Official Bio

Dr. Karlisa Callwood is a marine scientist, science communicator and educator who focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to evaluating fisheries and conservation management. With 19 years of experience developing and managing science education programming, her work ranges from community engagement and partnership development to leading and implementing DEAI initiatives across several organizations.

She has created and overseen the implementation of a variety of science programs and grant projects at organizations like the Perry Institute for Marine Science, Frost Museum of Science, the Deering Estate at Cutler, Breakthrough Miami, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, and Pacific Science Center. This includes the management of several programs focused specifically on engaging students from underrepresented and underserved communities in the sciences.

Dr. Callwood’s interests include establishing practices to enhance science education in underserved communities; understanding the socio-economic factors that influence fishers’ decisions and prompt behavior changes; enhancing strategies to better bridge the gaps that exist between scientists, policymakers, and the public; and developing tools to facilitate DEAI transformations in organizations.

A native of the US Virgin Islands, Karlisa graduated from the University of Miami with a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology, an M.S. in Marine Affairs and Policy, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science and Policy, with a focus on interdisciplinary studies of fisheries management, conservation and sustainability.Her dissertation examined the natural and anthropogenic factors that influence the Bahamian Spiny Lobster fishery, including the role of condos as a collection method, the dispersal and connectivity of spiny lobster larvae throughout the Caribbean, the bioeconomic impacts on the fishery, and the perceptions of all the stakeholders involved, and how all these elements interact to create and define the fishery, including the implications of this convergence on overall management.

Dr. Callwood’s current research focuses on the socio-economic factors and perceptions influencing the dynamics in Bahamian fisheries, particularly spiny lobster and parrotfish, and strategies for influencing social and behavior conservation change related to fisheries.