Bethany Smith

Marine Education Specialist

Email: [[v|bsmith]]
Phone: (804) 684-7735
Office: Davis Hall 235
Unit: Marine Advisory Program

Summary

I’m an educator with over a decade of formal education and administrative experience at the advanced high school level teaching courses in marine and environmental science.  I also have significant research and field experience, having participated in oceanographic research cruises, as well as leading numerous student field courses and mentoring countless student independent science research projects.  My passions in education and outreach focus on providing effective science communication strategies for students, educators, and researchers, as well as providing students with tangible, real-world, inter-disciplinary extensions of their science classroom studies, thus allowing students to become the owners and authors of their own learning.

Full CV

Education

M.S. College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Biological Science (2008)
B.S. Rider University, Marine Science and Environmental Geology (2005)

Program Website

VMAP Marine Education Program

Current Projects

• Blue Crab Bowl
• Camp Launch
• Teacher Professional Development Programs
• Virginia Coastal Ecosystems Field Course
• Virginia Scientist and Educators Alliance (VA SEA)
• Virginia Teachers Innovating and Designing Experiential Science (VA TIDES)
• VIMS Research Broader Impacts

Past Projects

• Jacob's Ladder: An Enrichment Program
• Chesapeake Bay Governor's School for Marine & Environmental Science
  • School Administrator (2017-2020) 
  • Marine & Environmental Science Instructor (2009-2020)
• Ocean Exploration Trust/Nautilus Live, Science Communication Fellow (2013)
• Marine Science Legacy Program of the Urbanna Oyster Festival, Coordinator (2013-2020)

Press Coverage