The North Pacific Marine Resources Endowed Fellowship has been a cornerstone for supporting student-led research and training related to North Pacific fisheries and marine resource management.

If you had to choose the biggest buzzword for people working in coastal management and climate-related fields over the past ten years, it might very well be ‘resilience.’ In recent years, the Biden-Harris administration has invested more than $50 billion in climate resilience—and nearly half is explicitly targeted toward coastal ecosystems and infrastructure. But what do we really mean when we talk about coastal and climate resilience? And what does it look like to work in this field?

Several SMEA graduates go on to complete year-long fellowships through programs like Washington Sea Grant and NOAA. Below, a few alumni share their fellowship experiences and how SMEA prepared them for these roles.

What is this column?  We are experimenting with ways to engage with our alumni and to inspire current students with their accomplishments. This section is a random walk through what we’ve recently observed about or heard from alumni.  Please keep Graduate Program Advisor, Tiffany Comtois-Dion up to date with your accomplishments and changes in location or employment. (tlcdion@uw.edu) 

About Featured Alumni: Each issue we feature an Alum to show in depth how SMEA has been part of their career trajectory in order to celebrate their accomplishments and to inform and inspire current students and our alumni about their education. In this issue, we feature an alumna whose career so far has been with the US Coast Guard (USCG).  SMEA has benefitted enormously from the mid-career officers and officers mustering out of the USCG.  Amanda Fisher SMEA in mid-career and graduated in 2010.  She is now retiring after 21 years of service and is contemplating how to share her expertise with SMEA and launch the next stage of her career.

By Taylor Hughes, Class of 2025
A few days in the Pacific Northwest is enough to see that salmon and orcas are the region’s lifeblood. These species elicit deep emotional responses that tie people to this place and make marine resource management a dinner-table topic. Historically, seaweed has not topped the list of priorities for marine conservation, despite playing a significant ecological role in supporting economically and culturally important species. 

By Ben Johns
On behalf of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA), thank you for your part in making SMEA’s graduate degree program truly special. We are grateful for the many contributions of alumni and supporters to such an incredible legacy. 
Today, we humbly ask you to make a gift in support of SMEA students. Gifts of any amount make a difference in the lives of students and their bright futures.  

By Dave Fluharty
Brian Offord (1983)
By Brian Offord
I worked for the office of the Governor in the States of Hawaii and Washington, and US Territories, Northern Mariana Islands, as manager of coastal zone and marine programs in the Pacific Region, and major riverine and estuarine stems the Columbia River and Puget Sound. It has been and remains a very gratifying experience that has given me opportunities for broad involvement in a variety of disciplines. 

By Vlad Kaczynski
Editor’s Note: Professor Vlad Kaczynski is an Emeritus faculty member at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. In 1976 he joined SMEA (then the Institute for Marine Studies) as a Senior Fulbright Scholar coming to the University of Washington from Poland. He earned degrees from the Merchant Marine Academy, Gdynia, and later to Higher School of Economics in Sopot and finally to University of Gdansk where he obtained his PhD degree in Marine Economics. 

Strategic Planning
By Dave Fluharty
It has been more than 10 years since SMEA developed a Strategic Plan. Many changes have occurred since the last effort and SMEA is facing many challenges. Therefore, SMEA Director Nives Dolšak led faculty and staff into a planning process during Autumn 2023 and Winter 2024 with facilitation by consultants Brian Murphy and Maddie Immel from BERK Consulting, Inc., Seattle.