Early Career Leadership Program Lisa Krimsky

Dr. Lisa Krimsky has been the Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent with the University of Florida since October 2008. Prior to then, she received her Ph.D. at the University of Delaware in Marine Biosciences. Dr. Krimsky's doctoral thesis was on the early life-history stages of the Florida stone crab, an economically important commercial fishery in Florida. Dr. Krimsky has an extensive research background in the field of marine biology, as well as teaching experience with a variety of audiences. This unique combination of research and teaching has made her exceptionally qualified for her current position as a Sea Grant Extension Agent with the University of Florida and Miami-Dade County.

In her short time with Florida Sea Grant, Dr. Lisa Krimsky has been successful in developing an extensive extension program to address timely and relevant coastal issues in Miami-Dade such as habitat restoration, invasive species, boating and waterways management, marine debris, and seafood sustainability and safety. She has utilized a variety of methods and resources to plan, deliver, and evaluate her programs, and has proven she is exceptionally versatile extension agent. Her professionalism and leadership skills, innovating programming ideas, and dedication to delivering a first-class natural resource extension program makes her an ideal candidate for the FANREP Early Career Leadership Award. Below are some highlights of Dr. Krimsky extension programs.

Examples of extension activities under Dr. Krimsky’s Improving Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Health Program include:

· Collaborating with The Reclamation Project and the Miami Science Museum to develop a community-based mangrove restoration project that involved Dr. Krimsky teaching more than 400 K-12 students about the importance of mangroves through classroom activities, presentations, and an eco-art component. She also coordinated the student planting over 3,600 seedlings (2.4 acres of mangrove seedlings) that has resulted in approximately $43,000 worth of coastal improvements since 2009. Because of her efforts, Dr Krimsky’s project received an EPA Five Star Restoration Award in 2010.

· Educating children and residents about the impacts of marine debris on the environment through inquiry-based educational activities. She coordinates the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program in her county, and has organized coastal cleanup events, and co-organized crab trap clean-ups with the County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management. She is also working with the University of Miami and NOAA to develop a regional marine debris database for the south Florida reef tract and implement deepwater derelict fishing gear removal events. She has received two Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament Conservation Grants (2009 and 2011) to support this activity.

· Teaching residents, students, and recreational and commercial anglers about the impacts and identification of local invasive species through workshops, removal events, and presentations. She has co-organized and facilitated an interagency coordination meeting for lionfish management along the Florida reef tract, and developed and disseminated more than 1,000 spiny lobster rulers with lionfish identification information to target recreational lobstermen and teach them/warn them about the invasive lionfish. She recently received a FDEP Coastal Partnership Initiative Grant worth $29,000 with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) to expand lionfish outreach activities in Miami-Dade County.

Examples of extension activities under Dr. Krimsky’s Enhancing Marine and Environmental Literacy and Stewardship Program include:

· Developing the Kids Let’s Go Fishing Program and fishing clinics. Since 2009, 1100 people have participated in these programs which emphasize sustainable and ethical angling practices. Results of these programs show that participants increased their knowledge of ethical angling techniques by 90% and 56% of participants are using sustainable tools and techniques and are fishing more as a result of the program. Participating industries are also receiving critical business as a result. She has also received a 2010 Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament Conservation Grant and more than $6,000 in in-kind contributions to support this activity.

· Acting lead instructor for the Florida Master Naturalist Program in Miami-Dade County.

· Co-organizing and moderating the Southeast Florida Regional Boating and Waterways Workshop with Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff.

· Organizing a Marine Mammal Protection and Rescue Basics Workshop for law enforcement officers.

· Organizing and instructing teacher workshops that train teachers on how to integrate marine and coastal ecosystems information into their curriculum

Examples of extension activities under Dr. Krimsky’s Promoting Safe and Sustainable Seafood Program include:

• Teaching approximately 300 seafood consumers about seafood supply and demand, sustainable seafood choices, balancing the health benefits and risks of consuming seafood, and safe seafood purchasing and handling through public workshops, presentations, displays, and print media. 85% of surveyed participants indicate changes in behavior when purchasing, handling and/or consuming seafood as a result of these educational programs.
• Collaborating with the Collier and former Bay County Sea Grant Agents to develop, instruct, and evaluate a series of brown bag webinars that focus on Florida seafood commodities and their sustainability and safety. Over 100 hundred people have signed up for the first four of seven sessions, and initial evaluations indicate the webinars have been an effective method of increasing consumer’s knowledge and understanding of the sustainability and safety associated with Florida seafood products.
• Coordinating with the Okaloosa/Walton County Sea Grant Agent to develop a research project examines how the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill impacted consumer perceptions about the safety of Florida seafood in different regions in the state.

In addition to developing and maintaining a solid extension program, Dr. Krimsky has enhanced her leadership and professional development skills by participating and graduating from Florida Natural Resource Leadership Institute and the National Sea Grant Academy. She has also been actively involved in both University and Sea Grant affairs by serving as the FANREP South District representative, EPAF Abstract Committee Co-Chair, Florida Sea Grant Fisheries, Boating & Waterways, and Climate Change Work Action Groups, and a team member of the Goal 7 Focus Team-3 and Goal 2 Focus Team-5. She sits on the graduate committee of a UM-RSMAS master’s student who is affiliated with her marine debris program, and has mentored two summer undergraduate interns; one from the University of Florida and the other from Florida International University.

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