Melissa R. Poe

Dr. Melissa R. Poe is the social science program lead at Washington Sea Grant and serves as a liaison to NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Washington (2009 and 2004, respectively), with additional training in geography and sociology.

Her research focuses on three key areas: (1) human well-being and sociocultural vulnerabilities related to ocean change, (2) subsistence and cultural practices in marine food systems, and (3) integrating Indigenous and local knowledge into ecosystem-based management. Methodologically, she employs community-based participatory action research, combining anthropological, ethnoecological, and political ecological approaches.

Dr. Poe collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to address coastal and marine social-ecological systems, emphasizing resilience to environmental changes. Her work bridges academic research with applied policy solutions, particularly in the Pacific Northwest region.