Greetings! 

I came to Montgomery College with over 25 years experience in environmental science communication, and a current focus on interdisciplinary science curricula.  My primary interest areas include international science/economics/governance relationships which is fuelled by my passion for teaching.  As Professor of Biology at Montgomery College I get to help educate one of the broadest international student bodies in the US.  Most of my students are international political science and economics majors, many of whom will return to their country of origin to establish their lives, so I take my job, teaching environmental and marine science, very seriously.  

My favourite habitat has always been outside, from growing up in the 1950’s along the beaches of St. Augustine, FL, to chasing red cockaided woodpeckers at 5 am in Pinehurst while pursuing my Bachelors in Zoology from NCSU, to photographing dorsal fins near Beaufort for my Masters in Science Education.  Then, off to Virginia to develop science curricula including pairing up freshmen with graduate students for several days at sites in the Blue Ridge, followed by weeks at a time as troop leader for Inner City Outings on Masonboro Island.    

While teaching at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC, I managed to squeeze more Tursiops work along with a couple of research cruises to the Bahamas and back.  I am reasonably sure that there is little in life quite as beautiful as riding the bow of a ship through the dark of night, sailing on bioluminescent curls!  And then when the dolphins join in, it is indescribable, indeed!  Before coming to Washington, D.C., I participated in the operation of Christopher Newport University’s Dolphin Field School, after which I become Executive Director of the Wildfowl Trust of North America, in Maryland.  It was then that I decided it was time to pursue the Ph.D., and I became involved with the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) in Washington, D.C., which brings together science, ideas, and opportunities to interface with legislators.  I was given the opportunity to spend a year living in Oxford, UK, and whilst serving as Programme Manager for Sea Watch Foundation I concentrated on learning as much as possible about the differences between not only our education systems, but also the perspectives, priorities, and processes in how natural resource policy evolves in response to global environmental decline, and scientific uncertainty.   

I have also participated in preparation and management of institutional long-range plans and program goals, program evaluation, policies, budget development and grant management.  I had directed and participated in institutional research projects involving the effects of human population growth on biodiversity for colleges and universities, government agencies, and non-profit clients.  I have served as teaching staff and invested in various steering committees for North Carolina and Maryland colleges.

I enjoy teaching at MC because of the cultural diversity found among the students here.  I love to travel around the world with my environmental studies, but I also like to garden and spoil my pets.  By teaching environmental biology and marine science at MC, I have the best of both worlds – fascinating students from nearly every country representing almost every biome who bring experiences to share and opinions about global environmental issues, and then home again with my critters!  Now, what could be better than that? 

Cheers,

 Amanda