Contact COAST

Mailing Address
CSU COAST
Building 53
California State University, Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, CA 93955

Staff
Dr. Krista Kamer

Director

Dr. Krista Kamer has led the development of COAST since its inception in 2008, and has served as the program's director since 2011. As the Director she oversees all of COAST's activities with emphasis on implementing programmatic initiatives to serve CSU faculty members and students, increasing student success, developing strategic partnerships and engaging stakeholders, and pursuing extramural funding. Krista joined the CSU in 2003 and initially helped coordinate two large, multi-year, multi-million dollar ocean observing programs in California. Prior to her work with the CSU, she was a project scientist at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Krista has a strong background in marine ecology, field work and experimental design. She earned her PhD in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a BA in biology from Connecticut College. Krista lives in Southern California with her husband and son and enjoys hiking and exploring the cultural diversity of Los Angeles.

Ms. Amy Vierra

Policy and Communications Consultant

415-806-2666

avierra@csumb.edu

Ms. Amy Vierra has over 15 years of professional experience in ocean and coastal policy. Prior to joining COAST, Amy served as Deputy Director of the California Ocean Protection Council where she supervised a team of 10 analysts, oversaw $50 million in state bond funds, and managed a $2 million annual budget. In her role with the Natural Resources Agency, Amy served as a Commissioner on the SF Bay Conservation and Development Commission and worked on initiatives such as the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health and the “Thank You Ocean” Campaign. Amy was part of the team who helped implement the Marine Life Protection Act in the first study region, the Central Coast. Amy has a Masters in Public Policy and a Masters of Science from UC Berkeley and a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavioral Ecology from UC San Diego. Amy, her husband, and two kids live in Sacramento where you can often find them at the pool trying to stay cool.

Ms. Kimberly Jassowski

Program Analyst

831-582-4209

kjassowski@csumb.edu

Kimberly Jassowski, who joined COAST as the Program Support Coordinator in February 2019, has a strong background in marine research, conservation, and restoration. While earning her Bachelors in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology at San Diego State University, she assisted the research of various COAST funded graduate students at the SDSU Coastal and Marine Institute. After graduating, Kimberly served as an AAUS Scientific Diver furthering marine research and restoration project goals for multiple non-profit organizations. During Orange County Coastkeeper’s Living Shorelines Project, Kimberly was part of the dive team that worked on restoring damaged eelgrass habitats in Newport Bay. She also performed numerous underwater surveys, tracking the health of California’s rocky reefs during her work with California Reefcheck and LA Waterkeeper. Before moving to Monterey in 2019, Kimberly worked as a marine educator and was a diver at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Kimberly can often be found scuba diving in Monterey’s beautiful ecosystems during her free time.

Mr. Daniel Yim

Program Assistant

dyim@csumb.edu

Daniel Yim is a science communicator with field and research experience in eelgrass beds and tidal salt marshes. With an avid love for reading and as a marine invertebrate enthusiast, Daniel enjoys finding the story within the science no matter how obscure or technical it may be. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in interdisciplinary marine and estuarine science at San Francisco State University through the RIPTIDES program. During his graduate studies, he founded the Undercurrent at EOS, a student-run science communication blog that aims to promote the work being done by the Estuary and Ocean Science Center students. Daniel has a B.S. in Marine and Coastal Science from UC Davis. When not writing or reading, he can be found playing board games with friends and making stories of his own.

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Student awards funded by COAST