MARCH 20, 2015--ENS Rachel Pryor completed a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at the University of West Florida and a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Florida International University (FIU).

While earning her master’s degree, she worked as a laboratory researcher at FIU’s Ecotoxicology and Environmental Risk Assessment Laboratory conducting standard toxicity tests and outdoor microcosm exposures.

After completing her master’s degree, ENS Pryor was selected for a contractor position at EPA’s Gulf Ecology Division in Pensacola, Florida, where she worked in the Aquatic Toxicology laboratory. In 2011, she transitioned to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Observer Program where she worked on commercial fishing vessels between Maine and Virginia.

ENS Pryor was commissioned into NOAA Corps August of 2012 and was part of the first Basic Officer Training Class to train alongside U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidates at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. ENS Pryor completed her two-year ship assignment aboard the NOAA Ship Oregon II in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She reported to the Office of Response and Restoration’s Emergency Response Division in January of 2015 where she assists the Northwest Scientific Support Coordinators.

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