Kayla Ripple Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

The Women’s Aquatic Network (WAN) is a private, non-profit organization incorporated in 1985 in the District of Columbia. It is led and organized primarily by women but its membership is open to all gender identities. Its mission is to bring together professionals with interests in marine, coastal and aquatic policy, research, management, legislation, and.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

In this position, I work with colleagues to implement outreach and engagement activities that are consistent with the program's strategic plan. As the Senior Associate, I help to develop and implement project outreach plans to link scientific results to diverse stakeholders and inform decision-making for ocean conservation issues.

Silver Spring, MD

• Coordinate, support, and work to advance AZA members’ strategic and collaborative conservation of species through AZA SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction. Work across disciplines, organizations, and departments to.
• Plan, track, evaluate, and provide support to develop and carry out multi-year action plans for 26 (and growing) SAFE species programs with AZA committees and members.
• Work in partnership with other AZA staff, AZA’s Field Conservation Committee, and AZA members to harness the AZA community’s collective expertise and leverage audiences to save species, build conservation capacity.
• Provide project management support for AZA members to implement and evaluate three-year conservation action plans for SAFE species and closely related taxa.
• Provide resources to build relationships with strategic partners including IUCN Species Survival Commission Specialist Groups, the Wildlife Trafficking Alliance, and US Fish and Wildlife Service, to connect AZA SAFE.

Key Largo, FL

• Worked with CRF CEO, Dr. Scott Winters, to establish and build a Science Program as one of three pillars of our core work (Restoration, Education, and Science).
• Collaborated with the CRF Data Manager, Restoration Department, and Education Department to develop and carry out a monitoring program to understand the efficacy and success of large-scale restoration programs in the.
• Solicited, developed, managed, and support over 30 global CRF research collaborations, with a focus on Florida and the Caribbean, to advance the understanding of the biology, ecology, and genetic structure of corals.
• Liaised with and acted as an advisor alongside individuals focusing on coral recovery efforts by serving on core working groups within the Caribbean Coral Restoration Consortium to advance collaboration in monitoring.
• Worked with the CRF Chief Development Officer to identify fundraising needs and opportunities, as well as draft and finalize proposals, contracts, and reports for grant funding and implementation.

Key Largo, FL

• Was responsible for the maintenance of 5 offshore coral nurseries in the Florida Keys and directed field operations, which included designing and implementing training for volunteers and dive programs in CRF coral.
• Coordinated and facilitated research projects of visiting graduate students and partnering organizations, including annual events such as coral spawning.

Key Largo, FL

• Actively participated in and lead restoration programs of CRF, where I monitored and worked to maintain the health and propagation of corals growing in our offshore nurseries.
• Assisted and led outplanting trips for restoration of staghorn and elkhorn coral, as well as conduct educational dive programs that allow divers to directly participate in our restoration programs.
• Developed news stories and strategies to reach large numbers of people to increase awareness about the issues surrounding coral reefs and programs that CRF are implementing to restore them.

Key Largo, FL

Team Leader for coral restoration outreach and education programs for visiting and local dive groups; Aided in developing and strengthening CRF's internship and volunteer programs; Involved in the creation of press releases and news stories of CRF current events; Performed maintenance in offshore coral nurseries of the Upper Keys; Chaired the.

Apollo Beach, FL And Key Largo, FL

• Designed experiments and conducted statistical analyses to improve understanding of the relationship between Diadema retention rates and coral density at A. cervicornis restoration sites.
• Using data from ex-situ experiments, modeled growth of Acropora cervicornis restoration sites in the Florida Keys to predict and map sites that would become suitable for Diadema translocation experiments.
• Participated in Diadema workshops to advance the understanding of biology and methods to evaluate health for release onto reefs.

Key Largo, FL

As a REEF Marine Conservation Intern, I organized and presented Fish ID seminars for local schools and visiting dive groups; Marketed REEF's Lionfish Monthly Contest and managed lionfish drop-offs from volunteers; Administered lionfish dissections and facilitated the development of science fair projects for students in both Middle and High School where.

St. Petersburg, Florida

Entered and proofed data to be used for Crassostrea virginica and Argopecten irradians conservation projects; Assembled and assessed A. irradian traps for field work; Counted and measured A. irradians growing for release; Dissected and analyzed samples of C. virginica for restoration programs.

Tampa, FL

Aided Marine Zoology professor and students with weekly lab tasks as well as field work and data analyses; Coordinated and taught tutoring and study sessions for students seeking extra help.

Greater Atlanta Area

Maintained entire live food aquaculture facility; Assisted biologists with coral aquaculture and maintenance of aquaculture tanks; Responsible for the care a rearing of thousands of newborn seahorses (Hippcampus reidi); Initiated studies on the benefits of feeding juvenile seahorses with the copepod species, Tisbe, versus a mixture of Artemia and rotifers.

Master Of Science (M.S.), Fisheries And Aquatic Sciences

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Marine Science And Biology