SEA GRANT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Extension Agent / Manatee, Hillsborough and Sarasota
Angela Collins is an Assistant Extension Scientist for Florida Sea Grant and UF's School of Fisheries, Forestry and Geomatic Sciences, based at the Tropical Aquaculture Lab in Ruskin, Florida. She currently serves as a lead for Florida Sea Grant's Fisheries Work Action Group (WAG).
Collins is a native to the Gulf Coast of Florida, where she spent years living on a sailboat and has logged over 3,000 hours underwater. She is passionate about supporting working waterfronts and working with stakeholders to conserve Florida's commercial and recreational fisheries. She spent over a decade as a marine fisheries biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she specialized in cooperative research with divers and anglers to collect data about hogfish, Goliath grouper and Gag grouper. She spent time early in her career as a science diver with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, an aquarist with Walt Disney World, and studying cownose rays with Mote Marine Laboratory.
Collins holds a B.S. in Biology and Marine Science from Florida Atlantic University, an M.S. in Integrative Biology from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D. in Biology, Ecology and Evolution from the University of South Florida.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant / Communications
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent
- Marine Extension Agent
Brittany Scharf is the Marine Extension Agent III with UF/IFAS Extension Hernando County. She serves as a co-lead for Florida Sea Grant's Fisheries Work Action Group (WAG) and is an affiliate faculty with UF Water Institute.
As a native Floridian, Scharf developed a love for the ocean and fishing at a very young age through frequent family outdoor expeditions and the influence of her father's tournament fishing activities. Scharf was formerly a fisheries biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute where she studied fish stomach contents and gathered information about fish population abundance and trends. She was also an adjunct professor for the University of Tampa where she taught biology and environmental science.
She holds a B.S. in Biological Science and a Coastal and Marine Science Resources Certificate from Florida State University, and an M.S. in Biological Oceanography from the University of South Florida. She is a current Ph.D. student at the University of Florida within the UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory.
Job Titles:
- National Coral Disease Coordinator
Caroline McLaughlin serves as the National Coral Disease Coordinator with Florida Sea Grant in partnership with NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program. Caroline has more than a decade of experience in the conservation sector, an academic background in environmental science and policy, and significant experience working to enhance the resilience of coral reefs. Most recently, she worked with the National Parks Conservation Association as the Associate Director of the Sun Coast Region, covering Florida, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Louisiana, where she worked in a leadership role to advance policies to protect marine and coastal ecosystems in and around national parks.
Caroline has worked on invasive species management with the National Park Service, shark research with the University of Miami, and ecological connectivity along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. She also spent time working with the Government of Ecuador's Yasun-ITT Initiative to promote Amazon conservation and climate change mitigation and with the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium to promote the sustainable use of coastal resources among the states coastal communities. An avid traveler and lover of the outdoors, Caroline has a passion for the oceans (especially sharks!) and spending time with her golden retriever, Lionpaw Lani.
Caroline holds a B.A. in Ecosystem Science and Policy and Geography from the University of Miami, and a dual M.A. in Natural Resources, Sustainable Development, and International Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C. and the United Nations' University for Peace in Costa Rica.
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent / Flagler & Volusia
Job Titles:
- Administrative Specialist
Job Titles:
- Associate Director / Research
David Fuller is Florida Sea Grant's Northeast Florida Clean Boating Coordinator for the St. Johns River, Intracoastal Waterway, and the coast from the Florida-Georgia border south to Martin County. Fuller is dedicated to reducing boater pollution through effective communication and outreach between state agencies, marinas, and the boating community. Fuller's professional experience working with different groups stems from his time serving in the United States Navy and working in the training department of a nuclear power plant. As a full-time cruiser, Fuller is familiar with marina and boating operations. Since 2015, has made several trips aboard his boat Still Waters II, amassing 37,000 miles and traveling through every state east of the Mississippi River. He has cruised all five Great Lakes, America's Great Loop, and Down East Loop.
Job Titles:
- Regional Specialized Extension Agent / Southeast Florida
- Water Resources Extension Agent
Dr. Lisa Krimsky is a Regional Water Resources Extension Agent (RSA) IV for the UF/IFAS Southeast District. Lisa grew up in New Jersey, but became familiar with Florida and it's coastal resources in graduate school where she studied the Florida stone crab.
Lisa started with UF/IFAS as the the Sea Grant Agent for Miami-Dade County prior to her current position and was recognized nationally with the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals Early Career Leadership Award. In 2021, Lisa was the recipient of the Distinguished Water Institute Faculty Fellowship for her contribution to water-resources extension programming.
