Emma Sharpe
Director
Emma grew up in Santa Rosa, California where she spent summers playing in the creek behind her house and singing to the turkey vultures in the trees. She has always found joy in the creatures that share our neighborhoods, finding a way to live amongst us humans. She also has always loved the water, spending 10 years as a synchronized swimmer and 7 years as a swim instructor. River otters are a natural synthesis of these two passions.
Emma is currently an environmental toxicologist and risk assessor at Blankinship, A Bowman Company. She graduated from Willamette University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and from Western Washington University with a Masters of Science in Environmental Science. Her research has focused on a wide array of contaminants including microplastics, pesticides, and metals in aquatic environments. She also spent a year at Sonoma County Water Agency as an environmental educator teaching kids about where their water comes from. This experience sparked a strong passion for science education and community engagement.
Emma was drawn to the field of environmental risk assessment and toxicology because of her belief that people should have access to the information and scientific tools to understand the world around them. She believes that citizen science and community organizing are critical parts of protecting our water ways and communities.
Currently, Emma is based in Seattle, WA where she lives with her partner and their dog Maggie. They enjoy any adventure near the water so that Emma can look for aquatic organisms, especially river otters.