STAFF PROFILES

Katharine Parsons Director, Wildlife & Agriculture Program

“Society has never been so empowered to determine a sustainable course with regard to the release of chemicals in the environment. The volume, relevance and credibility of information available to the stewards of land, water and wildlife have never been greater. I’m proud to be contributing to increased awareness and solution development. Manomet’s mission of developing sound solutions with community partners is well-suited to tackling the complex issues of agriculture and environmental quality.”

Katharine C. Parsons is a Senior Scientist at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences where she has directed Manomet’s Wildlife and Agriculture Program since 1985. In addition, she has served at Director of Programs, and Director of Manomet’s Field Biology Training Program, and is currently Chair of Conservation Programs. Since 1988, Kathy has served as Co-Instructor in Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Design School.

She received her A.B. from Smith College in 1977 and Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1985. Her research interests include the reproductive and foraging ecology of long-legged wading birds, and the ecotoxicology of aquatic birds utilizing estuarine wetlands. Currently, she is examining chronic, sublethal impacts of cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides on wildlife, and working collaboratively with farmers and mosquito control agencies to mitigate adverse effects. She has published numerous research articles in scientific journals including Waterbirds, other ornithological publications, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Estuaries and Journal of Coastal Research. In 2002, she edited a special publication of Waterbirds—“Managing Wetlands for Waterbirds: Integrated Approaches.”

Kathy is committed to facilitating the use of science-based information in habitat management and policy development. Since 1998, she has served in leadership roles in the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas Initiative; in 2003, she was elected Chair of the Waterbird Conservation Council. In addition, she serves as the Waterbird Conservation Plan representative to the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative and on the Executive Council of the Waterbird Society.

If you have any questions you can contact us at info@manomet.org or 1-508-224-6521.