Amber Stronk Appointed New OOI Community Engagement Manager
Principal Investigator of the U.S. National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Program Office James B. Edson today announced that Amber Stronk is the new OOI Community Engagement Manager. Stronk assumed her responsibilities on June 24, taking over for Darlene Trew Crist, who has served in this role since January 2020. Trew Crist announced her retirement in January 2024, which led to an exhaustive search to find a qualified replacement.
“Darlene’s done an exceptional job for OOI and leaves very big shoes to fill, but we are delighted to have Amber assume the reins of this well-run effort. Amber brings a wealth of experience running communication and engagement operations for environmentally focused organizations and has a deep understanding of both the scientific and communication strategies essential to OOI. We are enthusiastic about the new energy and insights she will bring to the position,” said Edson.
Stronk most recently served as the Communications & Engagement Manager for the Marketing Science Institute. Previously, she was the Communications Manager for Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana, the world’s leading advocacy organization dedicated to ocean conservation. Her extensive background also includes communications roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard. Stronk holds a master’s degree in marine biodiversity and conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a BA in communications from Marist College.
To ensure a smooth transition, Stronk and Trew Crist will overlap in the position for two weeks, until July 5 when Trew Crist formally leaves Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where OOI’s program office is based.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a long-term infrastructure project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation to gather physical, chemical, and biological data from the ocean, atmosphere, and seafloor and to deliver that data on demand and in near real-time online. The program includes moored instrument arrays and autonomous underwater vehicles deployed at critical locations in the coastal and open ocean worldwide. Data from the observatories help researchers address questions across short and long time periods, small and large spatial scales, and from the ocean surface to the seafloor. OOI is managed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and implemented by WHOI, the University of Washington and Oregon State University.
