Kristin Wilson Grimes, Ph.D.

Project Lead

My name is Kristin Wilson Grimes and I am a Research Assistant Professor of Watershed Ecology at the University of the Virgin Islands. My work examines human impacts to nearshore environments, including coastal wetlands, focusing on management-relevant science. My research actively engages communities in the U.S Virgin Islands on a wide range of topics, from water quality, to blue carbon, to marine debris, to disaster preparedness. I am deeply committed to increasing diversity and inclusion in the marine sciences, one of the least diverse of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. At UVI, my Masters of Marine & Environmental Science students are currently investigating contamination of mangrove and lagoon sediments near Bovoni Landfill on St. Thomas, quantifying long-term trends in marine debris for a 30+ year territorial data set, and understanding the biodiversity of sandy beach invertebrates. I am also the Director for the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute, a network of 54 institutes across the United States dedicated to water resource issues and education funded through partnerships between the United States Geological Survey and the states/territories; in this role, I am one of seven women directors, presently. I hold a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Middlebury College and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Biology, Marine Policy, and Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine. Before living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I was the Research Coordinator at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, ME, a network of 29 NOAA-supported sites across the country that protect and restore coastal ecosystems through integrated research, stewardship, education, and community partnerships. I currently reside on St. Thomas.