Kristy Kroeker
Kristy Kroeker is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Coastal Science and Policy Graduate Program at the University of California Santa Cruz. Her research examines the ecological effects of global change on marine ecosystems, from seagrass meadows to kelp forests. Her research program is grounded in the integration of ecology and applied perspectives and is strengthened by interdisciplinary collaborations. Efforts to improve DEI are integrated across her research program, teaching, and service, but she has been deeply engaged in using field-based experiences and inclusive mentorship to improve retention of underrepresented students in marine sciences. Kroeker is a Packard Fellow in Science and Engineering, a Sloan Fellow in Ocean Sciences, and a UC Climate Action Champion. She sits on the Scientific Advisory Team of the California Ocean Protection Council.
Emmett Duffy
Emmett Duffy is Founding Director and Chief Scientist of the Smithsonian Institution's Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO), a global network of partners working together to understand ecosystems on the edge—coastal ecosystems under pressure. He was a professor of marine science at VIMS for the previous 18 years, and has been a leader for two decades in the science of marine biodiversity and ecology, serving on the steering committee of the Global Ocean Observing System's Biology and Ecosystems panel, as co-lead of the writing team for the U.S. National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy, and as a chapter co-lead for “United By Nature” (formerly known as the U.S. National Nature Assessment). He is an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, recipient of Japan's inaugural Kobe Prize in Marine Biology in 2011, and author of “Ocean Ecology. Marine life in the age of humans” (2021, Princeton University Press). Duffy first began attending the Benthic Ecology Meetings in 1986, in Boston, and has attended many more since then!
Allison Colden
Allison Colden is the Maryland Executive Director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). She provides strategic vision and leadership for policy initiatives at the local and state level to achieve ambitious Bay restoration goals. She is among the leading advocates for sustainable fisheries policies to protect important Chesapeake Bay species such as rockfish, oysters, and blue crabs. Allison has led advocacy efforts to pass state bills such as 2019 legislation that permanently protected Maryland's five large-scale oyster restoration sanctuaries. For the past four years, Colden has overseen CBF's Maryland oyster restoration program, which adds tens of millions of oysters to the Bay each year to sanctuary reefs. She also serves as Maryland's representative to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and as an appointed member of Maryland's Oyster Advisory Commission, where she advances sustainability through regulation and cooperative fisheries management. Her work on fishery issues has given her a broad understanding of the water quality problems that affect the Bay as well as the need for clean water. Previously, as CBF's Maryland Senior Fisheries Scientist, she developed the Foundation’s state and federal fisheries policy initiatives and provided technical expertise and consultation for the organization's oyster restoration program. Before joining CBF, Allison served as the Senior Manager of External Affairs for Restore America's Estuaries where she managed coalition strategy and initiatives in support of advancing coastal habitat restoration. She also served as a 2015 NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Legislative Fellow in the office of Congressman Mike Thompson. Allison holds a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Ecological Conservation from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in Fisheries Science from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.