New York Sea Grant (NYSG), Cornell University Cooperative Extension, and the University at Buffalo (UB) have announced the addition of Monica Lynn Miles, Ph.D., as NYSG Great Lakes Literacy Educator, Associate Director of the Great Lakes Program at UB, and as NYSG's lead representative to the Great Lakes Ecosystem Education Exchange.
Dr. Miles earned her doctorate from the University at Buffalo in Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning with a concentration in Science Education. Her research focuses on the role of identity, racialized experiences, and marginalization in K-12 and higher education STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics spaces. She seeks to promote solutions for creating inclusive STEM environments for underrepresented students.
As the Great Lakes education specialist for NYSG, Dr. Miles will foster research-based extension and Great Lakes-focused educational outreach, with a particular emphasis on teach-the-teacher and best practices programming for K-12 formal and informal program educators, who, in turn, reach thousands of students. Her role will include developing science-based Great Lakes and aquatic ecosystem curricula and professional development tools and workshops for teachers.
New York Sea Grant, one of the largest state-level Sea Grant programs in the U.S., is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York. NYSG Associate Director and Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth, Ph.D., J.D., Ithaca, N.Y., said, "We are excited to welcome Monica to the New York Sea Grant team and to have her share her expertise with our communities. She is bringing new ideas and partners to expand the reach and impact of our Great Lakes programming."
Dr. Miles will oversee the New York Great Lakes Ecosystems Education Exchange, a NYSG program in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, programming experiential environmental education built around Great Lakes Literacy Principles and stewardship for K-12 and environmental program educators.
As Associate Director of the Great Lakes Program at the University of Buffalo, Dr. Miles will work alongside Dr. Joseph Atkinson, Ph.D., professor and chair of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, providing the public education and outreach components of the program. Dr. Atkinson said, "We are looking forward to working with Monica to disseminate and expand the impact of Great Lakes research to a wide audience, especially through the involvement of teachers at all grade levels."
Dr. Miles will also be providing specialized educational outreach to the public, industry and community leaders, government officials, and the media interested in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie resources and issues. Resources can be found under Coastal Youth Education on the NYSG website.
"I look forward to providing New York's educational leaders with initiatives and resources to increase environmental stewardship and workforce development of the next generations of Great Lakes citizens, and to advance the public understanding of the Great Lakes as an irreplaceable ecological, environmental, and economic resource," Miles said.
Dr. Miles will maintain a New York Sea Grant office at the University at Buffalo, 202 Jarvis Hall, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260, 716-645-3610, mlm473@cornell.edu.
New York Sea Grant also maintains Great Lakes extension offices at the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and at SUNY Oswego. To learn more, visit www.nyseagrant.org.
