Personnel and Administration

Phyllis Grifman

Phone: (213) 740 - 1963
FAX: (213) 740 - 5936
E-mail: grifman@usc.edu

 

Phyllis Grifman is Associate Director of the USC Sea Grant Program. Her background in marine and environmental policy underscores work administering the NOAA Sea Grant Program at the University of Southern California. As Associate Director of the USC Sea Grant program, she manages the program’s research, outreach and education components. Her responsibilities include improving public awareness of Sea Grant mission and accomplishments at local, state and national levels. Phyllis received her B.A. and M.A. (Political Science) from the University of California Santa Barbara. Her major interests include marine policy development and implementation, and public education.

Ms. Grifman manages Sea Grant’s research initiatives, including soliciting and funding research projects and outreach efforts to local and regional authorities. She has worked with Los Angeles and Orange County Sanitation authorities on research pertaining to impacts of disposal on coastal waters, and with the research community and municipalities on impacts of storm water runoff on nearshore coastal environments. She is working to expand the program on coastal natural hazards, including impacts on local communities of coastal erosion, storm impacts, and sea level rise.

Ms. Grifman has a continuing interest and commitment to increasing educational opportunities in environmental science and policy, particularly at K-12 and informal levels. As Associate Director she helped to create Island Explorers, a marine science curriculum program, a parent-child educational program in environmental science, which includes community learning components, and summer science programs for middle school and high school women. USC Sea Grant educational program include several electronic components, worldwide web interfaces, online curriculum materials and distance learning courses for educators.

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