Queriah Simpson

Program Director

Queriah “Que” Simpson, was born and raised in Melbourne, FL, and graduated from Florida A&M University (FAMU) in 2017 and 2020. Having obtained a Bachelors in Pre-professional Biology with a Chemistry minor and a Bachelors in Environmental Science in 2017, and her Masters in Environmental Science concentrated in Marine and Estuarine Environments in August 2020 as a NOAA-CCME Graduate Scholar. During undergrad as a part of NOAA-ECSC, she completed a project titled Evaluating the Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) as a Biodindicator Species for Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Proving that chemicals from a paper mill in Perry, FL, have detrimental effects on Mosquitofish and the water quality of the Fenholloway River She successfully defended her thesis, the Application of Habitat Suitability Models for Benthic Communities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Linking Bioprospecting and Modeling Research. A project that allowed her to work with scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Biogeography Branch in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Florida State University for The Hydrodynamics & Habitat Suitability for Meiofauna And Corals (HydroSMAC) Mission. Queriah is now a Ph.D. candidate and NOAA-CCME graduate scholar at FAMU, the Program Director for Black in Marine Science (BIMS), on the Executive Board for Little Growers Inc., a member of an NAACP EJ Committee, and a Private Chef.