Tammy Newcomer Johnson

Tammy Newcomer Johnson spent her fellowship year in the National Sea Grant Office at NOAA. She served as a national resource specialist.

Originally from Maryland, Newcomer Johnson has dedicated her career to exploring and understanding how humans can live sustainably within their environment. As a doctoral student in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science (MEES) program at the University of Maryland, College Park, she explores the impacts of urbanization on the ecology and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Her research focuses on the capacity of stream restoration and stormwater management projects to reduce excess nitrogen flowing from urban areas to the estuary.

Before beginning graduate school, she worked on a number of research projects through a program called the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. These included efforts to map the occurrence of flash floods in the city. She also served as a fellow at the National Science Foundation and collaborated with students and teachers at the K-12 level to design hands-on environmental science lessons revolving around water, biodiversity, and carbon.

Newcomer Johnson has also spent many years volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to construct affordable housing for underserved communities in Maryland and Florida. She’s now in the midst of renovating her own 1947 bungalow in Reisterstown, Maryland, with her husband.