On June 28, 2023, Dean Tolstoy and Director Dolšak hosted Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard and SMEA alumna (MMA ’00). For reference, Admiral Fagan is the 27th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), overseeing operations of more than 50,000 members and a fleet of 259 cutters, 200 aircraft, and 1,600 boats. Admiral Fagan was in Seattle to preside over the change of command ceremony for Healy, an active icebreaker homeported in Seattle. 

This issue of the Alumni Focus shines on Jenny Waddell, the Research Coordinator for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS). Jenny’s career is representative of the many SMEA graduates who have been selected for the prestigious Knauss Fellowship (a national award administered locally by Washington Sea Grant – and the application process just opened).
Jenny graduated from SMEA in 2001 with a thesis on sustainable tourism development for Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. 

In 1972, the Board of Regents of the University of Washington authorized the formation of the Institute for Marine Studies. In the last 50 years SMEA has graduated nearly 800 alumni who are putting their skills to work around the world — a formidable force for improving human and environmental well-being. Here we report on a representative few alumni to inspire current students and to link alumni to friends. 

SMEA faculty continue to contribute to the scholarship of marine and environmental affairs. In 2022, we published two books and over 30 articles in prestigious environmental, marine, and interdisciplinary journals. Many of these were co-authored with our students and our postdoctoral scholars. Below is a collection of these works. Faculty names are in bold; names of students and postdoctoral scholars trained by our faculty are underlined. 

Dear SMEA friends!
It is the season when we review what we have accomplished, thank those who helped us, and plan for the next year. Year 2022 has been very productive with 33 students graduating and a wonderful cohort of 35 first-year students joining us. Upon their arrival, the first-year students were offered an exciting set of applied team projects (capstones) that we developed with our partners, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association, Seattle Public Utilities, Washington Maritime Blue, and University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station. 

In Washington state, thousands of barrier culverts block salmon from accessing critical upstream habitat, violating tribal treaty rights and hindering efforts to rebuild populations of this iconic species. These barrier culverts are owned by a large number of entities including federal agencies, the state, counties, cities, and private landowners.
Each of these entities is independently ramping up efforts to correct barrier culverts and, in the next decade, billions of dollars will be devoted to fish passage restoration projects in the state. 

Dear Friends,
We have started the 2021/22 academic year strong, back on campus, and in-person. Our first-year cohort is larger and more diverse than before. We are offering exciting new courses and capstone projects. SMEA students, faculty, and postdoctoral researchers started many new research projects. Our graduates continue to have major impact in marine and environmental affairs. I hope this newsletter will provide you with a glimpse of our work as we start this academic year. 

If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift for an inquisitive kid in your life, you might consider a copy of the recently published  “The Rockfish Kids Book”, a beautifully illustrated book designed to connect children of all ages in the Puget Sound with an important marine species. The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs has had a long history in helping to shape the scientific knowledge about rockfish, and has produced many alumni who have been critical to their recovery in the Puget Sound. 

Every year, the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) awards financial support to students with varying interests and research focuses. These awards are made possible by our generous donors, which include alumni, faculty, staff, industry and community members. Many of these funds are established in memory of beloved members of the SMEA community. Awardees are identified by SMEA leadership and faculty based on fund availability, student focus, and financial need. 

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.