Michelle Lepori-Bui

As a Marine Water Quality Specialist, Michelle provides guidance, technical assistance, and outreach on issues challenging water quality and impacting shellfish growing areas in Washington waters. She works closely with partners including tribes, shellfish growers, researchers, environmental education centers, natural resource managers, and community science volunteers to support watershed residents and coastal communities. She manages the SoundToxin Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, a program designed to provide early warning of harmful algal bloom (HAB) events to minimize human health risks and economic losses.

Prior to joining Washington Sea Grant, Michelle worked as a laboratory manager and earned her master’s degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before graduate school, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science studying the effectiveness of nutrient management strategies on water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. She has a bachelor’s degree environmental science from the University of Delaware.