The Washington Coast Resilience Action Demonstration Project (RAD) was a two-year (2019-2021) partnership between the Washington State Department of Ecology and Washington Sea Grant that provided multi-organizational hazards assistance to communities on the Pacific Coast of Washington and laid the groundwork for future coastal resilience efforts. Bobbak Talebi ’15, Tressa Arbow ’19, and Henry Bell ’20 from the Washington State Department of Ecology, and Jackson Blalock with Washington Sea Grant spearheaded the development of this joint project. 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs alumna Jean Flemma ’93 recently co-authored an op-ed piece for the Seattle Times last week examining the effectiveness of a US ban on Russian seafood. As one of the most frequently globally traded food commodities, seafood is difficult to trace, and a ban on the sale of Russian seafood may prove ineffective.  Read the full piece here: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/russian-seafood-ban-is-meaningless-without-real-traceability/ 

Thesis work on marine conservation tourism and public engagement programs with the Giant Pacific Octopus has evolved into an accepted article for the journal Regional Studies in Marine Science. SMEA alum Manjari Misra ’20 and her advisor Professor Marc Miller developed the draft following the completion of Misra’s thesis work. Misra reports, “this paper was regarding the marine conservation tourism programs at the Seattle Aquarium. 

SMEA alumna Abigail Keller ’21 recently published her thesis work in the journal of Ecological Applications. Her work as a SMEA student focused on utilizing eDNA data to detect the presence of the invasive European green crab in Puget Sound waters. Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team was integral in providing comparative data from trapping efforts, and Keller’s faculty advisor SMEA Professor Ryan Kelly is listed as a co-author on the piece. 

SMEA alumna Megan McKeown ’20 shared her experience and a behind-the-scenes look at the legislative process for the Knauss Fellow Blog hosted by the NOAA Sea Grant website. McKeown has been serving as a marine policy fellow in DC working for the House Science Committee.
While studying at SMEA, McKeown authored the thesis “Carbon Trading & Environmental Equity: Evidence from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (2000 – 2019)”. 

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.