People Type: Staff

Marina joined Manomet’s Flyways team in 2021 as a project assistant and works on several initiatives within the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Executive Office. She spends most of her time designing and implementing educational materials that connect communities with important areas for shorebirds, particularly inland saline wetlands. Her goal is to connect the youth of the Western Hemisphere so that they can collaboratively develop the tools needed for the conservation of shorebirds and their habitats.

Marina leads Experiencia Ambientalia, an international educational program carried out at WHSRN sites Mar Chiquita, Argentina, Mono Lake, California, and Great Salt Lake, Utah. Experiencia Ambientalia trains over 300 young people every year to become environmental stewards and help protect important areas for shorebirds under the guidance of WHSRN and other site partners.

Marina graduated from the National Technological University Córdoba Regional Faculty with a chemical engineering degree and is certified in agile management methodologies. She has been involved in several leadership and diversity programs including Global Changemakers’ Global Youth Summit, Virgin Unite’s Rising Women at the Table, and Lithuanian Parliament’s Women Political Leaders.

Jonathan joined Manomet as Director of Operations in July 2022. He comes to Manomet with over 14 years of experience in operations, logistics, finance, contracting, and personnel management. He now oversees Manomet’s organizational operations including facilities, information technology, and human resources.

Jonathan graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2007 where he studied Psychology. The following year he joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served in various locations across the country. His favorite locations were Hawaii, California, Puerto Rico, and being home in New England. Over the course of his career, Jonathan has held several positions including Logistics Division Supervisor, Contracting Officer, Certified Defense Financial Manager, and Physical Inventory Control Officer. In addition to his technical roles, he chaired the Leadership Diversity Advisory Council for Base Cape Cod, where he administered unit-wide diversity and inclusion surveys, organized heritage observances, and led a mentorship program. 

A native of New Hampshire, Jonathan grew up in a small town in the White Mountains just south of the Canadian border, where he enjoyed hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, and fishing. Now a resident of the Massachusetts South Shore, Jonathan loves the beach, eating great food, hiking, and camping with his wife and three children.

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.