Rachel has a B.S. in Environmental Science with a focus on Marine & Coastal Resource Management from Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). At TAMU-CC, she worked at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies with Dr. Greg Stunz in his Fisheries and Ocean Health Lab as an undergraduate & again after obtaining her M.S.
Rachel obtained her M.S in Coastal Sciences from the University of Southern Mississippi working at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs, MS with Drs. Joe Griffitt & Rich Fulford.
She then earned a Ph.D. in Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with a
focus on Hydrology & Water Resources under the direction of Dr. Brian Lapointe.
focus on Hydrology & Water Resources under the direction of Dr. Brian Lapointe.
Rachel has worked in state regulatory positions at Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as academic positions at Auburn University with Dr. Steve Szedlymayer, TAMU-CC, & Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at FAU (present).
She has expertise in water quality, harmful algal blooms, estuarine ecology, eutrophication, & marine fisheries. Her research currently focuses on seagrass loss, macroalgal blooms, estuarine food webs, & nutrient pollution.