Esther Kennedy

Esther Kennedy started her scientific career as a geologist, studying Earth history as an undergraduate and spending summers schlepping rocks around the Brooks Range. After college, she moved to Sitka as an AmeriCorps volunteer to work with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, where she was immediately thrown into plankton and shellfish collection despite knowing much more about the fossil record than about currently living organisms. Eventually, she found her footing in the modern ocean and began studying ocean acidification. Esther finished her PhD at UC Davis, where her dissertation considered the geography of coastal acidification and hypoxia (where and when are coastal waters stressful?) and the value of knowing spatial patterns of stress for decision making (are these maps even helpful?). She joined ACRC in late 2024 and explores the relationship between harmful algal blooms and coastal chemistry.