AWSC is excited to offer "Shark Tales: A Lecture Series” this winter at the Shark Center Chatham. Join us in person each month to hear from different Gills Club scientists about the shark research they are conducting, how it relates to conservation efforts, and the advances they are making as women in the field.

The Gills Club is Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's STEM-based education initiative dedicated to connecting girls with female scientists from around the world, sharing knowledge, and inspiring the next generation of shark and ocean advocates. 

Guests will also have time during the evening to explore the Shark Center exhibits and learn about the natural history of white sharks in this area, the ongoing white shark research, and their role in the marine ecosystem.

This is a family-friendly event. However, our 21+ guests will enjoy a complimentary glass of wine or beer with the price of admission. A cash bar will be available during the event.

Additionally, the lecture discussion will be available to stream for free at home via Zoom. A link to register to join us virtually is below.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

MEET THE LECTURERS 

February

AWSC is excited to welcome Dr. Michelle Passerotti to speak about her work with apex predators. Dr. Passerotti is a fish biologist with the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center Apex Predators Program, based in the Narragansett, RI, lab. Her work focuses on life history research of large coastal and pelagic shark species in the Atlantic. She holds a PhD in biology from the University of South Carolina (2021), and is a mom to two boys, ages 9 and 13.

March

AWSC is excited to welcome Jaida Elcock, Director of Public Relations for MISS and a PhD student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, to speak. Her research focuses on uncovering some of the mysteries surrounding basking shark migration. Elcock is an excited science communicator and enjoys spending some of her free time creating shark-related content for her audiences of social media. She is also a co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS) and an advocate for increasing diversity in science spaces. She will be speaking on her plan for her dissertation research, experience with science communication, and MISS!

April

AWSC is excited to welcome Dr. Lauran Brewster, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and formerly a senior research fellow at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch, to speak. She completed her PhD through the University of Hull in the UK after spending three years collecting data while stationed at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. It was there that Dr. Brewster gained most of her field research skills working with sharks. She has broad research interests that range from fish energetics to ecology and fisheries. Dr. Brewster uses different types of animal-borne technology to address questions in those fields and is currently involved in numerous sharky and non-sharky projects. She’ll be talking about some of her recent research, which includes looking at the activity of juvenile bull sharks in an estuarine nursery in Florida.