Woman smiling at camera with tropical vegetation in the background.

Congratulations to Melis Ӧkter for receiving the first, annual NOAA Diversity in External Services Award. Melis is one of our coastal management specialists supporting our subcontract with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. This award recognizes Melis’ work establishing partnerships and networks to create a safe space to learn and share about diversity and equity issues. Melis provided information and resources, such as risk communication and nature-based solutions, from the client to underserved communities. In addition, Melis is a leader of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, whose staff work closely with local communities. A big congratulations to Melis on this well-deserved award!

See More CSS Insights

Expanding our Waste Management Contract

We’ve recently expanded our waste management contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our staff now support CDC in Fort Collins, Colorado. As part of this project, our employee owners ensure hazardous waste from laboratories and florescent and halogen light bulbs is managed, stored, and disposed of properly.  For over 13 years…

long spined urchins in shallow water

Discovering the Urchin Killer 

A diver collects a long-spined sea urchin. Credit: Blake Gardner   Our employee owners were recently part of a team of detectives on a mission to discover the killer of long-spined sea urchins, Diadema antillarumy, throughout the Caribbean Sea. The infected urchins lose their spines, leaving them more vulnerable to predation or dying after a few…

Person in a laboratory works on an instrument

Monitoring Algal Blooms for Harmful Toxins

CSS employee owners support NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) Sensor Development Team in their efforts to detect and monitor these harmful algal blooms in coastal waters where they are likely to occur. HAB monitoring is critical for detecting harmful toxins produced by some algae. When present in over…