The discoveries and innovations that come out of Bigelow Laboratory are only possible because of the generous contributions of donors. Our community of supporters help empower the next generation of scientists, inspire our research, and guide the future of our institution. Learn more about some of our donors in this story from the Winter 2026 edition of Transect.
“You turn over a patch of seaweed or a rock, and there’s so much going on there. It was just interesting and wonderful for me as a child to be able to explore all of that.”
Since she was a baby, Donna Bagley has visited the Boothbay region every summer. For years, her parents did the same. Before that, it was her grandparents. Today, Donna and her husband, Charlie, continue to spend their summers in Southport, and it’s their children and grandchildren who are visiting. The couple have become fixtures in the Boothbay and Bigelow Laboratory communities.
For Donna, who grew up in Ohio, she says those early experiences in Maine are what inspired her family’s love of the ocean. She recalls happy memories fishing and digging for clams with her grandfather, and her house is full of art from her mother, an oil painter who specialized in ocean scenes.
“It all started as a child coming from the Midwest and being able to explore the beaches and the tidal pools,” she said. “You turn over a patch of seaweed or a rock, and there’s so much going on there. It was just interesting and wonderful for me as a child to be able to explore all of that.”
For Charlie, a life-long sailor, his love of the ocean similarly began at a young age exploring the waters of Chesapeake Bay. As with Donna, many of his fondest memories are from his time out on the water.
But, for both of them, that childhood love of the ocean evolved into a passion for protecting it as they traveled widely and saw how degraded much of the world’s coastlines are.
“I feel like for so long, the oceans have been viewed as a convenient dumping point for all of the detritus of modern human society with very little concern for the consequences,” she said. “We’re responsible for a lot of that damage, but we’re also the only species that has the ability to say, why does this happen. And we’re the only species that has the ability to say, what can we do to change it.”
That hope is what eventually led her and Charlie to Bigelow Laboratory. It was at a summer lecture, part of the annual Café Sci series, that they began to appreciate the global reach of the institute’s mission. Then, in 2022, they attended the Big Splash fundraiser and have been avid supporters ever since.
Donna says they’ve been particularly inspired by the institute’s focus on educating both the next generation of scientists and life-long learners like themselves. Likewise, they appreciate the interdisciplinarity of the institute’s research. As an example, she points to work being done by Bigelow Laboratory scientists to study algae blooms from space. Having spent a lot of time in Florida, she knows well how damaging those blooms can be. That research, she says, illustrates the power of creatively bringing together different areas of science to address a real-world challenge.
“I was blown away when I realized the extent of what’s being done all around the world, not just here, but looking toward solutions that can benefit the entire planet,” she says.
When they’re not in Maine, the Bagleys live on Chesapeake Bay in Gibson Island, Maryland. They regularly champion the lab through a Donor-Advised Fund and have opened their home to other supporters through events like the Council Summer Outing this past August. Last year, Donna joined the Advisory Board, a role in which she’ll be able to use her passion and optimism to help guide the future of the institution.
“So much of the news is negative and depressing, and particularly for people who aren’t scientists, you begin to think, what can I do.” she said. “But the thing that really impressed me about Bigelow was the optimism and sense that these are problems that can be solved and this is something I can support that will make a real difference.”
