Meet our guest speakers
Dr. Sandra Richardson
Section Head for the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) section within the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA)
Kristina Edwards
Director of Division of Territorial Parks & Protected Areas, Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Dr. Nicole Angeli
Director of Fish & Wildlife Division, Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Michaelrose Ravalier
Director of Professional Development, Virgin Islands Department of Education
Howard Forbes, Jr.
Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service Coordinator (St. Thomas), University of the Virgin Islands
Dr. Sandra Richardson
Dr. Sandra Richardson is the Section Head for the Research Capacity and Competitiveness (RCC) Section in the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the U.S. National Science Foundation. In this role, she serves as a member of the OIA senior leadership team in the Office of the NSF Director and is responsible for carrying out of RCC's mission to support the development and enhancement of STEM research capacity and competitiveness of individuals, institutions, states, territories, and regions historically underserved by NSF research and development funding. Dr. Richardson joined OIA after serving as the Acting Deputy Division Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education in the NSF Directorate for STEM Education and Program Lead for the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. While serving as an NSF Program Director, she planned and administered programs aimed at advancing research and training in undergraduate education, including managing hundreds of grants to comprehensive, primarily undergraduate, minority-serving, research-intensive, and two-year institutions across the Nation.
Her research and scholarly interests have been motivated by the intersection of her personal, professional, and scholarly experiences as a student, teacher, research professor, and academic. In addition to STEM education, her research includes examining effective tools for undergraduate mathematics curricula, mathematics teacher education, and broadening the participation in undergraduate and graduate STEM majors and STEM careers.
Dr. Richardson has been recognized nationally for her mentoring, teaching, leadership, and service to the STEM and STEM education communities, including being the recipient of several NSF Special Act awards, a 2022 National Honoree of Mathematically, Gifted & Black, a recipient of a University Excellence in Teaching and Research Merit Award, and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. She is Chair of the Federal EPSCoR Interagency Coordinating Committee.
Dr. Richardson enjoys family time, traveling, board and card games, sports, and participating in community service with her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Dr. Nicole Angeli
Dr. Nicole F. Angeli has worked for the U.S. Virgin Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife since 2018, first as the Chief of the Bureau of Wildlife and currently serving as its Director since 2019. The Division of Fish and Wildlife is grant-funded, so much of the work focuses on conceptualizing, writing, and managing grants from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Insular Affairs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and local funds for Capitol Improvement Projects at the fish markets and boating access facilities in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
New programs in the Virgin Islands since the inception of her role as Director include: Recreational Fishing License, Exotic Pet Amnesty Week, Natural Heritage Artists Fund, Territorial Natural Resource Permits, VI Wild, Invasive Species Community Eradication, Virgin Islands Stream Survey, GoFishVI, and the Reef Responsible Sustainable Seafood Imitative.
Dr. Angeli serves as the USVI Proxy on the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council, the Vice-President for the Foundation for Southeastern Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Director Liasion for Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Minorities in Natural Resources Committee. Dr. Angeli earned her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University majoring in Behavioral Biology and minoring in Africana Studies. She completed an Americorps Year of Service at the Jones Falls Watershed Association in Baltimore, Maryland before completing her Masters of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University followed by post-doctoral work at the Alabama Cooperative Research Unit in Auburn, Alabama. Dr. Angeli is a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and has a strong record of scientific publications in peer reviewed journals, chapters in three textbooks, and a children’s book about her research on endangered lizards of the island of St. Croix called, “The Lizard Lady”. Much of her academic writing has focused on the conservation of endangered species, but Dr. Angeli has been an author on a substantial number of publications on a variety of topics revolving around broader themes of fish, wildlife, and invasive species.
Kristina Edwards
Born and raised in St. Thomas, I am passionate about protecting the U.S. Virgins. Currently, I am the Director of the newly created Division of Territorial Parks & Protected Areas within the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (VI DPNR). During my time working in the VI DPNR, I have led environmental outreach initiatives, provided project management, and connected the environmental community through networking and event facilitation. My programs, such as Science Saturday, VI Clean Coasts, and Refill Bottles, Not Dumpsters, work with the community to bring attention and action to environmental issues facing the territory.
Michealrose Ravalier
Ravalier is a Secondary Science Educator and Ph.D. Student at the University of the Virgin Islands. As an ardent believer in the Problem-based Approach to learning, she has leveraged her diverse background and creative thinking mindset to masterfully engage her students.
With a strong foundation in Microbiology and Environmental Science, holding both B.S. and MPH degrees from the University of South Florida, Michealrose Ravalier brings a wealth of expertise to her educational endeavors. Notably, she made history as the first Virgin Islander to be honored with the esteemed Maitland P. Simmons Memorial Award for New Teachers at the 2018 National Science Teaching Conference. Her distinction was further recognized when she earned the prestigious St. Thomas / St. John 2019/2020 District Teacher of the Year accolade. In 2021, she was honored with the Eco School Award from the Virgin Islands Department of Education.
Ms. Ravalier currently holds the position of Director of Professional Development for the St. Thomas St. John School District, where she extends her influence beyond her classroom. Her commitment to advancing education is further exemplified by her role as the Master Teacher with the VI EPSCOR, shaping the educational landscape of the St. Thomas district.
Howard Forbes, Jr.
Hi! My name is Howard Forbes Jr., a native Virgin Islander from the island of St. Croix. From a young age, I had a strong affinity for Science, though I never really considered then what a career in science could look like for me. I thought I would become a pharmacist or a chef; however, while those careers could have been promising, some experiences certainly had a greater impact on my career outlook than others. My parents have always assured me that it’s okay to change directions and if it probably weren’t for my summer employment with the National Park Services Youth Conservation Corps, I would not have had the key exposure necessary to see myself as a marine scientist. Upon graduating high school, I set out to further my education and enrolled at the University of the Virgin Islands in 2006. A lot happened during my time there but fast forward a few years, I now hold both a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology and a Masters in Marine and Environmental Sciences from the University of the Virgin Islands, and am now serving as the Extension Director for the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS). In this role, I wear many hats but spend most of my time managing a variety of programs that focus on the preservation of our natural resources, aquatics training, and youth/educator development. One such program, the Youth Ocean Explorers Summer Program which, since its inception in 2016, has provided experiential learning opportunities for USVI youth to explore nature, better understand the diversity of life on land and underwater, develop a sense of belonging within STEM, and acquire new skills such as scuba diving training. While my students probably spend more time in the water now than I do, seeing them overcome this generational fear of our oceans is for me one of my greatest joys. Taking the quote “You can’t be what you can’t see” to heart, I am proud to be a guiding light to inspire the next generation of ocean scientists.
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