What do the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory’s master’s and doctoral degree students do after they graduate? They pursue a variety of different career paths!
The After I Graduated: Young Alumni Interview Series seeks to explore diverse science careers, discover why alumni decided to study at UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, how their educational experiences have informed their careers, and how their careers have developed since graduating. These interviews will feature alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years.
Interviews will be hosted on Zoom and will last approximately 15 minutes. Video recordings will be archived on this webpage, and will be shared on YouTube and Facebook after each event.
Meet Alex Atkinson, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Admin. Policy Analyst
Meet Alex Atkinson! Alex conducted research on the Atlantic menhaden as a master's student at UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, then completed a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. Today, Alex is a Policy Analyst for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, where she supports fish habitat restoration and fish passages.
Meet Jessica Cohn, Ecologist & Resilience Specialist in the International Consulting Industry
Meet Jessica Cohn! At UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Jess earned her master's degree while using a virtual model to predict the growth, survival, and regional appearances of eel grass. After completing a Knauss fellowship and her degree, Jess entered the International Consulting industry as an Ecologist & Resilience Specialist.
Meet Cara Simpson, Peace Corps Volunteer and MBA Student
Meet Cara Simpson! After receiving her master's degree from UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Cara joined the Peace Corps to support coastal resource management in the Philippines. Today, she is pursuing her MBA at William & Mary while offering assistance to small businesses in response to COVID-19 through CrimDell Small Business Network, which she co-founded.
Meet Dr. Suzan Shahrestani, Entrepreneur & Minnowtech CEO/Founder
Meet Dr. Suzan Shahrestani! As a doctoral candidate at UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Suzan combined her passions for science and technology with the business acumen she developed as a Ratcliffe Environmental Entrepreneurs Fellow. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Minnowtech, an aquaculture technology company.
Meet Dr. Hillary Glandon, a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at UNCW
At UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Hillary conducted her doctoral thesis research on the impacts of warming and more acidic waters on juvenile blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. Now, as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Hillary is gaining experience mentoring students as she seeks to determine how sonar might impact marine mammals.To do this, she is assessing if the structure and chemistry of the neural tissues of marine mammals might make certain species more susceptible to decompression sickness.
Meet Brian Gallagher, a PhD candidate at Concordia University
Meet Brian Gallagher! At UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Brian earned his master's degree studying fishery science. Since then, he has worked for the Virginia Institute for Marine Science, and is now pursuing his PhD in Montreal, Canada at Concordia University.
Meet Dr. Jenna Luek, a civilian chemist with the U.S. Navy
Meet Dr. Jenna Luek! After getting her PhD in environmental chemistry at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Jenna moved to New Hampshire and completed a post doc. Since then she has started a family and now works as a civilian chemist for the US Navy at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Meet Victor Kennedy and Deborah Coffin Kennedy
Meet Vic and Deborah Kennedy! Dr. Kennedy is a Professor Emeritus at Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. He first came to CBL as an FRA in the 1960’s. For 38 years, he performed ecological research in Chesapeake Bay and taught graduate students at Horn Point Laboratory before joining CBL. He has published numerous scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals on invertebrate and fish biology and has authored or co-authored several books.
Deborah Kennedy’s family lived in Calvert County. As she completed her studies at the Academia del Belle Artes in Florence, Italy, she started work as an illustrator at CBL, filling in for MJ Mansueti. In addition to her painting, she has worked as a biological illustrator with the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and a number of marine laboratories in North Carolina, Maryland, New Zealand and Canada.