- Scott Donahue
- National Marine Sanctuary Program
Scott Donahue was raised in Pinellas County (City of Dunedin), Florida, and throughout his childhood engaged in various marine activities such as fishing, snorkeling, and boating. After graduating from Clearwater Central Catholic High School in 1987, he attended the University of South Florida (Tampa) and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1994. With degree in hand, Scott applied for various science jobs throughout the State of Florida, but gravitated towards those related to marine science. The value of his Bachelor’s degree was realized when the Florida Marine Research Institute hired him as a staff scientist at their Marathon field laboratory (Florida Keys), where he was a team member of a research group studying Caribbean spiny lobster ecology. After three years with the Institute, Scott went on to pursue his Masters degree with Dr. Mark J. Butler, IV, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, studying sponge ecology in the Florida Keys. Once his thesis research was complete, Scott applied for a job vacancy with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and was hired as coral reef Damage Assessment and Restoration biologist. Scott now serves as the Associate Science Coordinator for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Photo credit: Tom Matthews, Florida Wildlife Research Institute
