Dr. Melissa Ward, She/Her

Melissa Ward, Ph.D.
Principal, Marine & Coastal Scientist

Melissa Ward received her PhD from the University of California, Davis, investigating nature-based climate solutions in California's coastal habitats. Melissa has over 10 years of experience working on cutting-edge marine science research, holding positions at San Diego State University and the University of Oxford following her graduate degree. At Windward Sciences, she leads climate resilience work on coastal and ocean-based solutions. This work aims to link impacted communities with viable solutions to environmental change.

Project Leads (past and present):

          Dr. Kathryn Beheshti, She/Her

Kathryn Beheshti, Ph.D.
Senior Ecologist

Kat Beheshti received her PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, evaluating drivers of loss and recovery for estuarine foundation species. After her PhD, Kat worked for the Ocean Protection Council's Climate Change Program as their CA Sea Grant State Fellow where she worked on a range of topics from coastal resilience to ocean acidification and hypoxia. Kat is currently an Assistant Researcher in the Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara working on both the artificial reef and wetland restoration projects that are part of the SONGS Mitigation Monitoring Program.

       Brian Katz, M.S.

Brian Katz, M.S.
Geospatial Scientist

Brian Katz received his MS in Geography from Oregon State University, assessing social vulnerability and adaptation of Pacific Northwest shellfisheries to ocean acidification. Brian’s expertise leverages web-based geovisualization tools to conduct social science research that investigates how communities respond to multiple stressors that can affect livelihoods and habitability. Brian maintains a Faculty Research Assistant position in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, and he also performs contract work through his startup, Cascadia Visualizations LLC.

Dr. Connor Dibble

Connor Dibble, Ph.D.
Oceanographer, Data Engineer

Connor Dibble is a skilled data engineer and scientist, working with large oceanographic datasets to synthesize trends, make projections, and developing webtools to present and view these findings.