Katie Russell has joined our staff in the newly created position of Communications Coordinator. Katie is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon, where she earned her Master’s in Environmental Studies with a focus on education and nonprofit management. For her terminal project, she worked with The Marine Mammal Center to redesign their education volunteer training materials to include a stronger focus on strategies to talk with guests about climate and ocean health. In addition to her work with Oregon Shores, she also currently serves as the board secretary of The National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpreters and on the board of The Elakha Alliance, which works for the potential restoration of sea otters to Oregon’s ocean. Katie moved to Oregon in 2020, but previously spent many summers here at her family’s blueberry farm on the McKenzie River. Before moving to Oregon, she graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.S. in Natural Science. After that, she worked as a marine mammal trainer and zookeeper in Hawaii for almost ten years. Now that Katie is a permanent Oregonian, she is excited to spend more time exploring the Oregon coast.