We are continuing to build the Women of the Water (WoW) leadership team and community. If you want to get more involved, or just stay in touch, please fill out this survey. Engagement can range from receiving emails to actively engaging on the steering committee. We welcome anyone who supports our mission and wants to help grow this community!
Questions or comments? Email us at womenofthewater.conference@gmail.com
Hayley Lemoine is a PhD candidate in the Geography Department at Florida State University and a Florida Sea Grant Aquaculture Communications and Outreach Graduate Student Fellow. She is interested in the social and ecological dynamics of seafood systems. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on livelihood diversification and stakeholder perceptions in aquaculture. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Hayley earned a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Vassar College.
Dr. Tiu is a Marine Science Extension Agent with the University of Florida Sea Grant. Her areas of expertise include aquaculture, technology transfer, industry development and environmental education. Signature projects include leadership of a state-wide aquaponics program and sustainable development of offshore aquaculture. She supports the Florida Micro-plastic Awareness Project and the Florida-friendly Fishing Gide programs, teaches Florida Master Naturalist courses, and promotes environmental awareness through eco-tours, museum displays, and lectures in the panhandle of Florida. In her free time, Laura loves to hang out at the beach, kayak and travel.
Portia Sapp joined the Department in October 2005 as an Environmental Supervisor in the Aquaculture Certification and Best Management Practices program in the Bartow field office and was promoted to her current position of Director of the Division of Aquaculture in January 2019. Portia chairs the FDACS Science Advisory Workgroup (SAW) and is the head of the Ag in Education subgroup within SAW. Prior to working for state government, she worked conducting mass spectrometry for volatile organic compounds in an aquatic ecotoxicology laboratory and managed livestock for Johns Hopkins University. She earned her Master of Science from Towson University in Maryland specializing in fish physiology and ecology. She serves on the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Molluscan Shellfish Subcommittee, the Florida Farm Bureau Aquaculture Advisory Committee, the Apalachicola Bay System Initiative Community Advisory Board and the Pensacola Bay System Stakeholder Working Group.
Kaitlyn Theberge is the 2023 Seafood Resources Knauss Fellow at the National Sea Grant Office where she is conducting a needs assessment for aquaculture-related programs at Minority Serving Institutions. Before the fellowship, Kaitlyn completed a Master of Science degree in Fish & Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech. Here she developed population dynamics models testing the effects of management decisions on egg production and adult size distribution by sex of American and European lobsters. Between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Kaitlyn has held numerous positions leading to experience in oyster farming, ornamental fish aquaculture, marine science education, GIS mapping, and more. When she isn’t diving into the sustainable seafood world, Kaitlyn enjoys socializing her dog and turning her home office into a potted garden.
Dr. Kevan Main served on the 2022 steering committee for Women of the Water (WOW), which took place at Mote Marine Laboratory in June 2022 and she is excited to be a part of the 2023 WOW steering committee. Dr. Main led Mote’s aquaculture research programs from 2001-2022 and was the Director of Mote’s 200-acre field station, Mote Aquaculture Research Park, in eastern Sarasota County. She retired from Mote in 2023 and is now an Emeritus Senior Scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory. Dr. Main is a lifetime member of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS), having served on the Board of Directors and as President in 2012-2013. She continues to work closely with the WAS African Chapter to help the Board and members grow the African Chapter. Dr. Main is Vice Chairperson of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s (ASC) Technical Advisory Group. ASC has developed certification standards that promote responsible seafood farming to help feed the world’s population. Her research interests are in developing sustainable aquaculture methods to produce marine fish, sturgeon, shrimp, abalone, and corals through aquaculture. Dr. Main received her Ph.D. from Florida State University and has more than 30 years of experience in the aquaculture of tropical and subtropical fish and invertebrates from around the world. She has published seven books and more than 98 peer-reviewed publications and has traveled to aquaculture facilities throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. In 2016, Dr. Main was recognized as a “White House Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood” and in 2023, she received the National Aquaculture Association Joseph P. McCraren Award for outstanding contributions in promoting the growth of aquaculture.
Dr. Nicole Rhody joined Mote Marine Laboratory’s staff in 2001 and is part of Mote’s Directorate of Fisheries & Aquaculture. Dr. Rhody’s work at Mote Aquaculture Research Park focuses on the sustainable production of high-value marine finfish for both land-based and offshore aquaculture systems. Current research topics include work related to improving fish culture technologies and optimizing broodstock management protocols that ensure the production of high quality eggs and larvae. Additional research activities cover a range of topics such as finfish reproductive physiology, biological rhythms, endocrinology of growth and reproduction, genetics in aquaculture, gonadal morphology, larviculture, zooplankton and phytoplankton culture. Rhody received her doctorate in Fish Reproductive Biology and Physiology at the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling, Scotland UK.
Dr. Cockrell is a marine biologist, science communicator, environmental educator, and community organizer. Her work focuses broadly on understanding how changing regulations impact marine resources as well as the people living and working in coastal communities. Throughout her career, Dr. Cockrell has focused on using science to empower communities, especially young women and girls, and strives to bring science into regulatory and policy decision-making for ocean and coastal management challenges. She has worked diligently to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in STEM through a range of personal and professional activities, including serving as a mentor for the USF Oceanography Camp for Girls, being an active member of the National Science Policy Network’s DEI committee, and being a founding member of the Women of the Water conference and professional network. She is excited to once again be serving as Co-Director for this year’s Women of the Water conference.
Dr. Cockrell earned her Ph.D. in marine science from the University of South Florida in 2018, was a National Academies Gulf Research Program Science Policy Fellow from 2018-2019, worked for the Florida Division of Aquaculture from 2019-2022, and now works as the Science for Management Coordinator with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture. She is a New Jersey native and enjoys hiking, gardening, baking, playing volleyball, and spending time with her husband and two cats. You can learn more about her work and connect through LinkedIn.
Blair currently serves as the Science and Monitoring Program Lead for the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. In this role, she coordinates with scientists and stakeholders on the long-term monitoring and evaluation of ecosystems throughout watersheds of Mobile Bay. Born as a passion project from her science policy fellowship with the National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program and the FDACS Division of Aquaculture in 2022, she is so thrilled to see the second year of Women of the Water come to fruition!
Although she hails from the landlocked hills of Kentucky, Blair has always wanted to be a marine scientist. This passion for the ocean brought her to Alabama, where she graduated with a B.S. in Marine Science/Biology from the University of Alabama (2018) and an M.S. in Marine Sciences from the University of South Alabama (2021). Although her research has taken place over a variety of localities and a wide array of study organisms, Blair’s work features the central themes of estuaries, disturbance, water quality, and climate change. Outside of the workplace, she enjoys hiking, birdwatching, cooking, crafting, taking care of far too many plants, and spoiling her pet turtle, Freddy
