw.edu
Tessa Francis
Lead Ecosystem Ecologist, Puget Sound Institute at the UW Tacoma and the Managing Director of the Ocean Modeling Forum
Expertise:
- Ecosystem-based management and indicators of change: systems-based approach to marine natural resource management and stewardship.
- Nearshore habitat restoration and function to support forage fish and juvenile salmon.
- Aquatic food webs and the impacts of environmental variables and human activities on aquatic species and food-web dynamics.
- Model-based advice for ocean management using multi-model approaches.
Contact: tessa@uw.edu
Resources: pugetsoundinstitute.org