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Helen Domske receives IAGLR’s Vallentyne Award

June 20, 2018

TORONTO — The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) awarded its highest outreach honor today to Helen Domske, associate director of the Great Lakes Program at the University of Buffalo and senior coastal education coordinator for New York Sea Grant.

Domske received the John R. (Jack) Vallentyne Award at IAGLR’s 61st annual conference, held at the University of Toronto Scarborough. The award goes to those individuals or groups who have contributed substantially to educating the public and informing policymakers about large lakes issues, leading to protection and restoration of the great lakes of the world.

Domske’s nearly 40 years of research and outreach are exemplary. "Helen's many outreach activities, enthusiasm for the Great lakes, and innovative ideas for outreach and education, including a ‘teach the teachers’ approach to multiply the students who can be reached, is truly inspiring," says Joseph Atkinson, chair of the Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Buffalo.

Domske has interacted on a highly effective level with a wide variety of audiences, including students, teachers, political leaders, and stakeholders to raise awareness and support for Great Lakes protection and restoration.

“I do not know of anyone better at accurately and understandably translating the latest Great Lakes research and knowledge to the general public and to young people,” says Joseph DePinto, retired Great Lakes scientist and former director of the University of Buffalo Great Lakes Program. “She has done more to develop a constituency of those wanting to preserve and protect and restore the Great Lakes than anyone I know.”

Katherine Bunting-Howarth of the New York Sea Grant adds, “I have continually been amazed at the quality of her work and her dedication to outreach and education.  She's taught me more about the Great Lakes than any course or text book.”

Bunting-Howarth isn’t alone in benefiting from Domske’s tutelage. Domske has directly educated more than 50,000 school students in grades 4-12 on Great Lakes topics such as aquatic invasive species, biodiversity, fisheries science, microplastics and plastic debris, and improper disposal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

She also has generously shared her expertise with IAGLR, serving as a co-chair for education and outreach sessions at many annual IAGLR conferences and on the Communications and Outreach Committee for several years.