Linda Miranda is a VA Sea Grant Fellow with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Hampton Roads Urban Restoration team. She first joined CBF as a COVES Fellow working under Kati Grigsby, Hampton Roads Urban Restoration Coordinator, and stayed on as an intern before being selected for the Virginia Sea Grant fellowship that now defines her role. Today, Linda works alongside Kati to install living shorelines throughout Hampton Roads, helping protect coastal communities while restoring habitat for the Bay’s wildlife.

One of Linda’s most notable achievements is a research project, co-advised by Kati, that tests the structural integrity of basalt-fiber oyster shell bags as an alternative to plastic mesh in shoreline restoration. The work aims to reduce plastic in the watershed while keeping the durability that restoration projects need. Linda also serves as teaching assistant for the first university living shoreline course, taught at Hampton University by CBF, Wetlands Watch, and the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) program. The course leads to a professional certification and helps train the next generation of restoration practitioners.

Linda is completing a master’s degree in biological sciences at Hampton University. Her favorite place in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is any marsh, where she sees the work at its best: giving back to her community and helping Virginia become more resilient in the face of rising seas and stronger storms.