WORK EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Rachel Silverstein joined Miami Waterkeeper as Executive Director & Waterkeeper in June of 2014. Prior to joining MWK, Rachel was a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and Professional Staff for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard in Washington, DC. She got SCUBA certified at 14 and has been an avid diver ever since.
Rachel received a Ph.D. in the Department of Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science in 2012. Her research focused on the effect of climate change on reef corals, funding in part by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, for which she used genetic methods to answer ecological questions. Rachel graduated cum laude in 2006 from Columbia University with a B.S. degree in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
- Miami Fellows Class IX, a leadership program of the Miami Foundation
- City of Miami Sea Level Rise Task Force 2016 - 2017 (appointed by Commissioner Ken Russell)
- Miami-Dade County Shoreline Development Review Committee (appointed 2016 by Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava)
- New Leader's Council Institute (2016)
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Alumni Board
- Everglades Foundation Miami Young Professionals Founding Board
AWARDS AND HONORS
Co-author on paper named "Best Paper of the Year" in the journal Coral Reefs
Featured in Miami Today's "Best of Miami: Unsung Heroes" (2018)
Named top 20 best environmentalists in South Florida by the New Times (2016)
Miami Herald Visionary Award for the Environment (2016)
- The University of Miami Abess Center Reitmeister Award (2016)
- The Diatom Award for excellence in environmental advocacy presented by the Mayor of Miami Beach (2015)
Selected Graduate level Awards and Honors:
- John A. Knauss Marine Policy Sea Grant Fellowship (2013)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2008)
- University of Miami Graduate Fellowship (2007)
- RSMAS Annual Alumni Award (2011)
- Captain Harry D. Vernon, Jr. Memorial Scholarship (2012)
- Garden Club of America Ecological Restoration Fellowship (2011)
SELECTED SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
Cunning, R., Silverstein, R. N., Barnes, B. B., & Baker, A. C. (2019). Extensive coral mortality and critical habitat loss following dredging and their association with remotely-sensed sediment plumes. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 145, 185–199.
Cunning, R., Silverstein, R.N. & Baker, A.C. Coral Reefs (2018) 37: 145. ** Winner: Best paper of the year in Coral Reefs**
Silverstein R, Cunning R, Baker AC (2017) Tenacious D: Symbiodinium in clade D remain in reef corals at both high and low temperature extremes despite impairment. Journal of Experimental Biology.
Barnes BB, Hu C, Kovach C, Silverstein R (2015) Sediment plumes induced by the Port of Miami dredging: Analysis and interpretation using Landsat and MODIS data. Remote Sensing of the Environment
Cunning R, Silverstein R, Baker AC (2015) Investigating the causes and consequences of symbiont shuffling in a multi-partner coral symbiosis under environmental change. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biology
Pelc R, … Silverstein R (2015) Further action on bycatch could boost U.S. fisheries performance. Marine Policy 56:56-60.
Silverstein R, Cunning R, Baker AC (2014) Change in algal symbiont communities after bleaching, not prior heat exposure, increases heat tolerance of reef corals. Global Change Biology DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12706.
Silverstein R, Correa AMS, Baker AC (2012) Specificity is rarely absolute in coral-algal symbiosis: Implications for coral response to climate change. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biology 279(1738):2609-18.
Silverstein R (2010) Bracing for oil. Science 239: 388. {Letter to the Editor}
Silverstein R, Correa AMS, LaJeunesse TC, Baker AC (2011) Novel algal symbiont (Symbiodinium spp.) diversity in reef corals of Western Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 422:63-75.
Kenkel C,… Silverstein R, et al. Development of gene expression markers of acute heat-light stress in reef-building corals of the genus Porites. PLoS One 6: e26914
Get in touch! Email Rachel at rachel @ miamiwaterkeeper.org