Dr. Rachel Silverstein, a lifelong clean water enthusiast, serves as equal parts investigator, scientist, educator, and legal advocate, functioning as the public spokesperson for our watershed and protecting your right to clean water. As Miami Waterkeeper executive director and Waterkeeper since June of 2014, she served as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and professional staff for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard in Washington, DC. While earning her Ph.D. in marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, Rachel studied the effect of climate change on coral reefs. Her research, partially funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, used genetic methods to answer ecological questions. She graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a B.S. in ecology, evolution, and environmental biology. As Waterkeeper, Rachel has been awarded the Miami Herald’s Visionary Award, UM Abess Center’s Reitmeister Award, the Diatom Award for Environmental and Civic by the mayor of Miami Beach, and been named top 20 environmentalists by the New Times. Rachel has been featured in hundreds of media articles and has co-authored 10 peer-reviewed articles. Most recently, in 2022, she was named Water Conservationist of the Year by the Florida Wildlife Federation, and she was awarded the Elevate Prize in 2023.