Prior to his current position, Steven was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northeastern and was awarded a Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. After earning a BS in Marine Biology at Auburn University, he completed his PhD at the University of South Alabama and Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Steven’s research integrates ecology and sociology to understand and develop strategies to overcome major challenges facing coastal communities. This work has included projects on sustainable shoreline development, coastal fisheries, ecosystem restoration, and mitigating the impacts of disasters.