Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Pam Murphy and Kim Schulam of Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket as Featured Guests for the February Science Speaker Series

February 18, 2025

NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host Pam Murphy and Kim Shulam of the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket (MMAN), as featured presenters for its February Science Speaker Series. Their presentation will take place on Wednesday, February 26 at 7pm via Zoom. This event is free to all.


Join Pam Murphy, the MMAN Executive Director, and Kim Schulam, the MMAN Vice President and Stranding Coordinator, in a discussion on the importance of seals and other marine mammals in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, and how we can all help keep these populations safe.


The mission of the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket is to monitor, rescue, and protect marine mammals on Nantucket, advocate for their well-being, and educate the public. MMAN belongs to the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and is among thirteen organizations dedicated to protecting, rescuing, and advocating marine mammals along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine. You can learn more about the animals they rescue, their partner teams, useful tips, and statistical maps here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5d29b842996d44eea0c4517f71ecca4d


Pam Murphy has been involved in animal rescue for many years, from creating a Be Kind to Animals Club at the age of seven, to being one of the founders of Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA) in 2011; serving eight years as board president. Her extensive board experience with TWN, NiSHA, and NAC put her in a solid position to manage MMAN’s board and see it develop into a stronger organization, capable of attracting the donor support the mission deserves. A lifelong vegetarian, Pam has never been able to stand idly by when an animal is suffering. To be allowed to approach injured and entangled marine mammals legally and help was what drew her to MMAN. She became Level A trained, learning to restrain and disentangle seals and went on to attend a Cetacean Stranding Workshop with IFAW. “I have learned a great deal about marine mammals and how to help through the vast knowledge of my teammates.”


Kim Schulam began visiting Nantucket in 2013 and fell in love with the remote, natural qualities of the island. A Biological Sciences major in college, she initially considered the fields of Marine Biology or Veterinary Medicine but ultimately pursued a career as a Physician’s Assistant. Now retired from medicine, she met former Stranding Coordinator Scott Leonard and learned of MMAN. She immediately joined the team and became Level A trained. She regularly attends IFAW’s Marine Mammal Mass Stranding training, and is 24-Hour HAZWOPER certified for oil spill wildlife rescue. Now a full-time resident of Nantucket, she serves as the team’s Stranding Coordinator and Board Vice President. She coordinated MMAN’s first team-conducted large whale necropsy last year and works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to maintain the team’s Stranding Agreement as Nantucket's sole agency legally permitted to handle marine mammals. She feels strongly that humans have an obligation to marine life to help them survive given all we have done to injure them and destroy their environment.


Pre-registration is required to attend Zoom. To register for Zoom, use the registration link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7UnSEop1RKyxgl0LBio2Kw#/registration


This series is generously sponsored by our lead sponsor, Bank of America.


The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages


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For Immediate Release

February 18, 2025

Contact: Jónelle Gurley

jgurley@mariamitchell.org

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By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 6, 2026
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NANTUCKET, MA—The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) invites the community to “Dark and Quiet: Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Constellation” presented by Dr. Joshua Reding for its April Science Speaker Series. This free presentation will take place Wednesday, April 15 from 7 – 8pm on Zoom. In the past decade, the number of active satellites in Earth’s orbit has grown by a factor of 10. This breakneck growth in the commercial space industry has turned entrepreneur, investor, and policymaker eyes to the skies, but in the process has boxed out the historic stewards of the space domain: scientists. Explorers and pioneers across human history learned that uncharted territory hides unprecedented challenges, but the consequences of decisions made towards occupying the “final frontier” do not abide by international borders. Space operators therefore ignore the warnings and concerns of scientists not only at their own risk, but at the risk of everyone living under increasingly crowded skies. In this conversation, Dr. Josh Reding will explain how astronomers are trying to inform and guide policymaking for the rapidly changing space environment, both informally through volunteer action and advocacy and formally in domestic and international policy forums. Dr. Reding is an optical astronomer by training and now a radio spectrum manager by profession. He completed his B.A. with a double major in Astronomy-Physics and Philosophy at Colgate University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research investigated unusual white dwarf stars that likely formed in stellar mergers as “failed” supernovae and he has also designed astronomical instrument components and installed them at world-class observatories. Concurrent with the completion of his Ph.D., Reding began his professional science policy career as a North Carolina STEM Policy Fellow in the NC Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology & Innovation. He was then selected for the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, which places scientists in federal offices as expert contributors to ongoing agency missions. This event will be held via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. To register for the free, virtual event, use the registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5MoAybp5QHCasQ0QE5xmgQ#/registration The Science Speaker Series is generously sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association’s lead sponsor, Bank of America. The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###
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