Dr Kathryn Ellen Whittey is a marine biologist from rural North Wales. Kathryn has always felt a strong connection to nature and growing up in a farming community taught her about the balance of nature and the important role people play as custodians of the land.

Since completing her PhD in coral reef ecology at Cardiff University, she has worked with Project SIARC developing an Equity Diversity and Inclusion strategy to better understand the disparity in participation in marine conservation in communities in North Wales. Her role with Project SIARC affirmed Kathryn’s belief in the need for equity in science and the need to work collaboratively in the face of current climate crisis.

Dr Whittey is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher and Bangor University were she is working with fishers to understand trends in crustacean fisheries in Wales and West England. Kathryn is bilingual Welsh speaker and engages in science communication hoping to make science more accessible to a greater diversity of people. She tutors for BrilliantClub where she teaches school children about her coral reef research, writes blogs for Women in Ocean Science, and has featured on Welsh radio and television spreading awareness of effects of climate change on coral reefs.

Kathryn strives to work collaboratively, and her personal and professional goal is to work interdisciplinary with a strong emphasis on incorporating local ecological knowledge. She hopes that by working with a greater diversity of individuals we can not only raise awareness of global issues facing our planet but create a world where all voices are heard.