Job Titles:
- Extension Specialist
- Project Coordinator for Operation TRAP
Dr. Monica Wilson is the Coastal Debris Project Coordinator for Operation TRAP (Trash Reduction for Aquatic Preserves). Monica grew up in El Paso, TX and fell in love with the ocean on a trip to South Padre Island, TX. She left home to attend Eckerd College to study marine science. She is a member of the Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Science Outreach team, who's focus is on the two-way transform of science between the people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy Gulf of Mexico or who are involved in the protection and management of Gulf of Mexico coastal and marine resources.
Dr. Wilson holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Physical Oceanography from the University of South Florida and a B.S. in Marine Science and Computer Science from Eckerd College.
Job Titles:
- Extension Specialist
- Specialist for Florida
Dr. Razieh Farzad is the Seafood Safety Extension Specialist for Florida Sea Grant. Before this role, Razieh was a postdoctoral scholar at Bodega Marine Laboratory of the University of California Davis, where she worked on developing a non-invasive method using ultrasound technology to evaluate abalone reproduction to assist the recovery effort for endangered black abalone species. Razieh holds a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech. During her Ph.D., she worked on developing novel aquafeed to support sustainable seafood production. She also holds a master's degree in biotechnology from the Pennsylvania State University. Razieh's areas of expertise include aquaculture nutrition, seafood safety, quality, and cellular agriculture. You can read more about Razieh's background here.
Dr. Farzad's primary extension services include efforts to address technical aspects of seafood and aquaculture product safety, quality, and nutrition in both domestic and international commerce. As a certified seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) instructor and Food Safety Quality Assurance (FSQA) professional, Razieh organizes and teaches seafood HACCP and Sanitation Control Procedures trainings. She strives to provide information to seafood industry stakeholders about the ever-growing seafood production systems methods and regulations in forms of EDIS publications, workshops, in-service trainings, and virtual office hours.
Razieh's research goal is to help feed the growing human population and support a future that is food and nutrition secure. In line with that, she is working on developing sustainable aquafeeds that can improve fish production and the nutritional benefit of fillets for human consumption. Currently, she is working on using the advances in nanotechnology and material science to improve the bioavailability of the micronutrients such as selenium and vitamin D for fish. Another main area of her team's research is combining tissue engineering and food science techniques to produce novel cell-based seafood products.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Florida
Job Titles:
- Disease Response Coordinator
Job Titles:
- State Specialized Extension Agent
Joy Hazell is a UF/IFAS/FFGS Extension faculty member and is currently the State Specialized Agent in Facilitation and Conflict Management. Joy plans, develops, facilitates and evaluates comprehensive needs based collaborative decision making processes around natural resources in the state of Florida and beyond. Joy has facilitated collaborative processes to develop a habitat management plan for Lake Istokpoga, identify management preferences for the Goliath grouper fishery and write the management plan for the first aquatic preserve designated in 31 years, the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve.
Joy is a Natural Resources Leadership Institute project team member and participates in the CIVIC leadership team. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami. Joy started her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central African Republic teaching high school biology.
Joy is currently pursuing her PhD in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences where she received a Fulbright Student Scholarship to conduct her research on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent / Okaloosa and Walton
As the Florida Sea Grant Marine Science Extension Agent, Dr. Tiu provides educational programs in marine science, fisheries, environmental education, youth programming through 4-H, and aquaculture, including aquaponics and pond management, to a diverse audience of stakeholders using a variety of educational methods including conferences, webinars, lectures, exhibits, interpretive tours, workshops, classes and 4-H marine and day camps.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Extension and Education
Dr. McGuire has been affiliated with Florida Sea Grant since 2001, first serving as a multi-county extension agent in northeast Florida. In this capacity she conducted informal education programs on topics including marine debris, climate change, invasive species and protecting coastal habitats. She has written three elementary curricula (on manatees, cetaceans-whales and dolphins, and sea turtles). In 2005, she was awarded the Marine Science Educator of the Year award by the Florida Marine Science Educators Association. In 2014 she was given the Don Sweat Award by Florida Sea Grant, and in 2015 she was named Conservation Educator of the Year by the Florida Wildlife Federation. She is a past-chair of the National Sea Grant Education Network. In 2015, McGuire was awarded a NOAA Marine Debris Outreach and Education grant to start the Florida Microplastic Awareness Project. This citizen science project's goal is to raise awareness about the sources of and threats posed by microplastics in the coastal environment and to teach people how to reduce their contribution to the plastic problem.
Job Titles:
- Florida 's Coral Disease Response Coordinator
- Florida Coral Disease Response Coordinator
Maurizio Martinelli is Florida's Coral Disease Response coordinator, working with over 80 partner organizations to address the multi-year outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease on Florida's Coral Reef. While Maurizio brings to the position nearly a decade of coral conservation experience, he began his career working in policy development and project management at the United Nations, first with the Permanent Mission of Tuvalu to the U.N. and subsequently for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Maurizio decided to direct his passion for environmentalism and humanitarianism towards an existential threat for many: the decline of coral reefs. Following several years of coral conservation work and education focused on the Pacific, Maurizio moved to Miami to work on the outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease, first as the state's National Coral Reef Management Fellow before transitioning into his current role with Florida Sea Grant.
