In 2004, I graduated in the first class of the new Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. While at UVM, I supplemented my studies with a summer program at Duke University Marine Lab, taking courses in Conservation Biology/Policy and Marine Ecology.  Although that summer cemented my desire to work in marine ecosystems, I was unsure where my passion lied. So, even though I was technically able to graduate a semester early, I spent my last five months of undergraduate studies abroad in Thailand, completing ReefCheck analyses on the reefs around Koh Adang and Koh Lipe, living and working with crab and squid fishermen of the Trang Province, and observing dugong with an international team of scientists.

After graduation, I took a fish technician position with the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation in Cordova, AK. I was relocated to a remote pink salmon (Onchorhynchus gorbuscha) hatchery on the Unakwik Inlet. In March of 2005, I was awarded a Biologist I position with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in the Fisheries Dependent Monitoring section.  My main responsibility was to perform Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Surveys (MRFSS) at port and at sea.  When not conducting surveys, I assisted other sections of the Tequesta Field Lab working on snook, reef fish, and Florida manatees.

Cassie completed her MS degree at UNCW in spring 2009 and relocated to the west coast.  She is currently living in Los Angeles, CA and is working for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.