Brita J. Jessen, Ph.D.
(she/her)Dr. Jessen is the Center Director for the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. She supports all science and products developed by the Center and its partners within the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program. Dr. Jessen collaborates across sectors and regions to promote user-driven science for societal benefit across the country.
Before joining USGS, Dr. Jessen was the first Interdisciplinary Research and Partnerships Lead at S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, a partnership of eight universities and S.C. Department of Natural Resources. In this role she developed new partnerships with federal, Indigenous, non-governmental, and private organizations. She spearheaded new initiatives in blue carbon legal research, tidal freshwater forested wetlands science and management, coastal systems restoration and conservation, and equity and inclusion in marine science and decision-making. She co-edited and contributed to special journal issues on blue carbon (Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal); Sea Grant programs (Oceanography); and tidal forested wetlands (Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science in prep). Prior to S.C. Sea Grant, Brita was the research director of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in southwest Florida where she developed collaborative research programs on estuarine fisheries, landscape and elevation change, hurricane resilience and recovery, ecosystem services modeling, and hydrologic restoration.
Dr. Jessen has co-led multi-partner research and engagement programs on hurricane recovery and resilience, coastal wetland restoration, and carbon sequestration research and engagement. She taught and advised students at Florida Gulf Coast University, the College of Charleston, and the University of South Carolina. Dr. Jessen has served on national working groups for strategic planning and diversity and inclusion.