Jasmin Graham

Who I am

Elasmobranch ecology and evolution is my special field of interest, with past research topics including the movement ecology of the smalltooth sawfish and the phylogeny of hammerhead sharks. I’m a member of the American Elasmobranch Society and served on its Student Affairs Committee for two years. I have completed internships with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Fort Johnson Marine Lab and FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management, and worked as an instructor for the Saturday at the Sea programme through the Florida State University Office of STEM Teaching Activities. Science education and making science more accessible for everyone are my passions, and they led me to become the project coordinator for the MarSci-LACE project, which focuses on researching and promoting best practices to recruit, support and retain minority students in marine science. I’m also a co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organisation dedicated to promoting diversity in shark science. For me, it’s very important to open doors that will help underrepresented minority students to join the exciting field of marine science.

Where I work

Gill Guardians is an online hub that enables people all over the world to engage with elasmobranch science and conservation. It is freely available on the World Wide Web.

What I do

We create content to educate the general public about sharks, skates and rays, the threats they face and the efforts being made to protect them. Courses include video lessons, activities, quizzes and action items. We also engage with the public face to face and during live virtual seminars in order to further solidify the bridge between scientists and the general public.