Tara Sayuri Whitty, PhD

Current: Myanmar Coastal Conservation Lab

A very exciting part of my current work is my close collaboration with the Myanmar Coastal Conservation Lab – part of the social innovation lab and training center, Point B Design + Training. These bright young researchers have been trained in Design Thinking, have experience working on diverse human-centered projects, and are passionate about improving conservation…

Research Highlight: Misguided attempts to revive Vaquita Conservation

You may have heard about the vaquita, a hapless little porpoise species in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. It’s been one of the most high-profile marine conservation cases in recent months – its numbers had plummeted to the point where world experts in marine mammal conservation decided that the only hope for the species…

Some tips for aspiring conservation researchers

I often receive emails from aspiring students and researchers. Some want to work with me, others are more generally interested in advice about finding field jobs or grad school. It’s wonderful to get these messages and to see this enthusiasm! However, I am not currently in a position to take on any students or interns;…

In Deep Sea News: Beyond drug lords and conservationists…

…who is missing in the coverage of the vaquita’s demise? Vaquita conservation has been a hot topic (well, as far as endangered species go) in the news recently. But I’ve been troubled by the coverage, which rarely discusses the local communities. So, based on my team’s research in the Upper Gulf of California last year,…

Not in my country: From across the Pacific. With timeless words from Freya Stark. And some links.

Travel, if done thoughtfully, makes us feel more like citizens of the world rather than being defined by the perimeter of one country’s borders. Borders are irrelevant to my concern for the well-being of humanity. But the serious threats now facing progress, rights, and equality in my adopted country, the United States of America, have…

Linking Design Thinking and Social-Ecological Research in Mon State, Myanmar

Working with Point b Design + Training and the Marine Science Department at Mawlamyine University, I am (1) learning more about design thinking and human-centered research alongside graduate students and faculty in Point b’s “Human Centered Research Skills” course, and (2) collaborating with Marine Science faculty and a Point b intern on a pilot research…