KELSEY POTLOCK

Marine Biologist, National Marine Fisheries' Services

Kelsey Potlock first attended WYSE back in 2011 when she was in high school. Since then, Kelsey earned her BS in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) where her undergraduate research focused on the benefits of living shorelines and assessing the erosion/accretion of a historical shoreline using Geospatial Information Systems (GIS).  In the summer after graduating from UNCW and before graduate school, Kelsey participated in an internship at Mote Marine Laboratory in the Manatee Research Program in Sarasota, Florida. Upon completion of this program, Kelsey worked on and completed a Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, where her research focused on odontocete acoustics before, during, and after the construction of an offshore wind farm. After graduation from her MPhil program, Kelsey contracted through Integrated Statistics as a Regulatory Biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the Anchorage, Alaska field office with the Regulatory Program. Currently, Kelsey is a marine biologist contracting with NOAA Fisheries’ (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources on marine mammal and MMPA issues through Ocean Associates, Inc. When not working, Kelsey likes to spend her free time playing pickleball, crocheting, antiquing, baking, playing video games, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her cat (Miska).