The Securing STEM Island Pathways program matches qualified graduates from the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) with short- and long-term job opportunities and graduate study in UVI’s Master of Marine and Environmental Science program.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree recipients often face uncertain employment opportunities which results in transitions out of STEM pathways to other on- or off-island employment. With a population that is predominantly from groups that are underrepresented in STEM, this loss powerfully impacts both the territory’s and the nation’s STEM workforce.

Yet, we find that territorial partners have existing, vacant and emerging STEM workforce needs that could be filled by these very individuals.

Early career support is key to preventing this emerging population from leaving STEM pathways.

Therefore, it is the mission of Securing STEM Island Pathways to match post-degree recipients from underrepresented groups in STEM from the University of the Virgin Islands, a Historically Black College and University with territorial partners in short- and long-term job opportunities and provide dedicated funding for UVI undergraduate students to matriculate into UVI’s Master of Marine & Environmental Science (MMES) program.

Our goals are to:

We aim to stabilize career pathways for UVI post-degree recipients through short- and long-term employment opportunities. Fellows are thoughtfully paired with territorial partners working in their field of interest.
Additionally, support for students to attend UVI's Master of Marine and Environmental Science program is provided.
These Fellowship opportunities are designed to increase STEM career interest, readiness and sense of community, and reduce career anxiety for participants through workforce opportunities, mentoring and other support structures.
Placement Agreements and networking through professional society meetings are additional strategic components of this effort.
We seek to connect participants to each other and to additional resources, expertise, and mentors, through the creation of new professional networks.
We strengthen existing and build new partnerships between UVI and STEM workforce partners operating in the territory and beyond, while building local and national STEM workforce capacity.

Securing STEM Island Pathways leverages partnerships, programs, and resources developed by VI-EPSCoR and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance and Navigating Home projects, building on those projects’ early successes and infrastructure.

Meet Our Workforce & Graduate Fellows

Featured

Miranda Goad

2024-2026 Graduate Fellow
Current MMES Student
Bachelor of Science Marine Biology, December 2023

Miranda Goad began her Securing STEM Island Pathways fellowship in September of 2024. Miranda received her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at the University of the Virgin Islands in 2023 where she participated in several internships. They included work in mangrove restoration, sandy beach ecology, and fisheries research with the Virgin Island’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. Her most recent work included a short-term fellowship with Navigating Home where she aided in the life history research of Stoplight Parrot Fish and training an AI program for reef fish identification.

The Securing STEM Island Pathways fellowship has allowed Miranda to pursue a Master of Marine and Environmental Science degree at the University of the Virgin Islands. “My goals for this fellowship are to build on my skills from my previous work experience, build connections that will enhance my career prospects, and gain skills that will be applicable in a range of fields.” Miranda is excited to continue research in the world of fish biology and to gain experience in migrations, movement patterns, and nursery site fidelity of fish. Miranda says “My ultimate goal is to contribute my share in aiding and maintaining the natural environment of my home in the Virgin Islands.”

Sarai Hutchinson

2023-2025 Graduate Fellow
Current MMES Student
Bachelor of Science Biology, May 2022

Sarai Hutchinson is embarking on an exciting journey with her thesis proposal which focuses on using crushed glass and Sargassum seaweed to grow red mangroves in a land-based nursery. With the guidance of her mentor Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes, Sarai is gaining valuable insights into the complexities and challenges of mangrove restoration. This project is more than just research; it’s part of a larger mission in mangrove monitoring and restoration and repurposing waste and nuisance species.

Some highlights of Sarai's fellowship are engaging with the community through classroom sessions, educational displays and mangrove cleanups. She loves witnessing the joy on students’ faces when they visit the lab for tours or when they participate in outplanting mangroves. What truly excites Sarai is the chance to be outdoors, immersed in nature while helping to restore vital coastlines.

This fellowship is a pivotal opportunity for Sarai as it opens doors to hands-on experience in the field and presents networking opportunities that are crucial for her future. These experiences help to build a foundation for a career in restorative aquaculture. By the end of this fellowship, she hopes to carve a path that seamlessly transitions her into this field, aligning perfectly with her passion for environmental restoration and sustainability.

