Background: As a marine ecologist, Kara has studied coastal areas throughout Washington. Her strong interest in conservation biology brought her to The Nature Conservancy with the goal of expanding her knowledge of applied conservation and restoration science. Kara attended college at The University of Washington, where she conducted research on everything from molecular biology to dragonfly diversity. Field research experiences in coastal Chile and the San Juan Islands sealed her career fate in marine ecology. In Chile, Kara was struck by the differences and similarities with Washington in marine biodiversity and management issues. At Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands she studied the diversity and distribution of intertidal invertebrates and algae related to oceanic current flow with the ultimate goal of influencing marine protected area design. Following college Kara attended graduate school at Western Washington
University, where she received her Master's degree in biology with
an emphasis in marine ecology. Her thesis project investigated crab
larval trophic ecology and distribution in the San Juan Archipelago.
She also had the opportunity to teach undergraduate biology courses
and lead outreach programs to educate the local community on the marine
environment. Less than a week after her thesis defense and graduation,
Kara began working for the Conservancy to gain a new perspective and
contribute to conservation science work locally. |
