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. 

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. 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs alumna Nicole Kanayurak ’16 was among the Fulbright Scholars Program alumni to lend her voice and experience to the 75th anniversary celebration of the illustrious program.
According to the release from the Fulbright Program, “Nicole is an Inupiaq from Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States, who works at the municipal level to prioritize indigenous and traditional practices and community involvement in wildlife management. 

Jennifer Waddell, a 2001 graduate of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, currently serves as a Research Coordinator for NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. 
As part of her work, she and other scientists along the US west coast, noted that hypoxic conditions began earlier than ever in the approximately two decades that this data was measured.
Jenny graduated from SMEA and served as a Knauss Fellow with NOAA. 

SMEA alumna Adi Hanein ’14 was recognized recently as NOAA’s Team Member of the Month. While studying at SMEA, Adi completed research compiled in her thesis “Incorporating social spatial data in sustainable management: Mapping tourism-recreational activities of locals and tourists in Hood Canal, Washington using ArcGIS”. In an announcement and congratulatory message from Benjamin Friedman, Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, Adi’s work was praised for her outstanding contributions, it reads:
Adi Hanein is a Communications Specialist for OAR’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle, Washington. 

Five UW graduates were selected for the 2021–2022 Washington Sea Grant Hershman Fellowship, including SMEA graduates Katie Byrnes, Natalie Lowell, Corinne Noufi, and Katie Shelledy. This fellowship places highly motivated, qualified individuals with marine and coastal host offices throughout Washington, providing fellows with a unique perspective on building marine policy and allowing them to share their academic expertise with the host offices. 

Congratulations to SMEA grad Britta Timpane-Padgham, whose thesis research was published in the journal PLOS One in 2017. Her article is now among the top 10% most-cited papers published in that journal in 2017.
The article is titled  “A systematic review of ecological attributes that confer resilience to climate change in environmental restoration” and can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173812
Congratulations, Britta! 

SMEA Research Assistant Professor Dr. Yoshitaka Ota and Dr. Steven Hare ’88 are among the authors of a new piece published this summer in Nature Sustainability. Their work helps to examine the options tuna-dependent Pacific Island fisheries have in the face of a changing climate. The team of authors of “Pathways to sustaining tuna-dependent Pacific Island economies during climate change”, provide compelling data that a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to slow the loss of tuna biomass in currently, commonly fished areas surrounding the Pacific Islands. 

As the 2021 legislative session in Hawai’i wrapped up last month, the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources is heralding the work as a “banner year for natural and cultural resources protection” according to a recent press release. School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, at the time simply School of Marine Affairs, alumnus David Tarnas ’85 led the work as the Chair for the House Water and Land Committee. 

The 74 finalists selected for the 2022 Knauss Fellowship Program organized by NOAA and Sea Grant, were announced publicly last week, and the list includes School of Marine and Environmental Affairs alumna Alanna Greene ’21.
Finalists will be placed in federal government offices in Washington, DC beginning in February 2022. The full list of finalists and information on the fellowship can be viewed here.