How did you decide to become a professor?
In High School one of my civic affairs teachers talked about a particular natural resource management controversy that intrigued me. She let me borrow her Master’s thesis on the topic. I realized then that I wanted to do research to understand how to improve natural resource management. That led to the design of my idiosyncratic undergraduate curriculum that sought exposure to natural and policy sciences to explore how the two could mutually inform each other. 

How did you decide to become a professor?
In my case, it wasn’t a very direct path, and I wasn’t quite sure where I would end up. But being a professor brings together a lot of things that I enjoy; it’s a nice balance of research, teaching, writing, and so on. It can be collaborative or solitary, and can take you all over the world. 

Assistant Professor Ryan Kelly’s latest article, “Will More Better, Cheaper, and Faster Monitoring Improve Environmental Management?” has been published in Environmental Law Review, the law journal from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, OR (Volume 44, Number 4, 2014. pp. 1111-1147.)
In this article, Dr. Kelly addresses how the use of new technologies for genetic analysis allow for more powerful and more cost-effective environmental data collection, and the impacts that data will have on management decisions and practices. 

What led you to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
As an undergrad, I majored in ocean sciences and double minored in marine biology and natural resource management. Through my studies and subsequent time out of school, I began to realize how important it is that we effectively manage human activities surrounding marine affairs issues in an effort to ensure that the environment and ocean resources are conserved. 

SMEA Affiliate Associate Professor and Climate Impacts Group Director Amy K. Snover has recently been named a White House Champion of Change! This program recognizes Americans who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities. Snover is recognized for her efforts to improve climate education in schools and communities throughout America. Please read more on the College of the Environment’s news release about this great honor for Dr. 

Terrie Klinger, Director of SMEA, received the 2014 Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Award, which recognizes her efforts as a leader in the field of marine science. Read the College of the Environment’s press release about this award and honors bestowed on other members of the College here. 

What led you to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
In order to influence policy, I realized that I needed to become an expert in a specific sphere of the environment. I’ve long wanted to live near the ocean, so marine affairs sounded like the dream.
Why did you choose UW’s SMEA for graduate school?
In a word, Seattle. Besides the locale, I knew I could pursue policy investigations on cutting-edge renewable energy projects thanks to UW’s standing as a world-class environmental research center and SMEA’s human dimensions focus. 

Associate Professor David Fluharty is the co-author of a new paper in PLoS One, entitled “Integration at the Round Table: Marine Spatial Planning in Multi-Stakeholder Settings.” 

SMEA Professor Patrick Christie is the co-author of a book chapter in a new, exciting book titled, “Governance of Marine Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation: Interaction and Coevolution,” edited by Serge Garcia, Jake Rice, and Anthony Charles and published by Wiley.
Christe and co-authors L.M. Campbell and Nigel Armada contributed a chapter titled, “Stewardship in tropical small-scale fisheries: Community and national perspectives.” SMEA Assoc. 

Congratulations to SMEA student Brit Sojka on her recently published chapter in the Arctic Yearbook 2014 (pp. 342 – 354). Sojka is also an Arctic Research Fellow and Canandian Studies FLAS Fellow at the UW. Her chapter,  “The New Insecurities of Canadian Integrated Ocean Management”, is an “attempt to identify and address some of the emerging insecurities and tensions that exist between current federal resource management policies and their ultimate impact on both the people and environment of the Canadian Arctic.” Congratulations, Brit!