Maine native and University of Maine alumna Christina Cash has been named assistant director for outreach and communication at the Lobster Institute at UMaine, effective May 17. 

Cash joins the university from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay, where she had been an advancement officer since 2018. Her experience includes serving as program and development director at the Frances Perkins Center, and director of outreach at the Institute for Broadening Participation, both in Damariscotta.  

She will be based at UMaine’s Darling Marine Center.

Cash is a former first mate, captain and lobster boat owner/operator based on Monhegan Island, and holds an active captain’s license.

“Chris’s connections to and knowledge of Maine’s lobster fisheries, experience in fundraising and budget management, grant writing, outreach and stakeholder engagement will be a huge asset to the Lobster Institute,” said director and professor of marine sciences, Rick Wahle, in a UMaine news release.

The assistant director for outreach and communication will lead the development and implementation of Lobster Institute programs, including efforts to engage researchers, external stakeholders and policy makers via social media, the institute’s website, relevant events and through newsletters and other publications. Cash will also manage the budget, collaborate on grant seeking and oversee daily operations. 

Since 1987 the Lobster Institute has been a center of discovery, innovation and outreach at UMaine with the goal of promoting, conducting and communicating research focused on the sustainability of the American lobster fishery in the U.S. and Canada.

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About the University of Maine:
The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant, sea grant and space grant university. It is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community service. UMaine is the state's only public research university and among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast. It attracts students from all 50 states and more than 75 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,741 undergraduate and graduate students who have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research with world-class scholars. UMaine offers more than 100 degree programs through which students can earn master's, doctoral or professional science master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide to conserve energy, recycle and adhere to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.