Ann-Marie is the associate director of the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project and a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University in the Marine Science and Conservation program. She is broadly interested in how conservation efforts evolve to include growing and changing information on both biological and human dimensions of ecosystems. Her dissertation focuses on reconstructing the historic occurrence of dolphins in Potomac River and establishing a baseline of their current occurrence in the region using an interdisciplinary approach. The overarching goal of her research is to help inform the management of bottlenose dolphins in the Chesapeake by providing managers with information that is currently lacking.

Dr. Melissa Collier earned her Ph.D. in Biology in 2023 at Georgetown University where she studied the spread of disease in the Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins that visit the Potomac-Chesapeake region. As a PhD student, she led the PCDP's 2021 and 2022 field seasons where she primarily focused on collecting information on synchronized breathing behaviors (when dolphins surface together and breathe at the same time) and how they might influence the spread of deadly respiratory diseases in dolphins. Now a Postdoctoral Fellow funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, she is investigating the influence of climate change on pathogen spread in Tamanend's dolphins, and informing better methods for the surveillance of disease in this important species.

Verena Conkin is currently a PhD candidate at Georgetown University, and has lead the 2023, 2024, and 2025 field seasons as a researcher with the PCDP. Her dissertation research focuses on female reproduction and calf development during the first few months of life. Beginning in 2024, she piloted the PCDP’s drone-based data collection methods, and plans to use this approach to answer questions about current population demography and growth.

Arielle Solomon earned her Bachelor of Science at Duke University in 2025. During her undergraduate career, she completed an undergraduate thesis and was a Bonaventura Fellow under Dr. Andrew Read studying the foraging behaviors and acoustics of short-finned pilot whales. After graduation she was a field assistant for the Potomac Chesapeake Dolphin Project during the 2025 field season. She is broadly interested in cetacean behavior and group dynamics.