Archives

Spotlight on NEOSEC Ocean Literacy Summit Planners – Elaine Brewer and Mass Division of Fisheries & Wildlife

Elaine Brewer is the NEOSEC representative from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and is serving on this year’s Ocean Literacy Summit Planning Committee. “I like helping. It’s fun!”

Elaine’s long experience with NEOSEC is valuable to the committee. In her previous role at another Massachusetts agency, Elaine was the NEOSEC representative and was in the midst of her year as NEOSEC chair. When she moved to her current agency, she advocated that they join NEOSEC. How does the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife tie to NEOSEC’s vision? “It sounds kind of odd. It’s an inland agency. But all watersheds lead to the ocean.” She went on to speak about NEOSEC’s involvement with citizen science. “Learning how to incorporate citizen science more in what our agency does is a huge benefit to us. In return, we can make that connection of watersheds to the ocean, expanding NEOSEC’s goal of increasing ocean literacy to more inland areas.”

The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is responsible for terrestrial and aquatic species which entails managing, protecting, and regulating harvest. Elaine is responsible for the communications highlighting species of greatest conservation need within Massachusetts, including those protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. “Massachusetts has its own Endangered Species Act, which protects species within the state on top of the federal Act. For example, leatherback sea turtles are listed as endangered on both the federal and state lists. Bald eagles, however, are not listed federally, but are listed in Massachusetts because their population numbers aren’t as high as our experts would like them to be.”

Elaine’s background isn’t in communications though, it’s in the sciences. She knew she wanted to be a marine biologist since she was three years old. “We took a family vacation to the Cape. It was the first time I saw a shark, and it was just on the beach, thrashing about. I couldn’t understand why people weren’t trying to push it back into the water, since it obviously wasn’t comfortable on land. Since then I have wanted to learn more and conserve.” Elaine admits it took awhile to determine her area of focus but a part-time job spurred her interest in science communication. “I went to grad school at night and worked at a nonprofit museum during the day, doing information education. I taught all sorts of marine science to kids of all ages during the school year. In the summer I ran a fishing camp where I taught anglers to not just fish, but to really be connected with the outside world, to experience it fully and understand their impacts on the environment.” Elaine finds joy in her work, transforming sometimes heavy scientific information into something that people can relate to and get excited about. “People sometimes write to me or visit the office to show off a project they worked on to help an area near them or start a coastal cleanup. It’s rewarding to see what I do actually makes a difference at some level.”

Elaine is concerned about the growing difficulty of educating people about the environment. “You’d think it would be easier with electronic newsletters and social media and things like YouTube. But we’re still battling with all of the other information out there. There are algorithms and statistics, and newer and newer methods of communication that we are constantly trying to keep up with. Sometimes you hit a wall and can’t think up any other creative ways to get your information out there. But then you find that crack in the wall and break through. It’s challenging and frustrating, but still worth every second put in.”

Elaine is proud that she never lost sight of what she wanted to do. “The species might have changed from oceanic to inland, but I am still focused on learning and conservation. I get to do really exciting things for my job. I’m glad I didn’t stray from that.” Elaine, thank you for your science communication role in NEOSEC and the Massachusetts Divisions of Fisheries and Wildlife!   

Spotlight on NEOSEC Ocean Literacy Summit Planners – Valerie Perini and Northeastern University Marine Science Center

Valerie Perini is the NEOSEC representative from the Northeastern University Marine Science Center (NUMSC) and is serving on this year’s Ocean Literacy Summit Planning Committee. Northeastern University is the site for the first day of the summit and the Marine Science Center is hosting one of the field trips at its scenic marine research and educational facility on the peninsula at historic East Point in Nahant, Massachusetts.   

Val has been the NEOSEC representative for two years. “With the event being hosted in Boston, I knew I wanted to be involved in the Summit Planning Committee. NEOSEC connects NU to other folks doing similar work in the region.” Val had attended a summit as a Northeastern graduate student. When her boss asked if she was interested in being the NEOSEC representative, she responded, “Yes, I would love to be involved!”

NEOSEC’s mission aligns with that of the NUMSC. “Our mission in the Outreach program is to connect resources of the center to the community, translate knowledge to meet societal needs, inspire interest in marine science careers, and promote environmental literacy. This is key to NEOSEC’s mission as well. Knowing about those other NEOSEC organizations is so valuable. Scientists can share knowledge.”

Val has been part of NU MSC Outreach since her college days. “My background is marine science and research. I studied at Northeastern for both my bachelor’s and master’s. I did an internship with the MSC Outreach Program (through NU’s coop program.) It opened my eyes to being a science communicator and that really resonated with me. I stayed connected with the Outreach program since then. I’ve worked in all different roles at the Marine Science Center and it was field experiences in Nahant and elsewhere that showed me marine science is for me – nature as a classroom.”

 

 

Val is enthusiastic about marine education. We work with all ages. It’s what I love. You have to fine tune your communication skills, more complex with older students, and with younger students, show them how fun nature is. I particularly like helping kids who haven’t had this exposure before, such as recent immigrants who just moved here. It gives them a sense of place. You have to inspire appreciation first before you can expect them to preserve and protect the environment.”

Something Val is concerned with and thinks about a lot, is how to promote diversity and inclusion in the sciences. “What we are striving for but struggle to achieve is diversity and inclusion in this field. Especially at the graduate level and higher, the field is not very diverse. Our goal is to involve people from different backgrounds, cultures, and economically or otherwise disadvantaged groups, in order to achieve a broader perspective that will benefit the field. When we lead a school group in which a majority of students are non-white, it’s tough because the students might have a hard time seeing themselves in this career because of the lack of diversity in the educators and scientists. They think, ‘They don’t look like me.’ I want them to know this is attainable.” 

Val was recently promoted from Outreach Educator to Outreach Program Coordinator. “My job involves less teaching now and more directing and overseeing the program. Our K-12 programs involve a lot of communication with staff, teachers, and scientists around both logistics and curricula/content. Another part of my job is identifying and applying for grants to support our programs, and especially to promote the involvement of economically or otherwise disadvantaged groups, and work towards improving that diversity and inclusion problem I mentioned earlier.  In my new role, I also manage the Marketing and Communications for the Marine Science Center, and work with faculty to help them articulate the broader impacts of their research, which is important for obtaining research funding.”

In looking at her career, Val gets satisfaction from seeing the growth of others. “I’ve been on quite a journey, starting as intern and now as director. Under my guidance and the guidance of my supervisor, seeing the staff I supervise grow and develop, helping them access opportunities, is really powerful for me. I’m proud of the culture of the outreach program.” 

Val, thank you for your passion for your students, your staff, marine education, and NEOSEC!