Mollie Thurman, M.A., Director of Community Science, works with a wide network of academic partners and educators to bring the experience of scientific research to young people in New York and New England. Since joining BioBus, Mollie has designed and managed a variety of programs inspired by her former research topics, marine science and urban ecology. She is especially interested in connecting academic researchers with students in both formal and informal educational settings. Mollie received her M.A. from Columbia University in conservation biology, and has worked as a researcher with the Harvard School of Public Health and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Originally from Gloucester, Massachusetts, she is thrilled to be leading the expansion of BioBus programs to New England.

Jamie is an experienced educator and project manager. She attended the University of Cincinnati in her hometown where she graduated with a degree in Sociology. Over the course of her career Jamie has worn many hats. She has worked for a children’s hospital, managed a public library, and she will talk your ear off about space if you let her. The majority of her career has been spent in museums where she has done everything from designing exhibits to cleaning dinosaur bones and sleeping in caves (to name just a few). More than anything however, she loves building communities and supporting them in what they need most. As the Director of Community Science for the New England team, Jamie is thrilled to help achieve exactly that as she and her team work to introduce students to science and the wondrous world around them.

Alice Chou, Ph.D, Community Scientist, New England, is a marine biologist and neuroscientist with a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Alice is particularly enthusiastic about catalyzing curiosity about the science embedded in our daily lives through community collaboration and social justice. She has over 10 years of experience teaching informally and formally across age groups, and directed a community-oriented, not-for-profit youth leadership summer camp during college. When life was (mostly) remote, she even leveraged the digitization of our lives to connect with an even broader audience through science podcasts and livestreams. She believes that accessibility is key to making science inclusive and equitable, and is proud to be part of BioBus New England,

Bella Duati, Support Community Scientist, New England, received a B.S. in Earth and Environmental sciences from Syracuse University. Bella is the Recipient of the Community Engaged Internship for the 2021 New York Sea Grant. During her internship she helped create a survey and collected data with the goal of standardizing seining methods to improve monitoring efforts. Bella’s undergraduate research project focused on sampling annual growth bands from fossil mollusks as old as 3.5 Million Years!  Bella’s passion for the ocean led her on a sailing expedition nonstop from San Francisco to Hawaii. Bella’s fervor for exploration is something she is excited to instill in young minds and help to inspire a new generation of scientists.