LOBSTER INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist
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- Professional Academic Advisor, Graduate
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- Assistant Professor of Strategic Management
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- Fisheries Extension Associate
Alicia joined Maine Sea Grant as a Fisheries Extension Associate in 2025. Alicia is working to coordinate a community engagement program for an Innovative Fishing Gear Library project led by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), focusing on the American lobster industry.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Project Manager
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- Marine Extension Associate
Annie joined Maine Sea Grant as the Maine Aquaculture Hub Coordinator and a marine extension associate in 2023. Based at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Annie supports the planning, development and implementation of the Maine Aquaculture Hub, a collaborative network that strives to situate aquaculture as a diversifying and strengthening industry for coastal economies. The Hub network and its steering committee partners work together to address barriers through workforce development and professional training, create programming to support innovation, and conduct aquaculture outreach programs. In addition, in her general work as an extension associate, Annie pursues various education, outreach and research initiatives to promote sustainable use and development of the region's marine and coastal resources.
Role: Ashley Yates is a news writer whose job it is to explore, understand and compile information regarding the work of researchers, faculty and students with the University of Maine. She writes press releases, web content and feature articles using real stories from UMaine to support its public outreach.
Bio: With a communications degree in journalism and electronic media from the University of Tennessee, Yates migrated north to gain experience in university communications suited toward feature writing. She has worked as a staff reporter at a daily newspaper in her home state of Tennessee since her graduation and completion of an investigative journalism fellowship. Covering local business and government within a small community in East Tennessee, she has won awards in business coverage and photography. She also enjoys painting and cinema.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Management
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- Senior Human Resources Partner
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- Lecturer in Management and Marketing
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- Associate Professor of Business Information Systems
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- Senior Extension Program Manager, Staff Development and Research Support
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- Director of Academic Advising Center
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- Senior Extension Program Manager, Aquaculture Lead
Dana joined the Marine Extension Team in 1998 and is based at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Dana's expertise includes educational, outreach, and applied research programs in aquaculture and commercial marine fisheries. His work is usually either technical in nature, such as fishing gear research for bycatch reduction, or more social, such as convening meetings about local aquaculture applications.
Job Titles:
- Executive Scheduler & Special Projects Assistant
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- Associate Professor of Marketing
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- Director
- Administration
- Director of the Maine Sea Grant College Program
Dr. Gayle Zydlewski has been the Director of the Maine Sea Grant College Program since July 1, 2018. Zydlewski has more than 20 years of academic experience as a researcher and faculty member at UMaine, Washington State University, and University of Massachusetts. She also served as the supervisory fishery biologist at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Longview, Washington.
She has been the Graduate Coordinator of the Marine Biology Program at the UMaine School of Marine Sciences since 2016. Zydlewski serves on the Maine Ocean School Board of Trustees and the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Research Council. She is a faculty member of the flagship Mandela Washington Fellows Public Management Institute at UMaine.
Zydlewski's research seeks to understand the impacts of environmental conditions on fish behavior, physiology, and their relationship with population dynamics. Her most recent research focuses on shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in the Penobscot River and the broader Gulf of Maine. This includes incorporating effects of various components of the ecosystems (prey presence, interspecific interactions, and water chemistry) on fish behavior and population dynamics. She also leads a research program focused on the environmental effects of tidal power development in partnership with state and national natural resource regulators and marine renewable energy industry partners in the U.S. and Canada. She has authored and co-authored more than 100 papers in journals and conference proceedings.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Marketing
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- Coordinator of Intramural Sports and Youth Programs
Esperanza's current work focuses on climate change adaptation through education, outreach and research to promote climate change awareness and adaptation planning. She is the coordinator for Maine's Climate Change Adaptation Service Providers Network (CCAP) working to support municipalities' efforts in partnership with state agencies and other organizations. She is also chair of the NE Regional Sea Grant Climate Network and steering committee member of National Sea Grant Climate Network and the Northeast Regional Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN), and co-coordinates the Signs of the Seasons Program.
Since joining University of Maine Cooperative Extension in 1988, Esperanza has designed and implemented educational programs in coastal ecosystem health, specifically in marine environmental monitoring and watershed assessment and management. She is the recipient of a Gulf of Maine Visionary Award from the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment for her long-term devotion to improving public awareness and protection of estuarine water quality (1992) and a Maryann Hartman Award for her contributions to statewide environmental stewardship and marine education (1999).
