Administrative Staff

The administrative offices of Florida Sea Grant are housed at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Here the leadership and supporting teams work together to manage and run the state-wide program.

Sherry Larkin
Director
slarkin@ufl.edu
Maia McGuire
Associate Director, Extension and Education
mpmcg@ufl.edu
  • Cassie Sexson headshot

    Cassie Sexson

Cassie Sexson
Administrative Specialist
cjlema@ufl.edu
Ryan Smith
Digital Communications Specialist
ryansmith2@ufl.edu
Ben Murphy
Administrative Assistant
Communications
benjaminmurphy@ufl.edu
  • Donielle Nardi portrait

    Donielle Nardi

Donielle Nardi
Graphic Designer
dnardi@ufl.edu

Extension Agents

Extension Agents directly deliver extension programming for target audiences, mostly within defined geographic areas and to varying degrees of specialization. They have pertinent graduate degrees and serve as either county, multi-county, regional specialized, or state-wide specialized agents. Click here to access an interactive map showing agent locations.

Holly Abeels
Extension Agent
Brevard County
habeels@ufl.edu
Savanna Barry
Regional Specialized Extension Agent
Nature Coast
savanna.barry@ufl.edu
Ray Bodrey
Extension Agent

Gulf County
rbodrey@ufl.edu
Angela Collins
Extension Agent

Manatee, Hillsborough and Sarasota Counties
abcollins@ufl.edu
Vincent Encomio
Extension Agent

Martin and St. Lucie Counties
vencomio@ufl.edu
Joy Hazell
State Specialized Extension Agent
Statewide
jhazell@ufl.edu
Scott Jackson
Regional Specialized Extension Agent

Bay County
lsj@ufl.edu
Carolyn Kovacs
Extension Agent
Flagler & Volusia County
c.kovacs@ufl.edu
Lisa Krimsky
Regional Specialized Extension Agent

Southeast Florida
lkrimsky@ufl.edu
Erik Lovestrand
Regional Specialized Extension Agent

Franklin County
elovestrand@ufl.edu
Rick O’Connor
Extension Agent

Escambia County
roc1@ufl.edu
Katherine Rose
Extension Agent

Charlotte County
kate.rose0210@ufl.edu
Michael Sipos
Extension Agent

Collier County
sipos624@ufl.edu
Laura Tiu
Extension Agent 

Okaloosa and Walton Counties 
lgtiu@ufl.edu
Armando Ubeda
Extension Agent 

Sarasota County 
aubeda@ufl.edu
Chris Verlinde
Extension Agent

Santa Rosa County
chrismv@ufl.edu
Ana Zangroniz
Extension Agent

Miami-Dade County
azangroniz@ufl.edu

Extension Specialists

As subject-matter experts, Extension Specialists support extension agents’ programs in a variety of ways (e.g., workshops, extension products for dissemination, in-service training), as well as deliver university expertise directly to industry/resource agency professionals over broader geographic areas (e.g. state-wide, SE regional, national).They generally have terminal degrees for their field (e.g. PhD, DVM, JD).

Anna Braswell
Extension Specialist
Coastal Ecosystems and Watersheds
a.braswell@ufl.edu
Razieh Farzad
Extension Specialist
Seafood Safety
rfarzad@ufl.edu
Vicki Gambale
Clean Vessel Act Education Coordinator
v.gambale@ufl.edu
Nick Haddad
Sustainable Fisheries Communications Manager
n.haddad@ufl.edu
Maurizio Martinelli
Florida Coral Disease Response Coordinator
mmartinelli1@ufl.edu
Andrew Ropicki
Extension Specialist
Economics
aropicki@ufl.edu
Thomas Ruppert
Extension Specialist
Coastal Planning

truppert@ufl.edu
Betty Staugler
NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Liaison
Florida Sea Grant
staugler@ufl.edu
Monica Wilson
Extension Specialist
Oil Spill Research
monicawilson447@ufl.edu

 Affiliate Faculty

Florida Sea Grant member institutions have many faculty members and departments whose expertise align with the mission and focus areas of FSG. Typical engagement of these affiliate researchers with FSG includes serving as expert advisors, supporting extension programming, and/or collaborating on grants.