Our Team

Jessie Kastler leverages Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant funds and grants from other agencies to produce and implement education programs at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab's Marine Education Center. These programs are designed for a variety of audiences, primarily K-12 science teachers and stakeholder groups like commercial fishermen and citizen scientists. Most of the projects focus on watersheds, community resilience or oil spill research.

"I work to help people understand science as a trustworthy process we use to learn new things about the world that are both amazing and practical," she said.

Jessie has a doctorate in oceanography and coastal sciences from Louisiana State University (LSU), a master's degree in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in geology from LSU.