Kirsten patterson, marine educator
Kirsten Patterson received her B.S. in Biology and teaching certificate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1992. She decided to pursue her love for marine biology and attended the University of South Alabama where she earned her M.S. in Marine Sciences. Following graduation, she was drawn to her love of teaching children and began working at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab's Discovery Hall Programs, a K-12 marine education program. For six years she taught field-based marine science classes to thousands of kids, teachers and graduate students. In 2004 she moved to Pensacola where she taught marine biology part-time at the University of West Florida, Okaloosa County Blended School and camps and teacher workshops through UWF's continuing education program. She decided to pursue her dream of starting her own marine education programs to serve the Pensacola area and created In Touch With the Sea, Inc. in 2008. She currently lives with her husband and two children in Pensacola.