OJC Press Release ID: 2458

Monday, January 25, 2016

Dr. Lee Anne Martinez keynote speaker for Girls in the Middle

Registration for “Oceans of Opportunity” opens Feb. 1

Dr. Lee Anne Martinez, aquatic ecologist, will be the keynote speaker for the 18th annual Girls in the Middle conference to be held on March 5 at Otero Junior College. This year’s conference theme is “Oceans of Opportunity.”

Growing up by a lake in the mountains of southern California, Dr. Martinez was fascinated by nature. Spending time at the seashore where her maternal grandmother lived increased her exposure to marine life. After graduating from a small rural high school, she went on to study aquatic biology (B.A.) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, biological oceanography (M.A.) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Ecology (Ph.D.) at Cornell University in New York.

Dr. Martinez has worked in a variety of settings including the open ocean, the intertidal zone, freshwater lakes, tropical rivers, mountain streams and wetlands. As an ecologist, she strives to understand how animals, plants and microorganisms interact with each other and with the environment.

Currently Dr. Martinez is an Associate Professor of Biology at Colorado State University – Pueblo where she teaches ecology, evolution, oceanography, earth science and advanced geospatial technologies. She is a life member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

Online registration for the 2016 Girls in the Middle conference will open on the OJC website, www.ojc.edu , on February 1 at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. on February 15 or when all available slots are filled. Registration is $5. For more information on the Girls in the Middle conference, contact Angela Bamber (719) 384-6994.

Dr. Lee Anne Martinez, an aquatic ecologist, will be the keynote speaker for the 18th annual Girls in the Middle conference to be held on March 5 at Otero Junior College. Online registration will open February 1 on the OJC website, www.ojc.edu.