Cynthia Grace-McCaskey
Office: 211 Flanagan Building
Telephone: 252-328-9443
E-mail: gracemccaskeyc15@ecu.edu
About Me
I am a cultural anthropologist with a focus on applied environmental anthropology. I hold a joint position between the Department of Anthropology and the Institute for Coastal Science and Policy (ICSP). I received a M.A. in Marine Affairs and Policy from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Research at the University of Miami in 2006, and a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida in 2012. My research interests include political ecology, marine resource management, traditional ecological knowledge, social-ecological systems, and cooperative resource management and institutions.
My dissertation research included extensive ethnographic fieldwork utilizing a political ecology approach to examine the participation of marine resource users in fisheries management in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. After completing my dissertation fieldwork, I moved to Hawaii to conduct applied research for NOAA Fisheries and the University of Hawaii. During my five years in that position, I worked with fishing communities throughout the U.S. Western Pacific region, including Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. I joined the Department of Anthropology and ICSP faculty in January 2016, and am eager to continue examining marine resource management issues in the Caribbean, Western Pacific, and locally in North Carolina.