REEF RELIEF ANNOUNCES NEW SPRING INTERNS

Reef Relief is excited to announce our 2023 spring interns, Tara McCracken as our Education Intern and Savannah Rhoades as our Conservation Intern. They will be assisting with our community events, fundraising, campaigns, school visits, and spring break coral camp.

Tara McCracken, from New York City, is a recent graduate from Eckerd College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and double minored in Animal Behavior and Film Studies. Tara has previously worked with Reef Relief as a Summer Coral Camp Intern and is back as the Reef Relief Education Intern. In the past, she worked and shadowed scientists along with helping collect and analyze data for fisheries research at the Cape Eleuthera Institute at The Island School. That experience inspired her to want to make documentaries revolving around the environment and issues occurring in our oceans to bring awareness to people across different platforms. Most recently, she worked at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium as an educational intern teaching students about Mote’s mission, creating and developing marine science presentations and activities, and giving tours of the facility. Tara is very excited to be back and gain more teaching experience in a classroom setting. 

Savannah Rhoades grew up in Georgia but moved to West Palm Beach as a child. Moving to Florida allowed her to immerse herself in marine life through diving, where she became a part of the underwater world she loved. Diving opened Savannah’s mind to the possibilities of a career in conservation. Once she saw how the ocean floor was changing from human impacts firsthand, she knew she wanted to be a part of the solution. She attended the University of South Florida (USF), where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Environmental Science and Policy. During her time at USF, Savannah was fortunate to participate in the USF Caribbean Marine Conservation program, where she learned scientific diving skills and completed various underwater surveys. Savannah also completed an NSF-funded REU through Georgia Southern University while attending USF. This opportunity allowed Savannah to develop her professional toolkit as she designed and carried out a research project under her mentor Dr. John Carroll. Their project focused on understanding the effects porcelain crabs may have on oyster recruitment. Savannah is passionate about conservation and is excited to bring her passion to this new role as the Conservation Intern.

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