Katelynn Warner

Katelynn Warner (she/her) is a PhD Candidate at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory at the University of Vermont, where she is studying the ecological mechanisms driving toxic cyanobacteria blooms. Her work utilizes high frequency sensor data, weekly water samples, and metagenomic sequencing to further understand when and why cyanobacteria produce harmful toxins that inhibit recreational uses of freshwater lakes. Aside from research, Katelynn has developed skillsets in science communication by working with Lake Champlain Sea Grant as an environmental educator, where she led and developed K-12 programs to bring watershed science to classrooms across the Lake Champlain Basin. In addition, she has worked with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, where she developed a framework for analyzing long term temperature trends in remote lakes across the state, in conjunction with the regional monitoring network – an effort that collaborates with regional stakeholders, state managers, and local tribes to understand how climate change will affect lakes across the United States. 

Katelynn holds a BA in Biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo and is currently an active member of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), where she works collaboratively with scientists, stakeholders and lake managers across the globe to further understand how lakes are being affected by a changing environment. Collaboration is science is essential for creating environmental change, and Katelynn plans to continue working with interdisciplinary science to innovate solutions for water quality issues. In her downtime she loves baking, biking, and hiking!