Dr. Beth Lenz serves as the Associate Director for Strategic Communications and Engagement at Hawaiʻi Sea Grant, where she facilitates the advancement of the program’s goals, objectives, and policies. Through her commitment to upholding policies of fair distribution of opportunity, she coordinates efforts locally and nationally across the Sea Grant network. Within the director’s office, she actively helps with personnel management, builds key partnerships, assists with program development, and contributes to the overall management of the program. Working closely with the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant communications team, she helps identify priorities, develop initiatives, and organize public events. She curates the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s annual science-art exhibits with local artists, coordinates the Science and Stories seminar series, and co-edits the Ka Pili Kai biannual magazine. Beth is also the University of Hawaiʻi Graduate Scholars coordinator for the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center.

Before joining Hawaiʻi Sea Grant in 2021, Beth was a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked with the Natural Resources Committee to develop bipartisan policies addressing ocean-weather solutions and coral reef resilience. She earned her PhD in marine biology from the Gates Coral Lab at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, where she researched coral bleaching, procreative biology, and resilience in Hawaiʻi and Florida. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, she gained invaluable experience in collaborative partnerships, mentorship, volunteer management, media relations, and public engagement. She earned her MS from California State University, Northridge where she studied coral reef physiology and ecology, supported by the NSF Coral Reef Time Series in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands and the Moʻorea Coral Research Long Term Ecological Research.