Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Dr. Alison Cawood joined SERC in February 2014 to develop and coordinate its citizen science programs. She works with researchers, interns, educators, volunteers, and students to actively involve non-professional scientists in original scientific research. She works on a wide variety of projects with topics ranging from archaeology to mud crabs.

Prior to working at SERC, Alison worked as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego and as an instructor with Reality Changers, an educational non-profit that provides mentoring and tutoring for first-generation college students. She attended the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina where she earned a B. S. in marine biology and a B. A. in Hispanic Studies. Alison earned her Ph. D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, where she was a National Science Foundation GK-12 Teaching Fellow.