Stefano Mazzilli is a research scientist at Puget Sound Institute focusing on issues related to water quality management, and is supporting the formation and development of the Salish Sea Modeling Center. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Murdoch University, and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on estuarine hydrodynamic modeling. Stefano’s research interest is the interchange of science and decision making, with particular interest in biogeochemistry, innovation in storm- and waste-water technologies, and capacity development. Stefano has worked with government, NGOs, and research centers in the USA and Australia, and has spent the majority of his career with the United Nations in East Africa, focused on applied coastal oceanography, institutional scientific capacity development, and national and international observing systems.