Interest: Economic valuation of coral
reefs, design and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs), and
the role of technology in coral reef science and education of the
public.
Cara graduated from the
University of Miami in 2001 with a B.A. in Marine Affairs, and with three
minors in Biology, Economics, and Business Law. She began work at NCORE in
June of 2001, and was accepted to the University of Miami -
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
Science's Masters of Marine Policy program in July 2001. For her masters,
she will be working with the Science Program at Biscayne National Park to
help determine the spatial distribution of Acroporacervicornis and A. palmata
within the park, as well as monitoring these colonies by setting up a GIS
database to track the changes using a photographic record.
At NCORE, she has taken lead
roles in organizing international workshops, such as the (i) Reefs at Risk
workshop for the World Resources Institute in October 2002, (ii) NCORE's
The Future of Decision Support for Coral Reef Management: Agent Based
Modeling and Interdisciplinary Research in July 2002 and (iii) Priorities
for Caribbean Coral Reef Research meeting in October of 2001.
She oversaw the design and construction of
the Center's state-of-the-art Videoconference and Collaborative Workroom.
She presented the findings from NCORE's Research Priorities meeting at the
International Coral Reef Initiative meeting by the United Nations
Environment Programme in Cancun, Mexico in June of 2002. Along with the
director, she has represented NCORE at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
meetings in Washington, D.C. in December 2001, and Puerto Rico in October
2002.
As a University of Miami Science Diver, she
assists in field work in the Florida Keys doing coral reef fish herbivory
surveys and sample collection. In addition, Cara volunteers at Biscayne
National Park as a diver to assess boat grounding damage within the Park
and helps tend the Park's experimental coral reef nursery.