marine science | Sock it to Me Cool Girl

Name: Jennifer Kennedy
Age: 37, although most days I feel like 27
Location: I live in Eliot, ME but work in Portsmouth, NH
Occupation: Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and the Marine Life Guide for About.com

When Jennifer Kennedy was a child, her parents gave her a book on whales. Her mom wrote on the inside, “Hopefully you’ll get to see some of these in person on a whale watch someday!” As an adult, Jennifer gets to rub flippers with whales on the many whale watches she goes on as the co-founder and executive director of Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. In her job for Blue Ocean Society, she gets to be a whale watch naturalist for Atlantic Fishing & Whale Watching in Rye, New Hampshire, while also helping to conduct educational programs and beach cleanups. You would think that a job at the helm of a non-profit would be enough, but Jennifer is also the Marine Life Guide for About.com. By writing articles for About.com, Jennifer is able to share her knowledge of the ocean and its inhabitants with people all over the world. Continue reading Jen Kennedy →

Name: Amy Freitag
Age: 23
Location: Beaufort, NC
Occupation: PhD student in marine science and conservation

Amy Freitag grew up the daughter of a nuclear physicist in Washington DC. Being around her scientist dad inspired her, and led her to have an adoration of science fairs. Throughout her childhood she changed her mind about her dream career often, but whether it was to be an endocrinologist or a restoration ecologist, it always stayed grounded in science.

Today Amy is a PhD student in marine science and conservation at Duke University. At this point in her career she considers marine biology a “midpoint stop.” She works at a marine lab and interacts with people who have riveting jobs that enlighten and motivate her. “I work with colleagues in environmental justice that have field sites in the coal towns of Appalachia, inner city Baltimore, and the strawberry fields of the San Joaquin Valley. I consider myself a political ecologist, which largely questions community access to – and power over – natural resources they depend on,” she says. “The frame of analysis is ubiquitous across cultures, ecosystems, and time. That’s what has really won my love.” She also finds the idea of incorporating academia into her future appealing, as she believes it can help her to simultaneously spread knowledge about the environment while helping communities to preserve their resources.

Continue reading Amy Freitag →