We are excited to announce that Denise Harrington has been selected for the 2022 Teacher at Sea Alumni Association NOAA Fellowship!

Denise will start in July 2022 and spend her fellowship year

• working as a consultant for a variety of education and outreach programs among NOAA offices,
• supporting TASAA with a variety of activities,
• developing an independent project using NOAA-related resources and potentially collaborating with other TAS alumni.

For her independent project, Denise hopes to broaden the reach of NOAA Marine Debris resources to diverse audiences through the arts.

In 2014, Denise was a Teacher at Sea aboard NOAA Ship Rainier on a hydrographic survey of the North Coast of Kodiak Island, Alaska. In 2016, she sailed as a Teacher at Sea Alum on the NOAA Ship Oregon II for a longline survey in the Gulf of Mexico. You can find all of Denise’s blogs about these experiences here.

Prior to working as an elementary and high school teacher, Denise practiced law and still serves as a Justice of the Peace in her community. Her journey from the courtroom to the classroom began when she volunteered in her son’s classroom, which sparked her desire to pursue a career in teaching. Denise began teaching in an elementary classroom in English and Spanish and later transitioned to high school where she taught Spanish and Social Studies. Denise has Bachelor’s Degrees in French and English from Santa Clara University and a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University. She currently lives in Garibaldi, Oregon.

Denise prefers hands on learning in far-flung outdoor classrooms. Some of her favorite trips have been kayaking with students in a local lake and traveling with students to Europe and Central America. She is a firm believer in cross-curricular collaboration and experiential learning. She often works with other teachers and their classes through STEM projects, assists the Tillamook Troubadours (an International Student Travel Program), and consults for the Center for Geography of Oregon. This summer, she will travel with the Tillamook Troubadours to the Galapagos!

A lifetime outdoor enthusiast, Denise has spent summers working as a wildlife surveyor, backpacking around the United States, and kayaking the Pacific Northwest coastline. A recent favorite adventure was a kayak expedition off the coast of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska.

We are so excited to have Denise join our team and are thrilled to be able to continue the fellowship this year!