
SMEA May Faculty Meeting
The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs will hold its next faculty meeting on Thursday, May 1, at 12:00 pm. Please see below for location details:
MAR Room 268 or via Zoom
A copy of the meeting agenda,05.01.25 Faculty Meeting Agenda final, is provided. Please contact Hailie Borges (hrb25@uw.edu) with any questions or for more information.

The Husky 100: Elyse Kelsey
The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students who are making the most of their time at the UW. SMEA second-year Elyse Kelsey has been selected as one of the 100! Congratulations Elyse!
Elyse Kelsey
Sammamish, WA
Master of Marine Affairs; Graduate Certificate in Climate Change and Health
I am passionate about working with communities to protect public health by enhancing their resilience to natural hazards and climate change.
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Dive into Action: Get Involved in Marine and Environmental Affairs
On behalf of UW’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA), you’re invited to join us for a special online event on May 8th from 2-3pm PST, Dive into Action: Get Involved in Marine and Environmental Affairs.
Our esteemed panelists are long-time volunteers in marine and environmental affairs whose experiences and insights are sure to inspire you to dive into action.
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Q&A with Dr. Ryan Kelly
How would you describe yourself as an undergraduate student?
Curious about many things, but not particularly interested in getting to the root of any one subject.
When and how did you discover your passion/interest in marine and environmental affairs?
I think of marine and environmental affairs as a panoply of subjects that happen to overlap in the ocean — e.g., environmental law, marine biology, economics, policy.

Q&A with Elyse Kelsey
Finalist for the 2025 Husky 100
Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I decided to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs to bridge the gap between communities and scientists through environmental education, communication, and citizen science programs. This interest in working directly with communities has evolved during my time in graduate school to a passion for community-engaged research in environmental and public health issues.

SMEA April Faculty Meeting
The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs will hold its next faculty meeting on Thursday, April 3, at 12:00 pm. Please see below for location details:
OCN Room 203 or via Zoom
A copy of the meeting agenda,04.03.25 Faculty Meeting Agenda final, is provided. Please contact Hailie Borges (hrb25@uw.edu) with any questions or for more information.

Winter 2025 Capstone Presentation
We are proud of the success of our first capstone presentation of the year: “The Public Perception of Aquaculture in Oregon.” Congratulations to Kyla Bivens, Delaney Cyphers, and Kenza Oaulim!
Read moreQ&A with Kyla Bivens
How did you first hear about SMEA? What were your impressions of the program?
In the spring of 2016, nearly nine years ago, I first discovered the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA). At the time, I had been accepted into the University of Washington as an undergraduate and was exploring various academic options to determine which program piqued my interest most.
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SMEA March Faculty Meeting
The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs will hold its next faculty meeting on Thursday, March 6, at 12:00 pm. Please see below for location details:
OCN Room 203 or via Zoom
A copy of the meeting agenda, 03.06.25 Faculty Meeting Agenda, is provided. Please contact Hailie Borges (hrb25@uw.edu) with any questions or for more information.

Postmaterialism and Environmental Protection Revisited: Domestic Plastic Bag Regulations, 1992–2019
Dr. Nives Dolsak’s latest paper entitled “Postmaterialism and Environmental Protection Revisited: Domestic Plastic Bag Regulations, 1992–2019”, just got published online in Global Environmental Politics!
Abstract:
The postmaterialism hypothesis suggests that wealthy countries are likely to be early adopters of pollution control regulations. Yet, Global South countries have taken the lead in regulating plastic bags. To explain this puzzle, Dolsak and co-authors examine the influence of plastic waste imports on the onset of domestic plastic bag regulations.