Braxton Davis made a significant move in the mid-1990s when he drove from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Miami, Florida, to focus on seagrass research. Having studied under Jay Zieman at the University of Virginia, Davis connected with Jim Fourqurean, a recent Ph.D. graduate starting his academic career at Florida International University (FIU). Davis became one of Fourqurean’s first graduate students and began work that would later shape his career in coastal management.
At FIU, Davis worked as the lead field researcher in Fourqurean’s lab. He participated in mapping marine ecosystems throughout Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, sometimes diving as deep as 100 feet to study seagrass habitats. According to Fourqurean, “Braxton was eager to be the first person to lay eyes on whatever was on the bottom,” and he took care not to disturb habitats or wildlife while anchoring their research vessel.
Davis collaborated with fellow graduate student Brian Machovina and often worked alongside Fourqurean during field dives. Their intensive research included visiting more than ten sites per day and processing samples late into the night. Reflecting on his time at FIU, Davis said relationships built during those years were especially valuable: “When you ask what’s the most valuable thing… it’s been the relationships.”
It was also during this period that Davis met Jenny Cutler, another graduate student studying seagrass ecology. The two eventually married; Cutler now works as a research specialist at NOAA Marine Lab in Beaufort, North Carolina.
After earning his Master of Science in Biological Sciences from FIU in 1998, Davis pursued a Ph.D. in marine affairs at the University of Rhode Island before moving into academia and then state government roles focused on coastal management. He served for 13 years as director of the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.
Currently, Davis is executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation. In this role, he supports science-based conservation projects along North Carolina’s extensive coastline and works with governments at various levels on policy issues affecting these areas. The federation also operates an online news source called Coastal Review that has about one million annual readers.
Davis recently contributed expertise to U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy’s office for legislation amending the National Flood Insurance Program so insurance payouts could be made for homes threatened by shoreline erosion before they collapse—an effort aimed at reducing pollution and legal complications related to coastal property loss.
Davis credits his education at FIU for preparing him for his varied career: “We spent a lot of time reading, writing and editing, including drafting research proposals and conducting peer-to-peer reviews. We had to present and defend our research,” he said. “At the time I didn’t appreciate the extra work and stress of public speaking, but these experiences have been very valuable to me over the years.”
Over nearly three decades since leaving Virginia for Miami, both FIU and Davis have evolved significantly—FIU has grown as an institution while Davis has moved from scientific fieldwork into policy advocacy—but his commitment to protecting America’s coastlines remains unchanged.
