About Us

When we're not in the field, you can find us at our office located in the Coastal Institute at URI.

University of Rhode Island

The Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network is one of 32 National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring Networks across the country established to conduct baseline resource inventories and implement sustained natural resource monitoring.

Our office is co-located with members of the National Park Service Northeast Regional Stewardship and Science personnel on the campus of The University of Rhode Island within the Department of Natural Resources Science.

Our office mailing address is:

Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network - NPS
University of Rhode Island
Dept. Natural Resources Science
Coastal Institute, Room 105
1 Greenhouse Road
Kingston, RI 02881

Meet Our Team

The network consists of seven year-round National Park Service personnel, as well as several interns and seasonal personnel each year.

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Sara Stevens

Network Program Manager | Contact: [phone]

Sara is our Network Program Manager. From the University of Rhode Island, she received her M.S. in Natural Resources in 1995 and B.A. in Anthropology in 1990. Sara’s graduate research took her to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest of Sergipe, where she studied the effects of forest edge and landscape dynamics on mammal populations. Before joining NCBN in 2001, she was an ecologist for the State of Massachusetts and a wetland ecologist for a Rhode Island consulting firm. Sara is particularly passionate about conserving mammal, bird, and amphibian populations around the world, and often spends her vacation time in Vietnam with her two daughters.

Holly Plaisted

Biologist, Estuarine Water Quality and Seagrass | Contact: [phone]

Holly is a Biologist and Project Lead for NCBN's estuarine water quality and seagrass monitoring. She has a B.S. in Environmental Conservation and an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire and worked at Cape Cod National Seashore for over 10 years as a Biotech and most recently a Biologist and Data Manager. Her experience includes leading field and laboratory teams in monitoring coastal ecosystems including salt marsh (vegetation, nekton, and breeding birds), estuary (water quality and seagrass), freshwater lake and wetland (water quality and vegetation), and ocean beach in support of natural resource management decision-making. In her previous position with the park, Holly also acted as the park’s state-listed breeding and migrating shorebirds program coordinator. Holly lives on Cape Cod.

James Lynch

Biologist, Tidal Wetland Elevation Monitoring | Contact: [phone]

Jim is a Biologist and Project Lead for NCBN’s tidal wetland elevation monitoring. Jim received his M.S. in Biology from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette in 1989 and his B.S. degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Delaware in 1986. Jim's graduate research focused on Sedimentation and Nutrient Accumulation in Mangrove forests in the US and Mexico. Prior to joining the NPS, Jim worked for the US Geological Survey researching elevation change in wetland environments. He has extensive experience in all aspects of monitoring of elevation change in wetland ecosystems, including GPS surveying and the installation and use of the Surface Elevation Table (SET). Jim also coordinates SET monitoring activities for the Northeast Temperate and National Capital Region Networks.

Laura Feher

Biologist & Data Manager | Contact: [phone]

Laura is our Data Manager and one of our staff Biologists. She has an M.S. in Biology from the University of Louisiana, a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and a second B.S. in Biology from Salisbury University in MD. Laura previously worked as a research biologist for the USGS, at the Wetland & Aquatic Research Center, in Lafayette, LA. Her field work has included measuring surface elevation tables (SETs), real-time kinematic (RTK) elevation surveys, vegetation community parameters, tree populations, collecting soil samples, and installing water loggers.

Kaitlyn (Katie) Button

Biological Science Technician | Contact: [phone]

Katie is a Biological Science Technician at NCBN. She has a B.S. in Biology from Alfred University and a M.S. in Natural Resource Conservation of Aquatic Resources at Paul Smith’s College. Prior to NCBN, Katie worked as a Biological Science Technician at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) to monitor coastal aquatic resources and completed her final Masters project on the impact of saltwater intrusion on freshwater macroinvertebrates in the Herring River, Wellfleet, MA. In addition to her time at CACO, Katie worked as a Biological Science Technician with U.S Fish and Wildlife Service on Long Island, NY to collect post-monitoring data on Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency projects. Her interest to work with the federal government began as a Conservation Legacy Natural Resource Intern at Fire Island National Seashore, NY. These positions have given her experience with monitoring salt marsh, estuary, and freshwater kettle pond systems throughout the Northeast coast.

Michaela Compo

Biological Science Technician | Contact: [phone]

Michaela is a Biological Science Technician for NCBN. She coordinates NCBN's science communication efforts, along with assisting in the field for our network's monitoring protocols. She received her B.S. in Environmental Studies and International Affairs with a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from The George Washington University. Prior to this position she served two terms as the Scientists-in-Parks Science Communication intern with NCBN, responsible for synthesizing natural resource data through GIS-centric data visualizers, resource briefs, graphic design, and other media.

Sarah Heavren

Biological Science Technician | Contact: [phone]

Sarah has a B.A. from Providence College, with a triple major in Mathematics, History, and American Studies, and she recently completed her M.S. at the University of Rhode Island, in Environmental Science and Management, along with two graduate certificates, one in Hydrology and one in GIS and Remote Sensing. Sarah served two terms as a Scientists-in-Parks intern, as a GIS Assistant. Both internships involved collecting high resolution elevation and scan data, using a Trimble SX12 Total Station and Scanner, which was used for climate change adaptation planning at the Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown Navy Yard and Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. Sarah leads our coastal shoreline monitoring program and supports other NCBN data collection and analysis.

Edward (Eddie) Cascella

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Intern

Eddie served as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Assistant for NCBN through the Scientists-in-Parks internship program. Although his recent term has ended, he continues to work with our team as he finishes up his M.S. in Environmental Science and Management at the University of Rhode Island. He is responsible for adapting and implementing new draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) developed by Southeast Coast I&M Network for using satellite imagery to monitor metrics such as marsh edge and unvegetated/vegetated area of coastal marshes in NCBN parks. Prior to joining NCBN, Eddie graduated from American University in 2021 and has interned with NCBN twice before as a Science Communication Assistant in 2019 and 2020.

Want to join us?

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We regularly host interns through the Scientists in Parks program, with roles ranging from field biology to science communication.
Keep an eye out for new openings on the Scientists-in-Parks website, and check out other opportunities to get involved.

Get to Know Our Work!

See how we conduct ecological inventory and monitoring. Don't forget to also meet our parks and partners.