Katherine Bunting-Howarth, an attorney who holds a Ph.D. in marine studies, began her dual role as the associate director of New York Sea Grant and assistant director of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)-Coastal Programs April 4. Based on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, Bunting-Howarth will be program leader for New York Sea Grant's extension program, supervising more than a dozen experienced specialists and their support staff in seven locations throughout the state.

"Our statewide program of integrated coastal research and extension activities will greatly benefit from her policy and legal background as well as her agency experience," said Jim Ammerman, New York Sea Grant director.

Helene Dillard, CCE director and chair of New York Sea Grant Board of Governors, added that Bunting-Howarth's experience will help build on CCE's programs related to New York's diverse coastal resources. "Existing efforts span topics such as youth climate change monitoring, community economic development, invasive species mitigation, land and water resource policy, and sustainable food and agriculture systems, all of which can benefit from close collaboration with the New York Sea Grant program," she said.

Bunting-Howarth comes to New York from Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, where she began in 1998 serving the Division of Water Resources in a variety of roles culminating in the position of director overseeing a staff of 160 employees. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware and J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Bunting-Howarth can be reached at 607-255-2832 or keb264@cornell.edu.