Ashley L. Conti

Cait Cleaver’s journey from volleyball captain to an assistant professor of environmental studies is a full-circle Colby story centered on her deep immersion in Maine’s coastal communities. As a self-described accidental academic with three master’s degrees and a Ph.D., she plugs the gap between high-level marine policy and the actual experiences of commercial fishermen. Her husband, whom she met through Colby Athletics when both served as assistant coaches for different teams, is a commercial fisherman who lobsters on a 40-foot boat out of Harpswell named after their two kids.

As an ecologist, Cleaver often works in the intertidal zone, a liminal space between the sea and the land. These spaces are not always simple but they are important, and rich with possibilities. So perhaps it’s not a surprise that she is comfortable in other kinds of liminal spaces, including those where the tide meets the town. Cleaver is able to blend marine ecology with social science, and looks at the future of Maine’s coastal restoration, fisheries, and aquaculture with a wide lens that includes the people who work on the coast as well as the species that live there.

(Photos by Ashley L. Conti / Colby College ) (Words by Bob Keyes)

The squirrelly boy turned 14 today!

Ronix is somehow part cat, lamb, cow, gremlin, and dog all rolled into one, and we wouldn’t change a thing. He’s the cuddliest, weirdest, sweetest little dude ever, and life is better with our derpy boy in it.

Happy 14th birthday to the best snuggle buddy around. We love you endlessly, Ronix!