I have been a member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) since 2007, when I attended my first Biennial Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. After earning my MSc (2004) and PhD (2010) from Université de La Rochelle in France, I completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) in France and at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami—a city I have called home since 2012.
My research centers on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of marine mammals, though I have also studied sharks and sea turtles worldwide, particularly during my postdoctoral years. I am currently an Associate Professor of Biology at FIU, where I lead the Marine Mammal Ecology Laboratory. My work focuses on the spatial and trophic ecology of marine mammals, their ecological roles and importance within marine ecosystems, and the impacts of human activities on their populations.
Although I have been part of the Society for nearly two decades, my deeper involvement began when I co-chaired the 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, held in Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2022. Following that experience, I joined the SMM Board, serving as Secretary (2023–2024) and later as President-Elect (2024–2025).
As President, my goal is to increase the Society’s global impact and broaden our membership by fostering greater inclusivity. I am committed to raising our visibility so that we can more effectively fulfill our mission: advancing marine mammal science worldwide and strengthening its role in education and conservation management. Marine mammals and our marine mammal science community need our efforts now more than ever.
Aloha SMM Members- The Society for Marine Mammalogy began its journey some five decades ago. Our first focus was bringing marine mammal professionals together on a regular basis to share our science- thus our biennial conferences were born. Following that publication of Marine Mammal Science, our flagship science product, was started to disseminate our science […]
Aloha Everyone- Just wanted to post a short update to let you know that the planning is still going on for the our digital meeting to continue the conversation on unpaid internships. My original hope was to have it happen in August but we have passed that deadline. We have pulled together most of the […]
I wanted to put out a quick update on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy Board regarding the petition related to unpaid internships and the subsequent discussion on MARMAM and beyond. It is encouraging to see ongoing dialogue and the evolution of various positions as more voices and perspectives engage on the issue. At […]
Dear Marine Mammal Science Community, A core tenet of the Society for Marine Mammalogy is that our science is strengthened by the participation of people representing all ages, races, national, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. Our science is at its best when all voices are at the table. […]
Aloha SMM Community- One of my responsibilities for the Society is to bring to the membership options for the venue for our 2023 Biennial (as a reminder 2021 will be in Florida). As we have in the past, we are reaching out to the membership to engage with groups who may wish to host the conference […]