Jaclyn Witterschein is Marine Research Specialist at the Coastal Institute. She integrates her love of native ecosystems with more than 14 years as a collaborative leader in operations management, strategic planning, and accessibility advocacy. Jaclyn joined the CI with a wide background in coastal and marine environments, including wetlands science and policy, green infrastructure, site assessment, living shorelines, and GIS.

At the Coastal Institute, Jaclyn serves as lead for the Climate Response Demonstration Sites, responsible for the cultivation of relationships with partners, creation of communications to promote research, as well as coordinator for sustainable funding, finances, and reporting. Jaclyn also serves as co-lead on the STEEP Superfund Research Translation team, and co-investigator and network Administrative Coordinator for the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (NAC CESU). At URI, Jaclyn is a member of the Bay Campus JEDI Committee and Disability Advocacy Committee. She has earned the URI Microcredential in Social Justice and Inclusion.

Jaclyn earned an M.A. in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University Extension School, with a Certification in Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Ecosystems. Since 2016, she has facilitated the art- and science-based USFWS Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program in Rhode Island as a board director of the Friends of the National Wildlife Refuges of Rhode Island. She is a Certified Invasive Species Manager through the RI Department of Environmental Management. Prior to her shift into natural systems, Jaclyn earned dual B.A.s in English Communications and Fine Art from Salve Regina University.