Gussie Maguire is CBF’s Maryland staff scientist and a lifelong Chesapeake Bay watershed resident. She went to the College of William & Mary anticipating an English degree and “maybe getting into teaching,” but emerged with a degree in English and geology and a reinvigorated love for science and the great outdoors. After a year in the Chesapeake Conservation Corps, she took environmental education positions in Washington, D.C. and in Anne Arundel County, Maryland before moving on to the Maryland Environmental Service. In 2023, she earned her master’s degree in environmental management.

As the Maryland staff scientist, Gussie stays up-to-date on the latest science on Bay and watershed restoration, helpful and harmful policy, regulations, and practices, and proposed and ongoing projects in the state that impact the Bay. She communicates CBF’s priorities to individuals, regulators, and policymakers via presentations, public comment letters, and written and oral testimony in the Maryland legislature. She is an appointed member of the Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee and represents CBF on Maryland Port Administration dredge material management committees, including the Bay Enhancement Working Group.

Her favorite place in the Bay watershed is anywhere she can get on or in the water or where she can admire and attempt to identify plants, animals, fungi, and geologic features.