Dr. Kylie Smith, Coral Scientist

Dr. Kylie Smith is the Co-Founder of I.CARE, a reef restoration organization dedicated to involving the community in restoring the reefs of the Florida Keys. Dr. Smith has been studying the factors influencing coral transplant survival and reef fish behavior in the Florida Keys since 2012. Specifically, she studied the impacts of consecutive bleaching events, Hurricane Irma, and disease on coral transplants during her graduate work at Clemson University.

Since Co-Founding I.CARE in 2021, she has overseen projects in coral transplanting and monitoring, land-based coral husbandry, reef-sponge restoration, and education outreach. She has called the Florida Keys her permanent home since 2019 and enjoys being on the water every chance she gets!

Dr. Smith maintains partnerships with Mote Marine Lab, Keys Marine Lab, FWC, the Coral Restoration Foundation, Clemson University, Jacksonville University, Florida International University and other organizations to maximize the survival of both coral and herbivore transplants to restore ecological health to these reefs.