Expertise
- Community Engagement and Outreach
- Community & Ecosystem Resilience
- Climate Change Adaptation
- Science Communication
A skilled science communicator and a trained scientist, Dr. Chandler Countryman is Washington Sea Grant’s Resilience and Adaptation Specialist. In this role, Chandler works with communities in the South Puget Sound area and along Washington’s coast to advance efforts related to coastal hazards and climate resilience by gathering local knowledge and perspectives, identifying community priorities, and connecting local efforts to funds, technical support, and other resources. She is passionate about protecting coastal environments and supporting the people who live, work, and play in these environments.
As a WSG team member, she loves combining her commitment to social justice with her passion for research, education, and outreach. She has been active in diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility efforts in her previous roles and plans to continue to center these values in her work at WSG, especially through support for underserved and underrepresented communities.
Chandler is currently working on four projects at Washington Sea Grant: (1) co-managing the Coastal Hazards Resilience Network (CHRN); (2) supporting the development and use of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) in Washington State; and (3) facilitating efforts for the Lower Willapa Resilience project; project; and (4) the Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. In her role, she engages with local government, state and federal agencies, tribes, environmental restoration groups, ecological researchers, community organizations and residents, local businesses and industries, and other relevant groups.
Before joining WSG, Chandler was a 2022 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, placed in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., where she worked on national-level climate and environmental policy.
She has run environmental science camps and marine conservation courses for K-12 students, in addition to field courses for undergraduate students in coastal oceanography on Sapelo Island–a small barrier island off the coast of Georgia. Chandler’s passion for coastal and community resiliency was ignited by her years spent teaching, living, and engaging with residents on Sapelo Island.
Chandler was the first person in her family to go to college and was supported through the Federal Pell Grant, academic scholarships, work study opportunities, and the McNair Scholars program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Northern Michigan University and a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of Georgia.
Her graduate research was part of the NASA EXPORTS project and focused on the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle. New to the PNW, Chandler enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, rollerblading, and exploring tidepools.