When the UW launched Husky Giving Day, a 24-hour period for Huskies everywhere to reconnect with the institution, SMEA agreed to participate primarily as a chance to touch base with recent alumni. With support from the College of the Environment’s Advancement team, SMEA Director Nives Dolšak penned an email to almost 600 recent MMA alumni.
The outreach featured an invitation to participate in Husky Giving Day, and an opportunity to reconnect with SMEA by offering to mentor or meet with prospective and current students, work with faculty as a guest presenter, offer presentations, or join in on SMEA-hosted events. 

Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, we congratulated our 2021 SMEA graduates. As summer arrives to Pacific Northwest with some record-breaking temperatures, SMEA is busy with projects. Rising second-year students and faculty have turned to their research. Some faculty are planning their studies in California and Alaska, others in Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Europe, and Bangladesh. And, many are staying in the Pacific Northwest, studying our natural resources, ecosystems, and communities. 

Though the 2020-2021 academic year was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEA students were undeterred. This academic year, 26 students will have received their Master’s of Marine Affairs. The Class of 2021 was in a unique position to have experienced a portion of their graduate studies in-person, while turning to virtual learning in the Spring 2020 quarter.
Despite the distance imposed on SMEA students, this cohort was able to make significant contributions and maintain the academic rigor expected for the degree, all while getting creative in forging social connections. 

Despite the COVID-19 disruption, 10 SMEA students took part in presenting their Capstone Project to the broader SMEA community and their clients via Zoom in mid-March, while 14 students delivered Thesis Presentations in early May or early June. Students were able to share their findings and learning with family, alumni, faculty, staff, and fellow students, gather feedback from those listening in, and had the opportunity to incorporate these takeaways in their final edition. 

Dr. P. Joshua Griffin joined SMEA as an Assistant Professor last fall, and also holds a position in the American Indian Studies department. Dr. Griffin, or Griff as he’s known around campus, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Religious Studies from Dartmouth College. He then went onto earn a Master’s of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, and followed that with a Master’s in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Washington. 

Dear Friends of SMEA,
Greetings. I trust all of you are in good health. As we begin the new academic year in a few days, I want to reflect on our accomplishments and vision for the future. The COVID outbreak and the pandemic of violence against Black people have raised important issues for our communities and have deeply influenced our teaching, research, and service. 

Securing equitable access to healthy environment, open space, and sustainably harvested natural resources, ensuring all voices are heard, and protecting the natural environment for future generations are among the core values that inform and motivate SMEA research, teaching, and outreach. SMEA faculty, staff, and students have all been interrogating ways in which the School might become more effective agents of change to answer the calls for social justice. 

Career News:
Danielle (Rioux) Blacklock ’09 was selected as the next director of NOAA Fisheries’
Office of Aquaculture. Danielle began her new post in mid-March, continuing her decade-long service to NOAA. Most recently, she was the Senior Policy Advisor for Aquaculture at NOAAA Fisheries. Danielle was kind enough to serve as one of the inaugural speakers for the SMEA Speakers Series, and offered a talk “Untapped Potential: Marine Aquaculture in the United States”.