Michigan Sea Grant welcomes new coastal resilience Extension educator
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EmailKat Cameron serving as regional liaison for Sea Grant and NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Laboratory.
Michigan Sea Grant is pleased to announce that Kat Cameron has joined our team as a Michigan State University Extension educator. She began her new position on April 15, 2024. Cameron will provide regionwide leadership and programming expertise on Great Lakes coastal resilience as a liaison between the Great Lakes Sea Grant network and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL). Her main office location will be located at GLERL in Ann Arbor.
Making connections
“We’re so glad to be able to bring Kat Cameron on as a full-time member of our team,” said Dr. Heather Triezenberg, Michigan Sea Grant associate director and program leader. “She has already immersed herself in the coastal resiliency arena and we know she will help to bring more connections and communication to the region.
Cameron recently served as Coastal Resilience Coordinator for Michigan Sea Grant where she organized a Coastal Resilience Workshop and developed the Michigan Coastal Resilience Hub, a site that connects coastal managers with Michigan-specific resources, case studies, and local Extension educators.
"Partnerships are key to the work of NOAA GLERL -- and this role, helping to shepherd this partnership and relationship between GLERL and Sea Grant, is an important one. We are excited to have Kat as part of our team and to bring Sea Grant and their mission to our work," said Jennifer Day, regional coordinator of GLERL’s Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team.
In addition to her recent position at Michigan Sea Grant, Cameron has interned as an urban planner for private planning and architecture firms in Ann Arbor and Detroit focusing on climate resiliency and water resource planning. She was also a research assistant at the Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research at the University of Michigan, where she first began her work in coastal resilience.
Cameron earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Science in environmental policy and planning, and also a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan.
Offering support
“My previous work has been about identifying how to best fill the role of ‘missing middle person’ for Great Lakes coastal communities looking for support,” said Cameron. “Fortunately, in this role, I will be supporting these wonderful Sea Grant Extension educators who are working on bolstering resilience and equity across the basin as well as supporting GLERL’s research and getting it into the hands of people who can use it.”
Having grown up on the wild and scenic St. Croix River in Wisconsin, Cameron understands the value a water body holds for a community and is grateful her work supports communities as they reaffirm their commitment to a vibrant and resilient shoreline.
“I really do believe everyone can make a difference in helping to promote good stewardship of our Great Lakes and all water bodies. My hope is that by providing communities with GLERL resources and Sea Grant support, they’ll be able to set themselves up to be resilient for many generations to come,” said Cameron.
When not thinking about the Great Lakes, Cameron is busy cycling, dancing, kayaking, hiking, and volunteering at her nearby nature center. She is also passionate about improving her community by making it more livable, accessible, and resilient for all.
Cameron can be reached at kat.cameron@noaa.gov.
Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research and outreach. A collaborative effort of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and its MSU Extension, Michigan Sea Grant is part of the NOAA-National Sea Grant network of 34 university-based programs.
This article was prepared by Michigan Sea Grant under award NA22OAR4170084 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce through the Regents of the University of Michigan. The statement, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Commerce, or the Regents of the University of Michigan.
