Webinar Recording: Panel Discussion—Highlights from Sea Grant Tourism Programming

Webinar description: Managing tourism is critical to sustainable coastal communities and the natural resources on which they depend. Sea Grant has a unique ability to provide research and training that addresses the triple-bottom line (environmental, economic, and/or social) aspects of tourism. In this webinar, join three Sea Grant panelists as they describe how their work connects to tourism and how they approach it as it relates to the triple-bottom line.

Our panelists included:

Savanna Barry, Regional Specialized Sea Grant Agent, Nature Coast, Florida Sea Grant
Savanna conducted her doctoral dissertation research in the beautiful seagrass meadows of the southern Nature Coast, which spans the big bend of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico and contains one of North America’s most pristine coastlines, with extensive seagrass meadows, valuable recreational and commercial fisheries, and pristine wildlife populations. As a Sea Grant Agent, she conducts programming in sustainable coastal recreation, enhancing and restoring marine ecosystems, and coastal environmental literacy and stewardship. Full bio>

Natalie Chin, Climate and Tourism Outreach Specialist, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Natalie joined Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Lake Superior Field Office in August 2019. Her work is focused on creating actionable science for stakeholders across the Great Lakes, especially related to climate change and tourism. She is also interested in data science projects that can create useful tools for decision-makers. Full bio>

Kevin Decker, Coastal Economist, Washington Sea Grant
As Coastal Economist, Kevin focuses on building community resilience to coastal hazards through the Coastal Hazards Resilience Network, the Resilience Workgroup of the Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council, and the State Ocean Caucus. Kevin is also founder and Board Chair for Harbor Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE), a networking group based out of Aberdeen that seeks to increase social capital through a more networked community. Full bio>