Chris Bodner received his M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy with a concentration in aquatic ecology in Spring 2019.  In 2012, he graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy with a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Sciences, focusing on biology and physical oceanography.  Before attending GMU, he was assigned as a deck watch officer on a Coast Guard cutter and an emergency manager focused on oil and hazardous material spill response.  While a member of the fish ecology lab, he participated in ecosystem monitoring of the Potomac River watershed and is conducting a diet study of bottom-feeding fishes in order to gain insight on how invasive Blue Catfish are impacting both the local food web and that of the larger Chesapeake Bay watershed.  He intends to take lessons learned from his program of study back to his role in the Coast Guard in support of its marine environmental protection mission.