Blanchette grew up in New Jersey and describes her lifelong interest with biology and science as a result of early interactions with her grandparents about fish and fishing.[1] Blanchette has a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame (1988) and earned her Ph.D. in 1994 from Oregon State University.[2] Following her Ph.D. she moved to California where she was first a postdoctoral scientist at Hopkins Marine Station and then later because a research biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.[1] From 2000 until 2019, Blanchette was one of the principal investigators for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) where she led the team working on intertidal community ecology and biomechanics,[3] and served as the science and policy coordinator.[2] In 2016 Blanchette was named director of the Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve.[4][5]
Research
Blanchette is known for her work on topics including biomechanics, intertidal ecology, and climate change. Blanchette's early research examined variability in where plants settle on rocky seashores[6] and how plants survives waves on rocky seashores.[7] She has worked on factors defining trophic cascades[8][9] and the distribution of species such as mussels[10] and other benthic organisms[11] that are found in intertidal zones. She has worked on the loss of starfish, sea star wasting disease, along the western coast of the United States.[12][13] By 2016 the sea stars were returning to the Oregon coast, and mirrored what Blanchette and her colleagues saw for recovery of sea stars in California.[14] Blanchette's work also examines ocean acidification[15] and the impact of climate change[16] on marine intertidal zones.
In 2012 Blanchette was honored by the United States' Department of the Interior for her work with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO).[17]
