Tiffany Smythe

Marine Affairs
vita

Tiffany came to URI after a ten-year career as a teacher and sailor. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Columbia University, and wrote an undergraduate history thesis on the experiences of captains’ wives who sailed aboard New England whaling vessels. Tiffany has worked as a sailing instructor, maritime museum educator, history and English teacher, Outward Bound instructor, and professional crew and teacher aboard sail training ships. She has a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license and has sailed waters ranging from the Gulf of Maine to the Eastern Caribbean aboard the schooners Spirit of Massachusetts and Lettie G. Howard. It is through these years on and around the water that Tiffany developed an interest in Marine Affairs.

Tiffany’s research explores planning and policy issues related to coastal governance and sustainable coastal land use. Her Master’s thesis explored the transformation of coastal communities resulting from the conversion of marina and boatyard properties to private residential development. She has also worked with her advisor, Dr. Rob Thompson, on a Quonset Point, Rhode Island ferry terminal feasibility study, and on a Sea Grant study to map and analyze human uses of Narragansett Bay. While an IGERT Fellow, Tiffany produced a white paper for the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council on the feasibility of a statewide GIS-based parcel data system. This paper was awarded the 2007 Graduate Student Project award by the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Planning Association. Tiffany is currently working with Regional Plan Association in New York City on a study of water-dependent uses in the greater New York City metropolitan area. She is also pursuing dissertation research on the problem of interagency cooperation in coastal land-use decision-making.

When not reading, writing, and talking about the water, Tiffany can usually be found on, in, or near the water sailing, kayaking, running, doing yoga, or attempting to surf.