UNITY FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS

Dr. Andrei Snyman leads classes in the Master of Professional Science in Environmental Geographic Information Science at Unity. He has over 15 years of experience working with GIS and Remote Sensing in the field, using these technologies to study large African carnivores, including lions, leopards, cheetah, African wild dogs, and several species of hyena. His current research interest lies in the conservation of wildlife considering the domains of biology, geospatial sciences and technologies, population dynamics and abundance estimation, spatial-temporal movement analysis, trophic cascades, the mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts, wildlife population ecology, ecosystem functioning, animal behavior, and natural resource management.

Dr. Anoosh Rakhshandeh has published over 50 scientific abstracts, short papers, book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in the field of animal nutrition and digestive physiology. Before joining academia as a researcher and educator with a focus on animal nutrition, he worked in poultry industry for seven years. Currently, his research explores the nutrient utilization and digestive physiology of animals, as influenced by various stressors. He has also taught several animal nutrition-related courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels, incorporating a student-centered and active learning approach to facilitate understanding of animal nutrition, as informed by real issues in research, industry, and the environment.

Dr. Daniela Maldini brings decades of experience in marine ecology and scientific research to every class she leads at Unity. She’s helped co-found three NGOs — Pacific Cetacean Group, Oceanwide Science Institute, and Okeanis — each focused on research and conservation. She has been the chief scientist and executive director for organizations dedicated to promoting the management and maintenance of functional marine ecosystems to benefit people and wildlife today, tomorrow, and for years to come. In addition to her PhD, she has a MS in Marine Sciences from San Jose State University and a BS in Biological Sciences from the Universita di Pavia.

Dr. Dominique McCowan specializes in teaching Marine Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She began studying fossilized coral reefs and ecology growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. Later, she would earn a BSc in Biology and an ASc in Chemistry at Indiana University Southeast before pursuing postgraduate studies in Marine Ecology and Fisheries Biology with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reefs Studies at James Cook University. After earning her doctorate there, she completed a year postdoc with the ARC before moving stateside and completing an independent postdoc while working as a field consultant, naturalist guide and adjunct lecturer. Her research focuses on the well-adapted nature of Cnidarian polyps, their dimensional organization, and disturbance-modulated evolution.

Dr. Gretchen Grebe leads courses in Phycology and Aquatic Botany at Unity. She earned a masters from studying water resources management and eco-entrepreneurship at UCSB and a bachelor’s in Latin American and Environmental Studies from Bates College. Her research dissertation explored the rise of kelp farms in Maine and opportunities for improved farm siting and management. She’s worked with industries helping fishing communities with small businesses for marine aquaculture and recapturing waste from fisheries.

Dr. Mira Mishkin is one of the instructional leaders of Unity’s Wildlife Conservation bachelor’s degree program. She has also taught an array of courses from Spanish and Biology to Research Methods and Human Geography. Her research focuses on indigenous rights, common pool resource management, climate change mitigation, and forest management. She has been working in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve since 2015 and helps with a sea turtle conservation project in Nicaragua.

Brittany Tomasin has spent over a decade working in the field of marine biology. She has conducted ecological research in kelp forests and coral reefs, provided husbandry for marine animals, studied whale shark ecology in Mexico, responded and rescued Hawaii’s marine animals, and managed volunteers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She is also an AAUS scientific diver and has conducted approximately 1,500 SCUBA dives all over the world.