Phillip Hinelsey and Amanda Jefferson recently became part of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant outreach team.
Hinesley, the former coastal section chief for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Lands Division, is serving in a part-time position as the team's nature tourism specialist. His office is located at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism in Gulf Shores, Alabama. He implements outreach programs in support of nature tourism activities and business. He is involved with the Clean Marina Program and promoting scenic byways and waterways.
"I work to educate and inform citizens, tourists and businesses about opportunities in nature and ecosystems in coastal Alabama," he said. "I stress the importance of low-impact activities and good stewardship of our natural resources."
Hinesley is a certified Alabama planning and zoning official and has a bachelor of science degree from The University of Southern Mississippi.
In Mississippi, Amanda Jefferson has become a full-time extension associate at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, where she works with other Sea Grant outreach team members and MSU faculty.
She works on projects dealing with marine fisheries, marine economics and coastal ecology. She develops and hosts in-person workshops across the Gulf of Mexico related to our red snapper abundance estimate extension. She also uses drones and mapping software to support coastal restoration projects.
Jefferson assists with planning and implementing the Mississippi Master Naturalist course on the coast. She a holds a master's degree in marine science from the University of South Alabama and a bachelor's degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.