Career News:

New graduate Katy Bland ’21 recently accepted a position with NERACOOS and New Hampshire Sea Grant as the Engagement and Research Associate.

The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance has a new Corporate Giving and Events Manager, as James Roubal ’18  assumed the role in November 2021. James previous worked as a Program Coordinator with Washington CoastSavers and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Julie Ann Koehlinger ’18 was recently promoted to the Interim Director of the Department of Natural Resources with the Hoh Indian Tribe.

Hawai’i State Senator David Tarnas ’85 played a key role in a “banner year for natural and cultural resources protection” according to the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources. Tarnas serves as the Chair for the House Water and Land Committee.

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) formed and led by Anne Hawkins ’07 sued Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) over the approval of the Vineyard Wind offshore project. With concern for the Northeast fishing industry, which went largely overlooked in the permitting process, RODA brought the first-ever litigation to a BOEM-approved offshore wind construction and operation plan. Boem has said in a statement that they are taking RODA’s concerns into account, “but ultimately came to a different conclusion”.

Honors, Awards, & Recognition:

Adi Hanein ’14 was recognized as a NOAA Employee of the Month this Fall. Adi went above and beyond to ensure that Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) remains a close-knit and equitable community, and has helped people around the world to understand PMEL’s science mission. Adi also connected with current SMEA students during a recent Blue Drinks happy hour event.

Presentations:

Director Petra MacGowan ’06 and Program Manager Cherie Wagner ’12 for The Nature Conservancy’s Reef Resilience Network developed a new, free online course “designed to provide marine managers and practitioners with the necessary background to support coral reef resilience in the face of climate change”. They consulted globally with scientists, managers, and practitioners to construct a six module course available via The Nature Conservancy’s online platform.

2018 Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar Nicole Kanayurak ’16 was invited to be among the featured alumni speakers for the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Fulbright Scholars Program. Kanayurak “is an Inupiaq from Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States, who works at the municipal level to prioritize indigenous and traditional practices and community involvement in wildlife management”.

Publications:

“Lifting the Ban on Crude Oil Imports” published in The Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea: Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council Fall 2021 edition, was an effort led by Valerie Cleland ’18. Cleland began the work as part of her SMEA Capstone Project with SMEA Affiliate Faculty member Dr. Mary Baker as the client representing NOAA and SMEA Faculty member and Director, Dr. Nives Dolšak as the faculty advisor.

Serving for a year as a Knauss Fellow in Washington, DC, Megan McKeown ’20 details her experience assisting the House Science Committee; she writes that there’s a surprising amount of bipartisanship happening that doesn’t always rise to the top of the national news coverage.

Max Mossler ’16, Managing Editor at Sustainable Fisheries UW, authored a comprehensive recap of the confusion-inducing series of publications and retractions surrounding Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) included in both The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Nature. His piece for the blog posits that the flawed science, based largely on assumptions, and apparent conflict of interest in the peer-review process were headline-grabbing, but the situation as a whole is unhelpful for the science guiding MPA creation and implementation.

A significantly reduced harvest cap on Alaska Snow Crab was the topic of debate in a Seattle Times article which featured perspectives from both Jamie Goen ’00, Executive Director of the Alaska Berring Sea Crabbers association and of the Groundfish Forum led by Executive Director, Chris Woodley ’00.

Eric Laschever ’80 and SMEA Affiliate faculty member is creating a big impact amongst those researching, mitigating, and concerned with ocean acidification by pulling together a special issue on coastal management. The work features 42 authors representing government and non-governmental organizations across 9 US states.

Connections:

The on-going pandemic has made it difficult for folks to bump into each other, but Dave Fluharty, who is arguably the best at tracking SMEA alumni and sending out good news, has one connection to offer:

“In early December I attended a meeting of non-governmental organizations involved in the relicensing of the Skagit River hydroelectric project operated by Seattle City Light (SCL).  This project supplies a bit less than 30% of the electricity for the Seattle area and is quite controversial.

The meeting was held in the remote mountain town of Newhalem.  I represented North Cascades Conservation Council.  When I arrived after the 3-hour drive from Seattle, I was pleasantly surprised to be met at the door by alums Alison Studley ’99, Executive Director, and Erik Young ’13, Board Member, of the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group.  The meeting was convened by Chris Townsend, who to took SMEA courses toward his Master’s degree in the Evans School.  Unfortunately, Will Stelle (took SMEA courses while earning his LLM at the UW School of Law) representing the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission could not attend.  This meeting discussed studies being done by SCL, Tribes and Government Agencies.  SMEA alumni, James Pacheco ’13, Washington Department of Ecology, and Steve Copps ’12, National Marine Fisheries Service, are agency representatives whose work we were discussing.  Last but not least Betsy Daniels ’98 principal of the Triangle Associates, leads the facilitation for the whole relicensing process – a major and challenging negotiation.”