People Type: Staff

As the education manager on the Environmental Education and Outreach team, Clare works to develop educational programming that brings Manomet’s environmental monitoring programs to communities in southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. She joined Manomet in February 2022 and is excited to embrace a role that combines her two passions: accessible environmental education and outreach for all and relevant ecological research efforts.

Prior to her time at Manomet, Clare worked as an environmental educator with The Ecology School in Saco, Maine, a collections assistant with the Mayborn Museum in Waco, Texas, and a field assistant to ornithology researchers while studying at UMass Amherst, her alma mater. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology.

When Clare isn’t working, you can find her exploring new trails and local green spaces with her pup, trying to increase her species count on iNaturalist, or playing tennis.

Sam joined Manomet in 2022 as a shorebird biologist focused on growing the International Shorebird Survey (ISS) in Texas. Her work involves identifying important shorebird stopover and wintering sites, recruiting ISS volunteers, and coordinating survey routes. As a member of Manomet’s Science Team, Sam will also provide field support for other shorebird research projects in Texas.

After receiving a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University, Sam worked various avian technician jobs across Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. She went on to earn her M.S. in Range & Wildlife Management from Texas A&M University-Kingsville where she studied habitat associations of songbirds migrating along the Texas coast. This work demonstrated that oak mottes along the Texas coast provide critical stopover habitat for many neotropical songbird species.

After graduate school, Sam moved to American Samoa where she operated six Tropical Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (TMAPS) banding stations for the Institute for Bird Populations. After her time in American Samoa, she worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Oregon for 3 years. During that time, she collected botanical data and conducted prescribed burns in sagebrush steppe, propagated native plants, and investigated bird community change in quaking aspen stands before and after the removal of western juniper.

Sam is excited to use her research background and familiarity with the Texas birding community to meet Manomet’s objectives. When she’s not working, Sam loves chasing rare birds, backpacking, morel hunting, running, kayaking, snorkeling, biking, snowshoeing, and hiking.

Mike serves as the Director of the Coastal Zone Initiative which focuses on turning Manomet’s efforts on coastal habitat and species protection into a more comprehensive gray to green approach. Mike works to engage partners at multiple levels and help develop a community of practice focusing on holistic coastal management that benefits all the flora and fauna, including humans, in the face of a changing climate and landscape.

Before joining Manomet, Mike spent the better part of almost two decades working in the coastal zone management space. First as a Program Manager for the Indiana Lake Michigan Coastal Program and then in various capacities with Coastal States Organization. Additional past work for two state legislatures round out his past experience.

A native of the Great Lakes region, Mike is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Indiana University’s Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife and their rescue dog. Being an avid birder, and amateur photographer help enhance his appreciation of our shared natural world.

Nicolás joined Manomet’s Flyways team in 2021. As Ranching & Shorebird Conservation Specialist, he focuses on working with local communities in Uruguay to protect coastal lagoons that are of critical importance to shorebirds. He aims to build relationships and engage with ranchers, rancher organizations, and leading agricultural agencies that operate within the lagoon belt.

Nicolás has a PhD in environmental management from Lincoln University in New Zealand and over 15 years of professional experience bringing together ranching and conservation. He led the biodiversity component of a World Bank & GEF Project for Uruguay which set the foundations of natural resource and biodiversity incorporation in agricultural landscapes in Uruguay. He then joined BirdLife International to lead the Southern Cone’s Grasslands Alliance, bringing together ranchers and conservationists to join efforts for conservation ranching along the pampas. He now aims to strengthen Manomet’s Working Lands and Seas initiative, enhancing rancher connections and engagement for shorebird conservation as well as facilitating outreach opportunities throughout grasslands within WHSRN sites.

Having grown up in Maine, Jessie has long held a love for the ocean and is excited to continue her work to help build resilient and sustainable fisheries and ecosystems.

Jessie graduated from Colby College in 2017 with a B.A. in Environmental Science. While at Colby, Jessie dove into the scallop aquaculture world in Maine through an internship with the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. She continued this work as the Aquaculture Manager at Hurricane for two years and later spent time working on commercial oyster farms in Washington State and midcoast Maine. Jessie also spent four winters pursuing her passion for skiing in Park City, UT as an alpine ski racing coach for the Park City Ski Team.

In her free time, Jessie loves sailing, kayaking, scuba diving, skiing, mountain and road biking, and eating local Maine seafood.