The New York Sea Grant (NYSG) Board of Governors and Michael Bernstein, Provost and Interim President Designee of Stony Brook University, have announced the appointment of Rebecca L. Shuford as Director of the NYSG Institute.
Shuford a New York native, has a life-long history with and love for NY’s coastal ecosystems and communities. She is thrilled to be joining NYSG and to be returning “home” to work with partners across the State and within each of NY’s coastal ecosystems, including the Great Lakes, Hudson River Estuary, Long Island Sound, and Atlantic Ocean.
“The opportunity to serve as Director of NYSG is truly a homecoming for me,” said Shuford. “I am eager to meet, learn from and work with all of our coastal partners, constituencies and communities on topics of mutual interest and importance and to collectively bring ‘Science to the Shore.’”
Prior to this new appointment Shuford worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, MD, where she managed a portfolio of challenging, high-profile programs focused on the science, management, conservation and sustainable use of trust coastal and marine resources using an ecosystem-based approach to management. This included developing and directing NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment program and leading NOAA’s Large Marine Ecosystem program, among other responsibilities.
Shuford holds a BS in Environmental Biology from Cornell University and a Masters and a PhD in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. Her interest in fisheries oceanography was sparked while working for the National Audubon Society. During that time, she had the opportunity to go fishing off the coast of Montauk with the director of the oceans program. Shuford also interned at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where she worked on coastal conservation and restoration efforts, further informing her interests.
Shuford is preceded by Katherine Bunting-Howarth, who served as Interim Director of NYSG from June 2018 to June 2019, following the retirement of William Wise, Director of NYSG from 2013 to 2018.
NYSG, with offices at Stony Brook University, is a cooperative program of Cornell University and SUNY, and one of 33 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.
Add comment