Staff Contacts
Dr. Kalle Matso, Director
As the Director, Kalle is responsible for coordinating all PREP programs supported by staff as well as developing and managing the science-based programs and projects at PREP. Before coming to PREP, Kalle helped manage the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative, a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Before that, Kalle managed the research portfolio for the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET), also at UNH.
Originally trained as a journalist—he received his bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College—and then as a marine ecologist, Kalle now focuses on more effectively linking science to societal decisions on time. Kalle has been at UNH since 1997 when he began his Master's program focused on eelgrass ecology in the Great Bay Estuary. He also received his PhD at UNH, studying how research projects both succeed and fail to link new knowledge to action. A copy of Kalle’s CV can be found here.
Contact Kalle: Rm 305; 603.781.6591 kalle.matso@unh.edu
Fay Rubin, Special Projects Manager
Fay works part-time for PREP as a Special Projects Manager, where she provides support to the PREP Director and staff in strategic planning, long-range budgeting, grant reporting, and account management.
Fay received her Master's and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of New Hampshire. Before joining the PREP team in November 2021, Fay spent 3+ decades managing the GRANIT GIS Clearinghouse at the UNH Earth Systems Research Center.
Contact Fay: fay.rubin@unh.edu
Abigail Lyon, Community Engagement Manager
As the Community Engagement Manager, Abigail manages the Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment (PREPA) project as well as helps to provide municipal technical assistance to improve local regulations and decision-making. Abigail also serves as a co-chair for the NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup and supports the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition and the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative as well as other PREP priority projects.
Abigail handles all requests for data from municipal officials and boards as well as helps boards and staff find resources for projects and efforts. Abigail is also available for outreach and education presentations to town boards, staff, and school groups.
Abigail received her Master's of Science from the University of New Hampshire in Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Science, Policy, and Management in May 2015, during which she worked as an intern for PREP and the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve working specifically on the 2015 PREPA report. Before joining the PREP team, Abigail worked for the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation as a program/volunteer coordinator and whale watch naturalist educating people throughout New England about the importance of protecting our coastal and marine environments. Originally from the south shore of Massachusetts, she has always had a strong connection with water and is excited to put her energy toward protecting such an important resource.
Contact Abigail for all PREP-related inquiries.
Contact Abigail: Rm. 304; 603.862.3729 abigail.lyon@unh.edu
Annie Cox, Watershed Resilience Manager
As our Watershed Resilience Manager, Annie supports both the Great Bay 2030 program Great Bay Adapts and our community engagement program identifying needs, opportunities, and resources for the 52 communities within our watershed. Before PREP, Annie spent 13 years at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve developing and coordinating workshops and trainings to support the translation of science to decision-makers. Often collaborating with multiple organizations and communities, Annie supported climate adaptation planning at local and regional scales. Her work includes developing a nature-based approach decision support tool, developing a scenario-planning exercise to strengthen social resilience, and supporting the Southern Maine Regional Resilience Plan.
Annie received a Master of Arts in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design from the Conway School. Before that, she served in the Peace Corps as an aquaculture extension agent. Her undergraduate degree in Biology is from the University of Maine at Farmington.
Contact Annie: 603.862.0219 anne.cox@unh.edu
Trevor Mattera, Habitat Program Manager
As Habitat Program Manager, Trevor is responsible for coordinating or participating in collaborative projects between PREP and its partners that deal with estuarine habitat restoration or management. Before coming to PREP, he worked as the technician and director’s assistant of the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, a Caribbean NGO focused on sea turtle conservation and outreach.
Trevor received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, and his Masters of Science in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire with research focused on the policy of living shoreline implementation in NH and its relationship with social-ecological system resilience. With a passion for connecting decision-makers and the public with useful environmental science, Trevor sees his position at PREP as an opportunity to protect the health of the region’s estuaries.
Contact Trevor: Rm. 303; 603.862.1310 trevor.mattera@unh.edu
Dr. Chris Whitney, Data Scientist
As a Data Scientist, Chris analyzes data and creates visualizations to help PREP partners and local communities make management decisions regarding improving the health of our estuaries. Chris also helps to manage all things data-related for PREP as well as assisting PREP partners with their data processing, analysis, and visualization needs. Before joining PREP, Chris was a graduate student working primarily in the watersheds of the Plum Island Estuary studying how freshwater ecosystems affect the quality of water flowing downstream to the coast.
Chris has been at UNH since 2013 when he entered into the Masters program in Soil and Water Resources Management where he studied the effects of fluvial wetlands and beaver ponds on nitrate removal from aquatic ecosystems. Chris continued at UNH to study beaver ponds and human-made reservoirs and how the ecosystem services provided by these inland water features regulate downstream nutrient fluxes, earning his Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Growing up on Cape Cod, Chris has always had a love of the ocean and is excited to apply the skills he learned researching freshwater ecosystems to our estuaries.
Contact Chris: chris.whitney@unh.edu
Nate Gruen, Field Scientist
As a Field Scientist, Nate is responsible for coordinating and executing dive efforts in Great Bay and the Piscataqua region. His work underwater is focused primarily on eelgrass monitoring and restoration efforts. In addition to his training as a research diver through the American Academy of Underwater Science (AAUS), he is also one of the scuba instructors for UNH, teaching undergraduate and graduate students basic scuba. Recently, he has been working with Atsushi Matsuoka, assisting in Dr. Matsuoka’s work surrounding the optical properties of seawater.
Originally trained as a chef, Nate left his career in the culinary industry and received his undergraduate degree in Marine, Estuarine, and Freshwater Biology from the University of New Hampshire. His certification as a scuba instructor is held through the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI).
His current goal is to bring public awareness to the beauty of the New England marine environment by helping get people in the water to experience our local ecosystems with their own eyes.
Contact Nate: nathaniel.gruen@unh.edu
a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Prior to that, Kalle managed the research portfolio for the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET), also at UNH.