Just in time for Women’s History Month, a woman makes history in the Southeast U.S.
Kim Amendola is the first woman to be appointed as the Deputy Regional Administrator in NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office. Her unique background, which combines fisheries biology and mass communications, brings a new skill set to this position.
Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Kim grew up on Barnegat Bay in Toms River where she spent time swimming, sailing, fishing and crabbing. Nothing in her neighborhood was a bike ride away, so for Kim and her friends, sailboats became their bikes! In the winter, the water she loved became a skating rink. Amendola’s parents loved the ocean, too, and started taking Kim and her brother to Marco Island, Florida for vacations. Kim jokes that she has saltwater—versus blood—running through her veins.
Kim graduated from Eckerd College in 1992 with a degree in biology. Her love for the water grew when she became a member of Eckerd’s Search and Rescue Team. Following graduation, she went to work for the State of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a biological scientist. That’s where she got her hands dirty—catching fish, aging various fish species, logging hundreds of hours of field work, and providing the data she collected to fishery managers. Her love for science and telling others about science led her to outreach positions. In 2004 Kim got a Masters degree in mass communication from the University of South Florida.
Amendola joined NOAA Fisheries in 2005 as the Southeast Regional Office Communications Specialist. Her work involved helping news media, constituent relations, and strategic and crisis communications.
Kim is a founding member of the St. Petersburg Science Festival and the St. Petersburg Ocean Team. She served as Southeast Grant Sponsor, Planning Team and Steering Committee member for the Marine Resource Education Program. She also sits on the St. Petersburg Innovation District Council and the Eckerd College Friends of the Waterfront.
Her unique combination of biology and communication experience will transfer into her new role as the second in charge of NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office. The regional office is the regulatory arm of the agency for the Southeast region which includes eight southern states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Caribbean.
Even in her free time, Kim chooses to be out on the water with her family. She loves to fish and is passing that passion along to her daughters. Kim, her husband Christian, and her two daughters live in South St. Petersburg.
