Awards

Northeast Sea Grant Consortium
Regional Superior Outreach Programming Award

The Superior Outreach Programming Award (SOPA) honors superior leadership, teamwork and accomplishment by Sea Grant extension personnel engaged in an exceptional outreach program. Regional SOPA award nominees are solicited approximately every two years for two categories: Individual and Team. Nominee packages are reviewed by a panel of Sea Grant colleagues, who select regional award recipients:

Nominations are now open for the 2023-2024 Northeast Sea Grant Superior Outreach Programming Awards!

Nominations are due March 1, 2024. Click the buttons below for the nomination guidelines and form!

Nominations Guidelines

Nomination Form

Individual SOPA Finalists

2022 - Jessica Kuonen, New York Sea Grant
Justice-Oriented Online Mapping Tools Guide Inform Equity Efforts

2019 - Teresa Crean, Rhode Island Sea Grant
The Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP)

2017 - Kristen Grant, Maine Sea Grant
The Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring Program

2015 – Sarah Redmond, Maine Sea Grant
Advancing the Sea Vegetable Industry in Maine and the U.S.

2013 – Keri Kaczor, Maine Sea Grant
Maine Healthy Beaches Program

Team SOPA Finalists

2022 - Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant
Pandemic Rapid Response Supporting CT Shellfish Aquaculture Businesses
David Carey, CT Dept. Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture
Kristin De-Rosia-Banick, (formerly) CT Dept. Ag., Bureau of Aquaculture Richard Seiden, CT Dept. Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture
Michael Zuber, CT Dept. Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture
Sylvain De Guise, Connecticut Sea Grant

2019 - Dana Morse, Maine Sea Grant
Aquaculture in Shared Waters Professional Training Program (winner of 2020 National SOPA competition)
Chris Bartlett, Maine Sea Grant
Natalie Springuel, Maine Sea Grant
Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association
Chris Davis, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center
Hugh Cowperthwaite, Coastal Enterprises, Inc
Nick Branchina, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Teresa Johnson, University of Maine
Caitlin Cleaver, University of Maine

2017 - Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant
Connecticut Shellfish Initiative
Anoushka Concepcion, Connecticut Sea Grant
Nancy Balcom, Connecticut Sea Grant
Sylvain De Guise, Connecticut Sea Grant
Julie Rose, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Milford Lab

2015 - Esperanza Stancioff, Maine Sea Grant
Northeast Coastal Acidification Network
Julie Simpson, MIT Sea Grant
Judy Pederson, MIT Sea Grant
Juliana Barrett, Connecticut Sea Grant
Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant

2013 – Dana Morse, Maine Sea Grant
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Lobstermen
Erik Chapman, New Hampshire Sea Grant
Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant
Madeleine Hall-Arber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant
Jennifer McCann, Rhode Island Sea Grant

National Sea Grant Network
National Awards Received by Northeast Programs

Regional finalists are forwarded to national award competitions representing the entire Sea Grant Network. The Sea Grant Association (SGA) typically recognizes these national award recipients biannually during Sea Grant Week.

National Superior Outreach Programming Award

The Superior Outreach Programming Award (SOPA) honors superior leadership, teamwork and accomplishment by Sea Grant extension personnel engaged in an exceptional outreach program.

2020 - Maine Sea Grant (Team Lead: Dana Morse)
Aquaculture in Shared Waters Professional Training Program

2016 - Maine Sea Grant

National Research To Application Award

The Research to Application (R2A) award honors an individual research project or a body of research funded or implemented by a state Sea Grant program that has increased citizens’ understanding and responsible use of the nation’s ocean, coastal or Great Lakes resources, or has supported the informed personal, policy and management decisions of communities, or has led to the development of new products or tools with positive impacts related to a vibrant and resilient coastal economy or environment.

2023 - Lake Champlain Sea Grant

2020 - Woods Hole Sea Grant (PI: Christopher Neill, Woods Hole Research Center)
A Watershed-Scale Analysis of Nitrogen Loading from Cranberry Agriculture in the Weweantic Watershed of Southeastern Massachusetts

2016 - Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire Sea Grant programs
Northeast Sea Grant research paves the way for new sea vegetable aquaculture industry in New England