Introducing Samantha Dillard

Posted on behalf of Samantha Dillard

My name is Samantha Dillard and I am an incoming senior at Oregon State University. I am studying Marine Studies and minoring in Marine Conservation and Management. I have grown to love writing, researching coastal communities, working with the public, and learning about marine mammals. Many of my classes this year have been about efficient science communication and its application for public use. I want to work with policy creation and including varying stakeholders into the climate change conversation. I have always been passionate about ocean science and am excited to learn more about the people’s side of protecting these resources.

Working with OCOIN this summer, I hope to gain professional experience in the conservation field, and relevant work skills. I am hoping to strengthen my communication skills with a variety of professionals. In my free time, I enjoy tide pooling, reading, and going on hikes!

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About Alex Avila

Alexandra M. Avila recently earned her PhD in fisheries from Oregon State University. She is now working as Oregon Sea Grant Coastal Resilience and Adaptation Fellow part of the Research & Scholars Program. Alex has always loved anything and everything having to do with water, whether it’s the ocean, rivers or lakes. This has led her to work in many coastal areas in the United States and in Ecuador. She has studied genetic connectivity of Chinar Rockfish (S. nebulosus) in Oregon and Washington, the genetic diversity and conservation of the misty grouper (Hyporthodus mytacinus) in the Galapagos Islands, conducted environmental impact research in the Amazon, researched the oyster (Crassostera virginica) and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) populations in the Chesapeake Bay with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), and helped in assessing the salmon habitat in Oregon with the U.S. Forest Service. She has also done wildland firefighting. Alex is really excited to be here for it has been a dream of hers for a long time and she is truly grateful for this unique opportunity to work with people who are as passionate about protecting our oceans as she is. Alex Avila graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Hood College in Maryland, with two minors: Coastal Studies and Environmental Science and Policy. She obtained her M.Sc. in Ecology at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Ecuador is 2012, and her PhD in fisheries from Oregon State University in 2023.

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