Jody Patterson is the Director for Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the official nonprofit partner to the federally protected marine sanctuary. Her work involves supporting education programs and conservation projects in and around Gray's Reef, a natural, live bottom habitat off the southeastern U.S. coast. Programmatic focus areas center around science and conservation, connecting people and communities to sanctuaries, and creating the next generation of ocean stewards through in- and out-of-school education. She has been a part of the Southeast Regional MATE ROV Competition since 2009 and has led the program directly since 2014. In her new role with MATE, Patterson will support development of regional programs both domestically and internationally, serving as a mentor to new and returning coordinators. She will lead the development of resources (such as tutorials, how-to videos, and other materials) to enhance the Regional Coordinators’ Toolkit, and act as liaison to coordinators across the MATE network to strengthen their regional programs, from the delivery of professional development to event management.