TEAM TDRF PART 1

Our team at the Tropical Dolphin Research Foundation includes many people from all over the globe. In this day and age, no one has to be sitting in the same building anymore to work together as a team. We all work and share our efforts most of the time through the internet.

While we have a great staff, because many are far away, few can help us directly in the field each year. Because we need help to do our work we take volunteer interns. Internships with TDRF give students and recent graduates the chance to learn more about field ecology and the methods used when studying dolphins.

This year we start with a team of three (more will be joining later and we will introduce them at that time). These students will assist Dr. Jennifer Lewis who is leading the research. We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce them to you.

Kate McPherson

Kate McPherson, Key West, Florida

Kate is currently living in Maine, but she recently graduated with her Masters in Animals and Policy at Tufts University Cummings School of Vet Medicine in Massachusetts.  Kate has worked for two groups on projects related to marine mammals. One involved data collection for the Humane Society on aquariums that housed and did not house dolphins. The other post was for Whale and Dolphin Conservation where she collected data in the field off New England on large whales.

Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson, Key West, Florida

Ryan is from Connecticut where he just graduated from Merrimack College of Science and Engineering in Biology. While an undergrad, Ryan gained considerable experience conducting research, completing a study of his own on the current distribution patterns of beavers across Massachusetts, which he then presented at a major regional conference.

Jennifer (Jen) Taylor

Jen Taylor, Key West, Florida

Jen is currently working on her Masters at Miami University of Ohio in Zoology. While working her way through school she been gaining experience with dolphin conservation and research by volunteering for the Clearwater Aquarium in Florida and also as a research assistant for a project on wild bottlenose dolphins in the waters near St. Petersburg, Florida.