By VASG Writers and Sydney Mahan, Virginia Sea Grant Student Correspondent
Virginia Sea Grant welcomes several new faces who will help us further our mission to get the best available science out to those who could use it. Kevin Goff, Michelle Covi, and Sabine Rogers will play important parts in ocean literacy, coastal community adaptation, and Virginia Sea Grant events.
Kevin Goff
Kevin Goff joined the VIMS Marine Advisory Program in June of 2013 as a part-time Marine Education Specialist. Kevin will collaborate with other MAS education staff on delivering K-12 teacher professional development. He will also be updating the Bridge website, a site that contains classroom resources on marine science topics.
Kevin says he enjoys the opportunity to apply his experience and knowledge to the project: “I like anytime I can be creative… to take educational theory and build a learning experience for students.”
Kevin comes to VIMS with extensive experience in marine science and science education. He taught and developed curriculum for high school marine science 16 years. Kevin receieved his Bachelor of Arts Degree with a dual major in Biology and Religion in 1987. He then went on to receive his M.S. in Marine Science and Fisheries Biology from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in The College of William and Mary School of Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership program.
Michelle Covi
Michelle Covi started February 1st as the VASG-Old Dominion University (ODU) jointly funded, Climate Adaptation & Resilience Assistant Professor of Practice. Michelle is charged with helping move science to decision-makers on challenging adaptation and resilience issues.
“I’m excited that there’s so much going on in the area and that there are people who are trying to find ways to solve these problems,” says Michelle.
Michelle completed her Ph.D. in Coastal Resources Management from East Carolina University (ECU) on sea level rise risk perception, communication, and policy-making in NC. She has an M.S. in zoology with a focus on marine ecology (University of Georgia) and a B.S. in biology and geology (University of Rochester). For the past five years, Michelle has been part-time Outreach Coordinator for the NC Coastal Atlas program, an online mapping system that combines physical, ecological, and human use data to support education, management and decision-making, managed at ECU.
Sabine Rogers
Sabine Rogers joined us in January as VASG’s Meeting Planner and Executive Assistant. She will have a major role in establishing and maintaining a regular meeting schedule among the Research & Education Advisory Committee (REAC), the External Advisory Committee (EAC), and the quarterly meetings among the extension/outreach program leads, as well as signing ceremonies for Charters, MOUs, and College Status.
Sabine has extensive experience in the private sector, funding through federal grants, and programming and event planning for student and professional networking activities. She is very customer service oriented, highly organized, sweats the details, and has already proven to be a wonderful colleague. Sabine has a BA in English from James Madison University and a Masters in Recreation Resources with a concentration in environmental education from Colorado State University.
