Griffin is a South Florida native and ocean lover, he started as the Manager of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves in July of 2022. Growing up on the beach in Naples, he spent so much time in and on the water that his family and most of the people on the beach were convinced he was a fish. To support that assumption, he started diving on his dad’s octopus when he was 8 and got his open water as soon as he could when he was 12. All of this is to say it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when he ended up at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School to study Marine Affairs and Ecosystems Science and policy. During his undergrad he was president of the Surfrider chapter, running numerous beach clean ups and surf days. Through his classes he learned how to combine the scientific knowledge he was gathering with the best management practices. He felt like there was more to learn and do so he headed to get his Master of Professional Science in Coastal Zone Management at RSMAS as well. During his masters he had the opportunity to do a tremendous amount of field work and learn from some of the leading researchers. He participated in restoration projects for nearly every ecosystem Biscayne Bay has to offer and dove many of the reefs in Miami. He also had the opportunity to learn how to survey and work with various stakeholder groups and then apply the topics he learned in survey work with Bahamian and American fishermen.
In June of 2022 he finished up an internship with Rookery Bay NERR where he was surveying Realtors to determine their environmental interests so Rookery Bay could build an education program for them. While at Rookery Bay he helped on several mangrove research and restoration projects as well as with the sea turtle monitoring program.
Griffin is an avid surfer, sailor, explorer, and paddle boarder. He loves and will do anything on the water or that is an adventure. While at UM he ran the adventures program where they rent paddle boards, snorkel equipment, and camping gear. His favorite part of the job was leading and planning trips for the students and friends and showing new students the beauty of Biscayne Bay. The best trip he has led was a two-day paddle board trip to one of the chickee in Everglades National Park.
