Director: Tony MacDonald

The Urban Coast Institute (UCI) serves the public interest as a forum for research, education, and collaboration that fosters the application of the best available science and policy to support healthy and productive coastal ecosystems and a sustainable and economically vibrant future for coastal communities. The UCI efforts focus on the following program areas:

• Coastal and Ocean Management, Law, and Policy
• Coastal Marine Stewardship, Habitat and Water Quality
• Sustainable and Resilient Coastal Communities

Institute Staff

Tony MacDonald, Esq. Director. J.D., Fordham University School of Law. Mr. MacDonald has over thirty years of executive and policy experience in coastal and ocean law and policy at the local, state, and federal level.

Thomas Herrington, Associate Director. Ph.D., Stevens Institute of Technology. Dr. Herrington is one of New Jersey's leading experts on coastal processes, beach management and ocean engineering. He has more than 25 years of experience in coastal sustainability and hazard mitigation research, including the analysis of storm surge and wave impacts on coastal communities.

James Nickels, Marine Scientist. M.S., Montclair State University Mr. Nickels has worked for over twenty-five years on marine research, monitoring, surveying, and field operations in both the public and private sectors. His expertise includes survey work in fisheries, plankton, benthic organisms, sediment, water quality, mitigation, and geophysics. He is a licensed hydrographer and Certified Floodplain Manager.

Karl Vilacoba, Communications Director. M.A., New Jersey Institute of Technology. Mr. Vilacoba has over fifteen years of experience in professional media, writing, and technical communications. He is the lead for the Urban Coast Institute (UCI) outreach and communications efforts related to ocean and coastal programs and activities.

Visit our website at http://monmouth.edu/uci/.