Job Titles:
- Senior Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Arts Initiatives Director and Curator, Zillman Art Museum
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- Program Director, UMS TRANSFORMS
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- Associate Professor of Management
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- Coordinator for Operations and Events ( Membership & Lockers )
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- Associate Professor of Business Analytics
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- Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Research Associate at Maine Sea Grant
Harsha Elizabeth James is a postdoctoral research associate at Maine Sea Grant, working on the marine debris challenge project. She joined the Maine Sea grant in 2024 after completing her PhD in Extension Education from the University of Florida. The three-year project, Reducing Marine Debris at the Source: Material Replacement and Source Reduction for Single-Use Food Packaging, is supported by the NOAA National Sea Grant Program. As part of the project, Harsha is primarily responsible for designing, supporting, and tracking synergistic activities to enhance integration and transfer of knowledge across the project's four research components and with external partners, stakeholders, and the project's advisory committee.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Accounting
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- Marine Extension Associate
- Member of the Marine Extension Team
As a member of the Marine Extension Team, Jaclyn focuses on the development of the seaweed sector in Maine, with an emphasis on sustainable production, post-harvest processing, and product development. Her work provides support for coastal communities through outreach education, technology transfer programs, and by coordinating stakeholders around Maine's seaweed resources. Jaclyn's background in technical seaweed aquaculture research helps to link ongoing applied research with industry capacity and opportunities, to foster robust and sustainable working waterfronts along Maine's coast.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- President and Executive Director of Research Development
Senior Advisor to the President and Executive Director of Research Development
jason.charland@maine.edu
207.581.1512
Job Titles:
- Executive Dean, MBS Dean, GSB & Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship
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- Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Assistant Extension Professor and Small Business
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- Director of Campus Recreation
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- Academic Advisor & Student Support Advocate
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- Information Technology Coordinator
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- Director of Human Resources
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- Research Assistant
- Assistant Director for Research
- Professor
Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz is a research assistant professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology at the University of Maine and faculty fellow at the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Her research focuses on the human dimensions of natural resources, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement in conservation planning and renewable energy development.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- President
- 21st President of the University of Maine
- President, University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias
Joan Ferrini-Mundy is the 21st president of the University of Maine and its regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias, and the vice chancellor for research and innovation for the University of Maine System.
During her six years as president, Dr. Ferrini-Mundy has introduced changes and efforts to better position UMaine for a future advancing Maine's workforce and economy. In early 2022, she supported UMaine's designation as an R1 Carnegie Classification research university, joining the ranks of the nation's top universities engaged in "very high research activity." Ferrini-Mundy is also co-PI of a transformative and historic $320 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to improve student experiences and educational opportunities of the people of Maine and beyond.
Joan Ferrini-Mundy is the 21st president of the University of Maine and its regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias, and the vice chancellor for research and innovation for the University of Maine System.
Ferrini-Mundy is an active leader nationally and in Maine. She was appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden and to the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board and the Strategic Work Team of the Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020 - 2029 by Governor Janet Mills. She is chair-elect of the APLU Council of Presidents. She is former chair of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, and board member of the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance Advisory Board. Ferrini-Mundy is also a member of the Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics (TPSE) board. In Maine, she serves on the boards of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, Maine & Co., and Maine Public.
During her six years as president, Dr. Ferrini-Mundy has introduced changes and efforts to better position UMaine for a future advancing Maine's workforce and economy. In early 2022, she supported UMaine's designation as an R1 Carnegie Classification research university, joining the ranks of the nation's top universities engaged in "very high research activity." Ferrini-Mundy is also co-PI of a transformative and historic $320 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to improve student experiences and educational opportunities of the people of Maine and beyond.
Ferrini-Mundy is an active leader nationally and in Maine. She was appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden and to the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board and the Strategic Work Team of the Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020 - 2029 by Governor Janet Mills. She is chair-elect of the APLU Council of Presidents. She is former chair of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, and board member of the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance Advisory Board. Ferrini-Mundy is also a member of the Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics (TPSE) board. In Maine, she serves on the boards of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, Maine & Co., and Maine Public.
Job Titles:
- Academic Advisor & Student Support Advocate
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- Assistant Director for Fitness
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- Director of Student Success and Recruitment
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- Science Publications Designer
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- Senior Extension Program Manager, Community Engagement
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- Associate Director for Programming
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- Coordinator and First - Year Academic Advisor
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- Assistant Professor of Management and Computing Ethics
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- Assistant Director of Communications
- Assistant Director of Communications for the Division of Marketing
Role: Marcus Wolf is the assistant director of communications for the Division of Marketing and Communications. He writes and edits news releases, media advisories, long-form stories and other editorial content for the University of Maine. He also coordinates the production and execution of several other communication initiatives for both institutions.
Bio: Wolf earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the State University of New York at Potsdam in 2016. Before joining the UMaine Division of Marketing and Communications, the Upstate New York native worked as a reporter for a daily newspaper writing about business, agriculture, energy, the environment, infrastructure and more. He won a feature writing award from the New York Press Association.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Business School Operations
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- Assistant Dean of Business
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing and Communications
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- Talent Acquisition Operations Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Lobster Research and Extension Coordinator
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- Administrative and Student Personnel Coordinator
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- Associate Professor of Management
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- Marine Extension Program Leader
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- Assistant Professor of Sport Management
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- Vice President for Human Resources
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- Professor of Business Information Systems
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- Professor of Finance and Nicolas M. Salgo Professor
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- Associate Dean of Business and Professor of Management
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- Fiscal Officer and Grants Manager
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- Assistant Professor of Marketing
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- University Foundation Professor of Investment Education
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- Senior Lecturer in Management
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- Professor of Marketing and Dennis McConnell Professor of Business
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- Associate Professor of Management Information Systems
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- Senior Administrative Coordinator
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- Assistant Professor of Accounting
Job Titles:
- Coordinator for Marketing and Outreach
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- Administrative Coordinator, Graduate School of Business
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- Administrative Specialist to the Executive Dean