About Kathryn (Katey)'s Work

Originally from Massachusetts, Katey graduated from Brown University in 2012 with a BS in Geo-Biology. She always had a passion for conducting science that produces tangible outcomes, supporting knowledge bases for communities that depend on marine resources - ranging from the biodiversity of reefs in Tobago, to the management of commercially viable species in Turks and Caicos, and even the heavy metals present in the sediments of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. In 2020, Katey graduated with an MS and a PhD in Marine Biology from Boston University. She conducted most of her fieldwork in Belize, where she also served as a Teaching Fellow for undergraduate field-based reef ecology courses. Her research focused on quantifying physiological and genetic traits that contribute to heat stress (bleaching) resistance and wound healing ability in wild staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis). This endangered yet historically important Caribbean coral is now the focus of many active reef restoration projects, and Katey’s work advances science that can inform decisions related to such restoration efforts. Katey has served as the Director of Restoration Science at Coral Vita, located in Freeport Grand Bahama, where she applied her knowledge of the different scales of study necessary for effective reef restoration. She is currently the Research and Monitoring Coordinator for the Mission: Iconic Reefs program, based in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. In her free time she enjoys diving for fun, gardening, reading sci-fi of all types, and playing with her rescue pup Dogtor Pepi.