Five recent graduates from California universities have landed prestigious national fellowships in coastal management and marine policy. California Sea Grant recruits and nominates students attending universities within the state for the Coastal Management Fellowship and John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship programs.
“Supporting graduate students with hands-on experiences transferring science to policy and management remains a keystone of the California Sea Grant program,” said Miho Ligare, research and fellowship coordinator at California Sea Grant. “We’re extremely proud to have five early-career professionals representing our state in these competitive national fellowships.”
Incoming Coastal Management Fellow Amber Roberts from Stanford University was matched with the California Coastal Commission. During this two-year training in coastal resource management and policy beginning in August, Roberts will complete several key sea-level rise-related projects that include data analysis, vulnerability assessment, and stakeholder engagement to advance the commission’s overall planning and regulatory work on sea-level rise.
Four finalists from California universities have been selected for the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C. This fall, the 2019 finalists will interview to be paired with an executive or legislative office in the nation’s capital. Following placement, they will begin their year-long fellowship in February 2019. Previous Knauss fellows from the state have included the NOAA Office of Education, Marine Mammal Commission, Senate Commerce Committee (Minority), and office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The four finalists are:
- Amanda Lockett Carter, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego
- Julia Mason, Stanford University
- Marnie Riddle, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Katherine Wilson, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego
As part of its mission to support coastal and marine research, extension, education, and outreach, California Sea Grant partners with several programs within NOAA to provide graduate students and recent graduates with on-the-job education opportunities and training in their fields of interest.