Mote Marine Laboratory

Sarah graduated from Wake Forest University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in biology and a minor in environmental science. After getting her degree, she took a water quality internship with the US National Park Service at Assateague Island. Sarah came to Mote for the first time in 2008 when she took an internship with the Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP). After a great turtle season in 2008, Sarah returned in 2009 as a seasonal staff member. At the end of her seasonal position, Sarah was asked to join the STCRP as a permanent staff member where she now works as the database and equipment manager. Sarah holds two FWC Marine Turtle Permits to conduct sea turtle monitoring on Sarasota’s coastline.

In 2011, Sarah helped develop and implement a computer program that downloads a portion of an existing sea turtle database onto a handheld device. A field worker can use this device to query a selected database field to review all of the matching sea turtle tag history records; assisting the field researcher in making real-time decisions on whether a turtle is a good candidate for carrying expensive tags.

B.S. Biology, Wake Forest University

Department: Directorate of Marine Biology & Conservation