Maurizio holds an M.A.S. in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD and a B.A. in International Development Studies from McGill University.
Outside of work, Maurizio is an avid lover of food, both the cooking and the eating of it. He also loves music but has been terrible at every instrument he has ever picked up - a very belated apology to his neighbors growing up for his saxophone phase. As with many in the field, Maurizio also takes any excuse to jump in the ocean, be it for surfing, swimming, diving, or just floating about.
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent
- Marine Extension Agent
Mike Sipos is a Marine Extension Agent I for UF/IFAS Extension Collier County. As a native Southwest Floridian, he developed a great interest in the marine environment from an early age, through frequent exploration of coastal environments as a young angler and from observing biological processess up close in his home aquaria. Michael's previous professional experience includes gathering data as a university biologist on grouper barotrauma and release mortality, the effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Gulf fisheries and the effects of an offshore dredging project on the offshore shoal ecosystems near Cape Canaveral. His interest in aquatic husbandry led him to further his education in the field of aquaculture and conducted research benefitting Florida ornamental fish farmers during graduate school. He spent a short time in the industry before becoming the Florida Sea Grant Agent for Collier County.
Job Titles:
- Sustainable Fisheries Communications Manager
Nick Haddad is the Sustainable Fisheries Communications Manager for Florida Sea Grant. Nick grew up in Pennsylvania where he developed a passion for fishing and the outdoors at a young age. That passion led him to pursue a career in marine science, fisheries research and the recreational fishing industry. While studying marine biology at University of Tampa, he performed gut content analysis on invasive pike killifish and collected data on juvenile bull sharks in Tampa Bay. In Louisiana, he worked closely with Louisiana Sea Grant and the commercial shrimp fishing fleet to study optimal post-harvest procedures to enhance quality and economic value in a struggling industry. His past position as the Angler Recognition Coordinator for the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) strengthened his connections to the sport fishing industry around the world while maintaining a role in fisheries science and conservation. During his time with the IGFA he managed all angler recognition programs, identified fish species submitted globally, and provided content for the organization's social media, digital magazine, and yearly record book. His passion lies in working directly with anglers and will continue to promote conservation and ethical angling through this position.
Nick holds a M.S. in Renewable Natural Resources concentrated in Fisheries and Aquaculture Management from Louisiana State University and a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Tampa.
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent
- Marine Extension Agent
Ray Bodrey is a Marine Extension Agent III with the Florida Sea Grant College Program, in addition to being the County Extension Director of UF/IFAS Extension Gulf County. Bodrey's specialization is in soil and water sciences, but his program areas are broad. Gulf County is a small, populated, rural county. A multi-focal teaching philosophy is required to meet the mission of UF/IFAS Extension, as a land and sea grant institution, as well as meeting the needs of citizens of Gulf County. Therefore, Bodrey's program areas encompass not only marine, but agriculture and natural resources, environmental horticulture, county leadership and 4-H youth development support.
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Specialist
Job Titles:
- Extension Agent
- Marine Extension Agent
Victor Blanco is a Marine Extension Agent II for UF/IFAS Extension in Taylor County. Victor, who is native to Venezuela, developed a great interest in marine science at early age after taking his first scuba diving course at age 12 and after several years in the Boys Scouts movement, where he obtained the highest honor: Scout of Bolivar (equivalent to Eagle Scout). He studied marine biology at Universidad de Oriente in Margarita Island (Venezuela), and have taken specialization courses about environmental economics, wetland management, climate change and environmental conflict analysis and resolution in four universities in three different countries. In Spring 2022 he is graduating as Master in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at University of Florida. His professional career includes experience with the public (national and state level) and private sector in his country, and internationally as consultant for the United Nations Development Program and UNESCO. As a refugee, he joined Florida Sea Grant in December 2016 as a county marine extension agent in Taylor County, at the Big Bend - Nature Coast region.
Job Titles:
- Clean Vessel Act Education Coordinator
- Specialist for UF / IFAS
Victoria Gambale is an Extension Specialist for UF/IFAS. She is passionate about and dedicated to protecting and restoring the marine environment. Victoria has worked along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the U.S. with a diverse variety of personalities to accomplish environmental advancement, whether it's through installation of pollution prevention infrastructure, public outreach programs, hands on habitat restoration, or applied research. Victoria has over a decade of professional experience developing, implementing, and evaluating successful public engagement programs that reduce pollution and improve water quality. She believes that great science is extremely important for the future, but just as important is proper communication of that science to decision makers, policy makers, the public, stakeholders, and funders.
Victoria holds a M.S. in Fisheries Science from Louisiana State University and a B.S. in Marine Biology from Roger Williams University.