Corpus Christi, Texas — Christine Hale joins Texas Sea Grant as the new Associate Director of Extension.
As Associate Director of Extension, Hale will oversee and grow the extension, education, and engagement portfolio of the Texas Sea Grant College Program. In collaboration with the Director and extension staff, as well as in consultation with stakeholders and in response to community needs, Hale will set the strategic vision and long-term implementation and evaluation plan for Texas Sea Grant extension initiatives. In doing so, she will advance integration of research with extension and promote community-engaged programs that align with the Sea Grant mission to improve the understanding, wise use and stewardship of coastal and marine resources.
Hale joins us from the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where, as Program Manager, she led the research endeavors of the Community Resilience and Socio-Economics Groups. Her work there largely focused on problem-solving for on-the-ground conservation, restoration, and resilience planning efforts, as well as management and policy interventions that benefit both people and nature. Additionally, she managed the Texas OneGulf RESTORE Center of Excellence, a competitive research funding program to restore Gulf environments and economies. She co-directed the Coastal Bend Regional Resilience Partnership to help communities build their capacity to prepare for and recover from natural disasters, hazards, and risks. Hale brings a wealth of leadership experience through this work and she is no stranger to extension. She previously served as an inaugural member of the Gulf-wide Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program, helping to translate complex science and connect coastal communities to new research insights in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Prior to her Gulf-based work, she worked in the Caribbean, primarily focused on socio-cultural aspects of coral reef ecosystem management in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She served as an Extension Specialist for the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service via the Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program, helping her island community get involved in management efforts on a ridge-to-reef scale.
Hale holds a master’s degree in marine and environmental science from the University of the Virgin Islands and a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Between degrees, she traveled worldwide to gain field experience via short-term positions, such as New Zealand to track wild dolphin populations, Honduras and the Bahamas to support coral reef studies, and Thailand where she earned her PADI divemaster. She was also employed as a biologist with an environmental consulting firm conducting fisheries and water quality work for clients across the northeastern U.S.
Hale has led or co-produced numerous Sea Grant extension publications and peer-reviewed articles on a variety of themes, such as Oysters and Oil Spills, or Bridging Texas Shrimpers and Texas Shrimping Policy. She and her team’s efforts post-Deepwater Horizon earned them Sea Grant’s coveted Superior Outreach Program Award in 2018. Hale is committed to developing tools and resources for communities, such as the Ecosystem Service restoration planning and evaluation tool (GEMS). GeoRed.org, a geospatial resilience planning tool for the Coastal Bend of Texas, and Bluevalue.org, an ecosystem services assessment tool, are additional examples of how she works with teams to co-produce and provide access to valuable, science-based information for real-world decision making.
Hale loves to spend quality time exploring the natural world with her family and friends. She practices pottery in her spare time and can often be found snuggled up on the couch with her three dogs, lost in a good book.
About Texas Sea Grant
Texas Sea Grant is a unique partnership that unites the resources of the federal government, the State of Texas and universities across the state to create knowledge, tools, products and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of Texas. It is administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is one of 34 university-based Sea Grant Programs around the country. Texas Sea Grant is a non-academic research center at Texas A&M University. The program’s mission is to improve the understanding, wise use and stewardship of Texas coastal and marine resources.
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