Danielle Dixson
She/Her
I am a lesbian and I am a marine ecologist.//
Hi! I’m Danielle. I am a marine ecologist that focuses on understanding how human induced change to the marine ecosystem will impact animal behavior, and how these behavioral impairments will cause ecosystem level changes to occur. I often focus on chemosensory behavior and the impacts of things like habitat degradation and ocean acidification. I came out really late in my career, not until I was an Assistant Professor. I work in remote places that are not always friendly to queer communities, and the lack of visibility of other queer scientists made me feel unwelcome as my authentic self. I am so much happier now that I am open and make sure to speak about my wife and family during class to allow others to see me as an out Lesbian and potentially prevent them feeling the same way I did. Outside of research, I love to cook and bake, garden, and spend time outside with my family. I also started turning scientific literature into children’s story books with the hopes of increasing early exposure to STEAM and visibility of minorities. All money gained from the books goes to making more.
www.seastorybooks.com