Heather Brandon is a SMEA alum who earned her MMA in 2004. She currently works for the World Wildlife Fund, Arctic Field Program, Alaska, as a Senior Fisheries Officer.

Can you give us a brief description of what you do for the World Wildlife Fund?

I work on topics that involve fish or fishing, such as illegal fishing/poaching, bycatch, marine mammal interactions, ecosystem-based management, advocacy for conservation in management, marine protected areas, sustainable seafood certification, etc. I write grants, manage projects, and advocate for policies, as well as develop partnerships and do fieldwork. For example, I’m helping faculty at University of Washington, University of Alaska, and Kamchatka State Technical University begin a salmon-focused exchange of students and faculty. For that project, I get to interact with great people at all those universities, write proposals to fund the concept, help plan out the first exchange, and hopefully I will get to visit one of the field camps in Alaska or Kamchatka, Russia with the exchange participants.

What do you like best about your job?

The thing I like the most about my job is the international aspect of the work. WWF has an office in nearly every country in the world. For my job, I get to work with people in Japan, Russia, China, Norway, Sweden, Denmark/Greenland, Germany, and Spain. Sometimes it’s tough to have a group conference call with all those times zones, but it’s worth having an occasional 10 pm or 6 am meeting (on Skype in my pajamas) in order to connect with international colleagues and move projects forward.

How did SMEA help you prepare?

SMEA helped me to become a better public speaker (although I’ve joined Toastmasters in order to continue practicing), to be a better writer, to work in a group, and to speak up in a committee setting. I’ve used all of those skills in my job. What SMEA teaches goes well beyond the issues. For me, grad school was about developing communication and analytical skills grounded in science, economics, and law, which I have used working in both the government and NGO sector.

If you had one piece of advice for current SMEA students, what would it be?

Pick a thesis topic with care, because it will shape the direction of your career after school is over. The connections you make while working on and researching your thesis will include people and experiences that will lead you to future opportunities. The marine policy world is pretty small, so establishing and maintaining your network will help you through your whole career.

If you are a SMEA alum who would like to share what you’re doing you can do so through our Alumni Update. You can also update your information via the UW Alumni Services site http://www.washington.edu/alumni/services/update/