Listening to a Changing Ocean: from signals to solutions
Speaker: Dr. Megan McKenna, marine scientist, educator, policy expert
Thursday, October 23, 2025
6:00pm to 7:30pm Pacific Time
In-person event (recorded, not live streamed)
Morse Building, room B105
426 Van Buren Street, Monterey, CA 93940
MORE INFO AT GO.MIIS.EDU/SUSTAINABILITY

About the Topic

The ocean is full of sound offering information on animal presence and behavior, weather and climate, and human activity. Unraveling patterns in these sounds can help inform solutions to our changing oceans. Over the past decade, I have led and contributed to collaborations and initiatives that advance ocean sound monitoring and expand its use in informing action. We have explored questions such as: What can animal sounds teach us about ecological resilience? What co-benefits emerge when we reduce noise from ships? How can sound help us connect communities to the ocean? In this talk, I will share insights from these efforts and invite you to consider how listening more closely to the ocean can guide us toward more actionable solutions for the ocean.

About the Speaker

Dr. Megan McKenna is a marine scientist, educator, and policy expert with extensive experience working at the intersection of ocean science, conservation, and public policy. Megan earned her Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and began her policy career in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. She later served as a lead scientist with the U.S. National Park Service, where she worked to integrate remote sensing into natural resource management. Returning to California, she continued her research supporting ocean conservation and sustainability through big data analytics and by leading and contributing to cross-sector collaborations that drive sustainable ocean solutions from local to global levels.

At the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Megan teaches across several interdisciplinary programs, including the graduate Environmental Policy and Management program, online Master of Public Administration in Sustainability, and undergraduate California Coast and Climate Semester and the Middlebury School of the Environment. Her teaching emphasizes applied science, systems thinking, and the connection between local action and global change. In 2025, she received the Faculty Excellence Award at MIIS in recognition of her teaching.

Location: Morse Building, Room B105

The Morse Building is located at 426 Van Buren Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. The Morse building usually has flags hanging from it, and is located next to the MIIS Our Green Thumb garden. B105 is located toward the back of the building on the first floor. There is a wheelchair lift in the Holland courtyard, and stairs can be avoided by circling the back of the Holland Center and back to Morse. Restrooms are located in the Holland Center.

Parking

Parking is available in any Middlebury Institute campus lot after 5 p.m., no parking permit required, no fee. View the campus map. (be sure to not confuse city lots with campus lots—city lots do charge a fee). Free parking is also available on the street (time limits on surrounding streets end at 6 p.m.).

Questions

Contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at cbe@miis.edu or (831) 647-4183.