2025 Short-Term Workforce Fellow
Master of Science in Marine and Environmental Science,
December 2024

Avery Coble graduated from the Masters of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands in 2024 with a specialization in coral diseases. Thereafter, she was awarded the 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship mentored by Dr. Marilyn Brandt.

Within the Brandt Lab, she will contribute to various projects focusing on coal disease-based fieldwork and continue previous research to publication. This work will include assisting with the long-term Acropora monitoring program encompassing all three U.S. Virgin Islands and continuing research on antibiotic treatment for corals, amongst other projects. In addition to conducting coral disease work, Avery will continue her parasitic and disease research samples obtained from a stranded and diseased Cuvier’s Beaked Whale. This work will ultimately be seen through to publication.

Avery plans to use the significant skills and networking opportunities fellowship provides to obtain a PhD candidacy.

2025 Short-Term Workforce Fellow
Master of Science in Marine and Environmental Science,
December 2024

After completing the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands Stefanie Maxin began her 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Kayla Blincow in January 2025. With this fellowship, Stefanie will expand upon her master’s thesis work, which focused on utilizing passive acoustic data to learn more about reef fish that form spawning aggregations. Specifically, she will work on training a fish sound detector in tasks such as identifying reef fish sounds at a species-specific level and testing the detector's efficiency with different recording devices. Additionally, she will continue to identify new species-specific sounds based on the data collected, such as the spawning-associated sounds produced by yellowtail parrotfish.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”