Project Manager and Marine Biologist
Project Manager and Marine Biologist

Biography

Alicia is a marine biologist and certified PMP with 17 years of experience related to national laboratory environmental remediation and restoration projects. She is part of the Coastal Sciences Division located at the Marine and Coastal Laboratory at PNNL-Sequim. She earned her Master’s in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she studied sustainable whale-watching tourism operations along the gray whale migration. Her research includes long-range migrations and anthropogenic impacts on marine megafauna in the U.S. and internationally. She previously worked for the Los Alamos National Laboratory as project manager on the environmental remediation of The Manhattan Project site. She is a wildlife and nature photographer that communicates science-related stories about species and their habitat.

Research Interest

  • Environmental monitoring for marine renewable energy
  • Conservation biology
  • Anthropogenic impacts to long migratory marine wildlife and change to their physiology and behavior
  • Coexistence with marine and terrestrial wildlife and the human dimension
  • Wildlife conservation photography and science communication
  • Project management

Education

MA in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

BS in Biology, Eastern New Mexico University

California Sea Grant Fellowship (2016) – Office of California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Project Management Institute
  • Marine Mammal Society
  • American Cetacean Society
  • Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society
  • North American Nature Photographers Association

Publications

2018

Amerson, A., & Parsons, E. C. M. (2018). Evaluating the sustainability of the gray-whale-watching industry along the pacific coast of North America. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(8), 1362-1380.

Christiansen, F., Vivier, F., Charlton, C., Ward, R., Amerson, A., Burnell, S., & Bejder, L. (2018). Maternal body size and condition determine calf growth rates in southern right whales. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 592, 267-281.

2020

Triton: Environmental Monitoring Technology Development- Collision Risk Data Collection PNNL-30943 Staines G.J., A.M. Amerson, and J. Haxel. 2021. Triton: Environmental Monitoring Technology Development- Collision Risk Data Collection. PNNL-30943. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Triton Initiative Presentation for Sequim Sunrise Rotary on Friday December 18, 2020 PNNL-SA-158557 Amerson A.M. 12/18/2020. "Triton Initiative Presentation for Sequim Sunrise Rotary on Friday December 18, 2020." Presented by A.M. Amerson at Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club meeting, Sequim, Washington. PNNL-SA-158557.

Improving Environmental Monitoring, Reduce Stressors, and Get Marine Renewable Energy Devices into the Water PNNL-SA-159599 Amerson A.M. 05/11/2021. "Improving Environmental Monitoring, Reduce Stressors, and Get Marine Renewable Energy Devices into the Water." Online, United States. PNNL-SA-159599.

Triton Initiative Presentation for Infraday Pacific Northwest December 15, 2020 PNNL-SA-158487 Amerson A.M. 12/15/2020. "Triton Initiative Presentation for Infraday Pacific Northwest December 15, 2020." Presented by A.M. Amerson at Infraday Pacific Northwest, Online, Washington. PNNL-SA-158487. 12/15/2020

2021

Triton: Fish Collision Risk research on Marine Energy PNNL-SA-159829 Staines G.J., A.M. Amerson, and J. Haxel. 02/17/2021. "Triton: Fish Collision Risk research on Marine Energy." Presented by G.J. Staines at Marine Energy Environmental Toolkit for Licensing and Permitting, Virtual, Washington. PNNL-SA-159829.

Triton Initiative: FY21 Communications, Outreach, and Engagement Plan PNNL-SA-158121 Amerson A.M., and C.M. Gunn. 2021. "Triton Initiative: FY21 Communications, Outreach, and Engagement Plan." PNNL-SA-158121. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 01/08/2021

Articles