New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Extension Specialists Honored

OSWEGO COUNTY – Three New York Sea Grant (NYSG) Great Lakes extension specialists recently received awards from the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network in recognition of their exceptional leadership skills, outreach efforts and overall accomplishments. The honors were presented at the 2026 Great Lakes Sea Grant Network meeting and award ceremony held in Oswego, N.Y. in May.

NYSG’s Coastal Community Development Specialist Mary Austerman, out of the Newark office, and Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist Roy Widrig, out of the Oswego office, were each presented with the 2026 Superior Outreach Programming Team Award. Great Lakes Outreach Coordinator Megan Cochran, out of the Buffalo office, received the 2026 Early Career Award.

Superior Outreach Programming Team Award
Austerman and Widrig received this award for the “Navigating Conflict in Coastal Resilience: The Sodus Point Dune Outreach Initiative,” a collaborative effort that helped transform a contentious shoreline management challenge into coordinated, community-informed action.

Through facilitated stakeholder engagement, regulatory alignment and implementation-focused outreach, the initiative supported corrective dune maintenance to protect 1,800 feet of shoreline and properties along Lake Ontario and strengthen long-term local governance planning. The successful outcome of the project provides a model for climate resilience decision-making for use in other Great Lakes coastal communities.

New York Sea Grant Director Rebecca Shuford said, “New York Sea Grant is thrilled with the recognition of Mary and Roy and the influential work they do. This is a shining example of how extension can transform a technically and socially complex coastal infrastructure challenge into durable governance and interagency and community dialogue that benefits the local community and the environment.”

New York Sea Grant Associate Director/Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth added, “The collaborative leadership and expertise of Mary Austerman and Roy Widrig exemplify the New York Sea Grant mission to translate complex coastal science and resiliency challenges to empower communities to take well-informed action that benefits their coastal communities and environmental sustainability for New York’s coastal areas.”

New York Sea Grant assistance was requested by a Sodus Point resident advisory group to respond to the widely varying, and at times divisive, perspectives about the purpose of the sand dune and allowable maintenance. As neutral conveners, Austerman and Widrig created an open forum for residents, business owners and other stakeholders of the Lake Ontario shoreline community to express their questions and concerns.

The pair applied their NYSG coastal science, social science and public engagement expertise to document the diverse stakeholder issues, the applicable regulatory requirement, state coastal policy, historical context, and current-day factors related to dune development, ecology and maintenance.

Austerman and Widrig were earlier recognized by New York State Assemblyman Brian Manktelow with a state Assembly proclamation honoring their leadership and technical expertise in moving the dune project to a sustainable solution.

Early Career Award
Megan Cochran, hired in June 2021 as NYSG’s first Great Lakes Outreach Coordinator, received the 2026 Early Career Award for her work across multiple programming and communication platforms.

Cochran’s focus includes social media outreach, communicating information on NYSG programming, workshops, events and resources. In 2023, she was assigned as training leader for new staff in New York and now assists those throughout the entire Sea Grant Great Lakes region.

New York Sea Grant Associate Director/Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth said, “Megan Cochran is well deserving of this early career recognition for her effective application of creativity and technology expertise to assist diverse audiences to act to benefit the Great Lakes.”

As coordinator of the New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Cochran has enhanced outreach to engage more communities in applying for funding available to advance local projects that fit the goals of New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda.

Cochran works with other NYSG specialists to develop resources that help Great Lakes communities, residents and leaders. These resources include shoreline homeowner folders to help waterfront property owners better understand how Great Lakes processes, storms, seiches and fluctuating lake levels impact property, including aging septic systems. “AdaptTable,” the scenario planning game, helps local leaders brainstorm best management practices to address potential flooding and storm impact for their specific areas.

Cochran has also partnered with NYSDEC to implement “Day in the Life of Lake Ontario” and the St. Lawrence River and Student Summit Programs, which includes development of middle grade-level curricula and activities that connect teachers, students and environmental scientists throughout the region to foster better understanding of local watersheds.

New York Sea Grant Director Rebecca Shuford said, “Megan’s receipt of the 2026 Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Early Career Award is well-earned and well-deserved. The extension portfolio and relationships that she has established over the past five years have resulted in tremendous impact for the coastal communities she supports and is indicative of great ideas and programming yet to come.”

New York Sea Grant is an extension collaboration of Cornell University and the State University of New York, connecting research, outreach and education to the needs of New York’s coastal communities, environments and economies. Learn more at nyseagrant.org.