Meet the STEM Experts is VASFA’s live and on-demand Q+A session series designed to connect our current students and alumni with STEM professionals in various occupations. In each episode, you meet a new expert, learn what that expert’s job entails and their journey to that career, and ask them your questions.
Fall 2024 Lineup
WHO: Dr. Kayla Mladinich Poole, Marine Biologist, Knauss Marine Policy Fellow NOAA’s Office of Education
WHERE: Live on Google Meet (or watch the recording later)
WHEN: Monday, December 16 2024, 4 PM - 5 PM EST
OVERVIEW: Dr. Kayla Mladinich Poole completed her PhD in Oceanography at the University of Connecticut - Avery Point in December 2023. Her research focused on how filter-feeding animals handle microscopic plastics, involving fieldwork at oyster aquaculture farms, snorkeling to collect mussels and other filter feeders, and laboratory analysis of various plastic particles. Dr. Poole also participated in a bay scallop restoration effort in the Peconic Bays of Long Island and is passionate about spending time on and under the water.
Currently, she is a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at the NOAA Office of Education, where she is gaining insights into how federal agencies collaborate with Congress, overseeing networks of aquariums and K-12 schools across the U.S., and working with educators to meet NOAA's educational goals. Dr. Poole aims to leverage her background in marine biology and policy experience to advocate for an ocean-literate society and support the next generation in protecting our planet.
You can ask Dr. Poole questions about her career, current position, and how she got there.
