Jordan Russo (MA, 2022)

Jordan Russo grew up on Long Island, NY, and was always fascinated by the ocean. Russo completed her undergraduate career at the University of Connecticut, where she majored in Environmental Science with a concentration in Global Change. A study abroad trip to Fiji ignited her passion for learning more about sharks, which was the basis of her capstone project during her time in the SoMAS Marine Conservation and Policy (MCP) program. The project involved work with the Frisk Lab, where Russo deployed buoys to track acoustically tagged sharks off the coast of Long Island’s South Shore. Russo also recalls the importance of learning GIS through the MCP program, as she graduated with the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Sciences in 2022.  

Today, Russo works with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County as a Marine Field Assistant. Concentrating on horseshoe crabs, she studies various components of the marine species, such as acoustically tagging the crabs and closely monitoring their spawning densities and population. Russo also assesses and studies the effects of olivine on their embryonic development for Project Vesta, which aims to remove CO2 from beaches across Long Island. This variability allows her to find balance in the workplace, as no two days are the same in the field or office.

In her free time, Russo enjoys birdwatching and volunteering with CRESLI, the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island on their seal walks or whale watch cruises.