Kaitlin Rommelfanger

2024 Short-Term Workforce Fellow
Master of Science in Marine and Environmental Science, May 2024

Kaitlin Rommelfanger began her 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship in the Grimes Lab at the University of the Virgin Islands in June, shortly after completing the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands.

The Grimes lab provided the opportunity to participate in fieldwork for the Territorial Mangrove Monitoring Program where she was able to gain unique field experience helping monitor permanent plots within several different mangrove forests around the territory. Mangrove fieldwork was often muddy but always a very rewarding experience.

Kaitlin enjoys data analysis and is interested in a career that involves working with data. During her fellowship, she was able to work visualizing and analyzing a dataset from an experiment ran within the GRROE mangrove nursery, that looked at the effect of different treatments on the sprouting of mangrove propagules. This experiment along with others being performed in the nursery are important to grow our understanding of best practices for mangrove growth. Once published, they will help to provide more information for others growing mangroves for restoration of coastal ecosystems.

Rebecca Gibbel

2024 Short-Term Workforce Fellow
Master of Science in Marine and Environmental Science, May 2024

Veterinarian Rebecca Gibbel completed her Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands in 2024. Shortly thereafter Gibbel began an 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship with the Coral World Ocean Reef Initiative (CWORI) at the Coral World Marine Park in St. Thomas. Here she participated in the CWORI Ark program, an in-land coral nursery for rare and endangered species. CWORI is particularly focused on the Dendrogyra cylindrus corals which are highly endangered and are now extinct in Florida. Dendrogyra is teetering on the brink of extinction in the Virgin Islands but, thanks to this living coral laboratory, a sampling of this species is thriving.

Although Gibbel has worked as a volunteer and intern with the CWORI Ark program in the past, the Fellowship gave her the opportunity to continue this work as a full time position which was a game changer for her and the program. “Initially it was not clear that whether these sensitive corals would survive in closed artificial environments,” said Gibble, “but after helping to get the aquarium system established I’m happy to report that the corals are all thriving and growing well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will spawn this summer so that new, potentially stronger genotypes of Dendrogyra will be created.”

Alexandra Cormack

2024 Short-Term Workforce Fellow
Current Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Hawai'i Hilo
Master of Science in Marine and Environmental Science, May 2024

Alex Cormack graduated from the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands in 2024. She soon began an 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship mentored by Dr. Marilyn Brandt where she has the opportunity to work on a variety of innovative projects. One of these projects includes heat stressing corals in land-based nurseries before out planting to see if they will become more resilient to bleaching events. Alex is also assisting in monitoring and collecting coral spawn to aid coral sexual reproduction. “This fellowship has provided many opportunities to build skills and professional relationships as I look forward to beginning my Ph.D. program in 2025,” says Alex.

Alex will be attending the University of Hawai'i at Hilo where she will be mentored by Dr. Robin Smith.

Amanda Boissiere

2023-2024 Long-Term Workforce Fellow
Bachelor of Science Marine Biology, May 2023

Amanda Boissiere is an alumni of the University of the Virgin Islands and a Securing Stem Island Pathways Fellow. She holds a Bachelor degree in Marine Biology and has had undergraduate experience in mangrove education and husbandry. She is currently working in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy Coral Innovation Hub in St. Croix.

Amanda says, “I love the experience of working at The Nature Conservancy through UVI, and I am very grateful for the ability to build my career alongside members of my graduating class. It means a lot to me to pass knowledge on to younger students, and be an advocate for women in STEM. TNC has proven to be a great resource for project development while fostering my current project comparing growth rates between field and land based coral nurseries. My hope for future projects is to study genes and microbial diversity in heat resistant coral.”

Kwami Alexander

2023 Short-Term Workforce Fellow

Kwami Alexander became a Securing STEM Islands Pathway short-term Workforce Fellow in February 2023. He was a 2022 graduate of the University of the Virgin Islands Biology Program and assisted with fieldwork, mangrove education and outreach in local schools, and stakeholder workshop planning, along with daily tasks at the mangrove nursery.

