PI, U.S. Virgin Islands

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I am a Research Associate Professor in the Center for Marine & Environmental Studies at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). My research examines human impacts to nearshore environments, especially mangroves.

At UVI, I teach in the Masters of Marine & Environmental Science program, mentor students, and engage the community through outreach and education, running the Mangroves in the Classroom project and the territory-wide Great Mangrove Cleanups.

I lead the NSF Includes SEAS Islands Alliance, a $10M National Science Foundation-funded network that supports students from middle school through to the workforce in the marine and environmental sciences from the USVI, Puerto Rico, and Guam. I am also the Director for the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute, a network of 54 institutes across the US in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Allison Black-Maier is a Research Associate at Catalyst Consulting Group, which serves as the backbone team that supports the Navigating Home project behind the scenes. She was trained as a cognitive psychologist and received her Ph.D. from Duke in 2017. Allison's doctoral research focused on learning and memory, studying the processes that promote long-term retention as well as those that make us prone to memory errors. Since graduating, she has applied her research skills as an evaluator of both formal and informal education programs. Allison particularly enjoys helping partners use relational databases that allow them to track the outcomes they care most about. For example, Allison helped develop and manage the Salesforce database that the SEAS Islands Alliance used to document student pathways in STEM.

Co-PI, U.S. Virgin Islands

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I am the Co-PI for the USVI Hub for Navigating Home and has mentored several Workforce Fellows. Born and raised in St. Thomas, I am passionate about protecting the U.S. Virgins. Currently, I am the Director of the newly created Division of Territorial Parks & Protected Areas within the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (VI DPNR). During my time working in the VI DPNR, I have led environmental outreach initiatives, provided project management, and connected the environmental community through networking and event facilitation. My programs, such as Science Saturday, VI Clean Coasts, and Refill Bottles, Not Dumpsters, work with the community to bring attention and action to environmental issues facing the territory.

President, Catalyst Consulting Group

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Dr. Karen Peterman is the President of Catalyst Consulting Group, which serves as the backbone team that supports the Navigating Home project behind the scenes.

Karen and the Catalyst team provide a range of services, including strategic planning and evaluation related to STEM and science communication projects. The team also conducts educational research. Karen’s work has been published in academic journals that span several literatures, including evaluation, informal science, K12 education, public engagement with science, and science communication.

Karen received her Ph.D. in psychology from Duke University in 2002, and has applied those skills to the field of STEM education and communication ever since. She started doing independent consulting work in 2007 and founded Karen Peterman Consulting, Co. (KPC) in 2010, with a focus on STEM education. KPC became Catalyst Consulting Group in 2022.