ABOUT US
OUR STORY
The Sawfish Conservation Society began in 2009 as a Facebook Group and was established as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit charity in 2018. The SCS is an international group that is based in Florida, USA.
The SCS practices a multifaceted approach to sawfish conservation by providing outreach materials and hosting events to support sawfish education, providing sawfish researchers with tools and platforms to help them pursue their studies and promote collaboration, and assisting with enforcement of protective legislation.
The motto of the SCS is “conservation through collaboration”, as we believe that sawfish conservation can only be accomplished through collaboration of all stakeholders including the general public. This is shown in the diversity of the SCS members, which consist of sawfish researchers, aquarists, managers, fishers, and sawfish enthusiasts from around the world. While the SCS is guided by its board, the society’s strengths come from its members. The SCS has also partnered with various NGO’s, government organizations, and aquariums to further sawfish conservation.
In 2017, the SCS helped members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and European Association of Zoos and Aquariums to establish the first International Sawfish Day, a day to celebrate and spread awareness of sawfishes. Since then, the SCS has continued to help organize and promote ISD, and supply resources online for others to use to host their own ISD events
BOARD MEMBERS and OFFICERS
Jeff Whitty
Board Member
Jeff founded the SCS in 2009. Jeff is a fish biologist with special interests in movements and ecology of threatened, and diadromous fishes, including elasmobranchs. Jeff began working with sawfish in 2007 during his graduate candidature at Murdoch University in Western Australia.
Nicole Phillips
President/Board Member
Nicole has been with the SCS since 2009. Nicole is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nicole has studied population and conservation genetics of sawfishes since 2005.
Paula Carlson
Board Member
Paula joined the SCS in 2024. Paula has worked with Sawfish throughout her career and helped establish the first International Sawfish Day in 2017. She is the Director of Husbandry at The Dallas World Aquarium and is an active member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as well as a member of two IUCN Specialist groups. She serves at the Co-Chair of the Shark Specialist Group's Aquarium Working Group. Paula also serves on the Board of Directors for Minorities in Shark Sciences.
Matthew McDavitt
Board Member
Matthew joined the SCS in 2018. Matthew is a research attorney in Virginia. Matthew has been documenting the cultural history of sawfishes and the trade in their parts for two decades.
Jessica Amacker
Communication Manager
Jessica joined the SCS team in 2023. Jessica holds a bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a master's degree in Communications and Public Relations. Jessica is passionate about increasing public outreach and being a liaison for conservation to the public. Jessica's professional experience includes marketing at zoos and aquariums. She is currently on the marketing team for Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks as the Marketing Expert for Wildlife and Fisheries.
Simon Pierce
Board Member
Simon joined the SCS in 2018. Simon is a marine conservation biologist and wildlife photographer. Simon is co-founder and Principal Scientists at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, co-chair for the Sub-Equatorial Africa region within the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, and Science Advisor to Wild Me.
Tonya Wiley
Administrative Associate
Tonya Wiley joined the SCS in 2018. Tonya is also the President of Havenworth Coastal Conservation and is an appointed member of the U.S. Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Implementation Team. Tonya has conducted conservation biology studies of smalltooth sawfish in the United States since 2001.
Rachel Scharer
Secretary/Board Member
Rachel started with SCS in 2023. She first started studying sawfish in 2009 during her masters degree, working on age and growth. After college she studied sawfish with FWC until 2021.
Kelcee Smith
Treasurer
Kelcee joined SCS in 2021. She has worked with smalltooth sawfish in the U.S. since 2009 and completed a doctorate at Louisiana State University, using historical DNA samples to determine temporal changes in genetic diversity for smalltooth sawfish. Kelcee is interested in how science informs policy to improve imperiled species management.
Karissa Lear
Research Committee Member
Karissa Lear joined the SCS in 2022. She is a post-doctoral researcher at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, studying the physiology, ecology, behaviour, movements, and conservation of aquatic species. Her research focuses on how climate change, water resource developments, and coastal developments affect threatened species, particularly sawfishes and other threatened elasmobranchs, and how to best ameliorate some of these consequences.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Jesirae Collins
Social Media Education And Content Manager/Education Committee Interim-Chair)
Jesirae joined the SCS in 2020. Jesirae graduated with a B.S. in marine science from CSU Monterey Bay, and joins the SCS with experience as an aquarists and educator. She is currently a Biological Technician in Suisun Marsh, CA and plans to pursue a graduate degree in sawfish behavior and ecology.
Michael Grant
Research Committee Co-Chair
Michael joined the SCS in 2022. Michael is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at James Cook University, Australia. His research focuses on life history and demography, elemental analysis of shark and ray vertebrae, bycatch mitigation, population risk and vulnerability assessments, and social aspects of threatened species in developing nations.
Alifa Haque
Research Committee Member
Alifa Haque joined the SCS in 2022. Alifa is researching fishery-specific catch, habitats, ecology, and life history of Threatened sharks and rays in Bangladesh with a team of young researchers. Alifa aims to prepare a bottom-up, sustainability model (replicable for similar contexts in the Global South) for threatened species of sharks and rays in close conjunction with the fishing communities. Alifa and team have been researching largetooth sawfish in the Bay of Bengal since 2016.
Annmarie Fearing
Blog Manager
Annmarie joined the SCS in 2018. Annmarie is a graduate student in the Phillips Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi. Annmarie is studying temporal changes in genetic diversity of largetooth sawfish populations.
Andrea Kroetz
Barbara Wueringer
Steven Gourley
Social Media Assistant
Steven joined the SCS in 2023. Steven currently studies marine biology as an undergraduate at the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the President of the Golden Eagle's Conservation Society and plans to pursue a graduate degree in algal ecology.
Mario Espinoza
Research Committee Member
Mario Espinoza joined the SCS in 2022. Mario is a Professor / Researcher at the Center for Marine Sciences of the University of Costa Rica. His research focuses on threatened marine species, including sharks, rays and sea turtles. In his work he is using multiple techniques such as baited remote underwater video stations, acoustic/satellite telemetry, stable isotopes, eDNA, local ecological knowledge and citizen science to improve the management and conservation of species and their habitats.
Research Committee Chair
Andrea Kroetz joined the SCS in 2022. Andrea is an Assistant Scientist with CIMAS in affiliation with NOAA Fisheries and is the Secretary for the U.S. Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Implementation Team. Her research focuses on the conservation of migratory and threatened elasmobranchs and their habitats. She has been researching smalltooth sawfish in the U.S. and in the Bahamas since 2015.
Research Committee Member
Barbara joined the SCS in 2022. Barbara is a director and the principal scientist at Sharks And Rays Australia, whose community science campaign runs Australia-wide. Barbara started working with sawfish in Queensland in 2006.