“This experience has really been beneficial to me in so many ways.” said Kwami. “As a Workforce Fellow, I get to experience the field - how it’s like to collect data on the mangrove ecosystem as well as the different types of mangroves. Being in the field in the different sites, such as the St. John sites and getting to visit the mangrove nursery in Tortola, has really allowed my knowledge of mangroves to broaden because I have learned so much. This type of field work is highly recommended because mangroves help protect our shorelines and provide benefits for the organisms within our reefs.”

Meet Our Leadership Team

Featured

Kristin Wilson Grimes, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Grimes is a Research Associate Professor in the Center for Marine & Environmental Studies at the University of the Virgin Islands. Her research examines human impacts to nearshore environments, especially mangroves.

At UVI, she teaches in the Masters of Marine & Environmental Science program, mentors students, and engages the community through outreach and education, running the Mangroves in the Classroom project and the territory-wide Great Mangrove Cleanups.

Dr. Grimes is deeply committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences and leads the NSF Includes SEAS Islands Alliance, a $10M National Science Foundation-funded network that supports students from middle school through to the workforce in the marine and environmental sciences from the USVI, Puerto Rico, and Guam. She is also the Director for the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute, a network of 54 institutes across the US in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Verleen McSween-Missole, Ph.D.

Co-Principal Investigator

Dr. McSween-Missole is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of the Virgin Islands. She serves as the Director of the Mentoring and Research Infrastructure Component in the Virgin Islands Institute for STEM Education Research and Practice funded by NSF EPSCOR.

Her current research focuses on characterization of institutional support structures at HBCUs that facilitate entry of STEM learners into the STEM workforce, and retention of STEM professionals in STEM career fields. Her service efforts focus on broadening early career faculty participation in STEM education, and promoting early career scholarship, productivity, and socialization into the academy and facilitating professional development training for undergraduate research trainees through the Emerging Caribbean Scientists Program. She also serves as co- PI on an NIH funded training and workforce development grant, Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE).

Karen Peterman, Ph.D.

External Evaluator

Dr. Peterman received her Ph.D. in psychology from Duke University in 2002, and has applied those skills to the field of STEM education and communication ever since. She started doing independent consulting work in 2007 and founded Karen Peterman Consulting, Co. (KPC) in 2010, with a focus on STEM education. KPC became Catalyst Consulting Group in 2022.

Emily Ortiz Franco, BBA, MEd, MPPEval

External Evaluator

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Emily is passionate about program evaluation. With a master's degree in educational research and evaluation from the University of Puerto Rico and another in public policy evaluation from the University of Seville, she has honed her skills to improve programs and projects. Since 2023, Emily has contributed to Catalyst Consulting Group, where she collaborates on enhancing STEM environments in island communities like Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. She also advises private clients on business and technological optimization, driven by her commitment to data-driven strategies and innovation.

Lawanda Cummings, Ph.D.

Founding Principal Investigator

Dr. Lawanda Cummings is a Community Organizational Psychologist with research focused on community mentoring initiatives and school support structures that promote academic and psychological development among ethnic or gender minority students. She has over a decade of work and experience in STEM education interventions and workforce development in the Caribbean and Southeastern United States. She is a founding principal investigator.

Dr. Cummings worked as HBCU faculty and staff at Paine College and the University of the Virgin Islands. She was awarded an NSF grant for $346, 000 to investigate the educational processes associated with African American women’s inclusion in STEM career fields and a SAMHSA grant for $877,000 (Paine College: Informing, Developing and Educating through Active Learning; PC: IDEAL) to address HIV/HCV and Substance Abuse prevention among 18–24-year-olds in the CSRA. At the University of the Virgin Islands, she led the STEM education and workforce development component of the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) grant focusing on STEM teacher professional development and structures of support for STEM students and early-career faculty. Dr. Cummings was also the Director of the Florida-Caribbean Louis Stokes Regional Center for Excellence (FL-C LSAMP), which developed customized mindset interventions to promote URM inclusion in STEM.

Dr. Cummings has transitioned to Georgia State University as the executive director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence (https://crim.education.gsu.edu/) in the College of Education and Human Development. There she continues her research and building programs for equitable access to STEM education for urban and minoritized populations.