Lonnie Gonsalves - “Making Waves in Ocean and Aquatic Sciences: Lessons Learned from my Early Career Days”

May 4th
1:30-2:20pm
College of Natural Resources Room 10

Dr. Lonnie Gonsalves is a research ecologist and program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In March 2017, he joined the headquarters staff for the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (Silver Spring, MD) where his primary role is to lead coordination of the NOAA Ecological Forecasting Roadmap. Prior to this role, Lonnie conducted a 16-month detail assignment in the NOAA Program Coordination Office. During this time, Dr. Gonsalves was responsible for providing policy and staff support to Dr. Kathryn Sullivan and VADM Manson Brown, the former Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NOAA, respectively. Lonnie’s career began in 2010 when he was accepted into the NOAA Graduate Sciences Program as a doctoral student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. During this time, Dr. Gonsalves’ research focused on characterizing the impact of prey availability on disease resistance in Chesapeake Bay striped bass. He also contributed to ongoing efforts to examine the impact of suburban development on the health of the Chesapeake Bay as a member of the science team at the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory (Oxford, MD). Following graduation in 2012, Lonnie began working full time at the Oxford Lab where he assisted with the development and implementation of an ecological assessment of the Chesapeake Bay, investigated habitat quality for spawning fish, and supported the creation of high-resolution wetland vegetation maps. Dr. Gonsalves received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from East Carolina University in 2005. Lonnie is a native of eastern North Carolina who now resides in Washington, D.C. and enjoys the ample opportunities for fishing, biking, and beach days afforded by life near the Maryland and Delaware coast.