While moving to the United States when the world was at standstill due to the pandemic, my main goal was to get a graduate degree; little did I know that, in a little over a year, I would be working on policies that preserve U.S. coastal ecosystems and economies at a federal agency. But here I am: a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Office for Coastal Management (OCM).
Starting off as a coastal policy analyst at NOAA OCM earlier this year wasn’t a walk in the park. Coming from academia, doing mainly lab and field research, I was totally lost in the policy world. Special thanks to our small and collaborative policy team, who helped me settle in well and has always been there to answer my numerous questions.
In my role, I support our office’s four programs: National Coastal Zone Management Program, National Estuarine Research Reserves, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program and Digital Coast Partnership. I am also actively involved in congressional outreach efforts and rapid response to information requests from Capitol Hill, other NOAA offices, other federal agencies and the general public. I also serve as the liaison for our Gulf Coast and the Southeast and Caribbean regions.
Fellowship includes variety of tasks
My favorite thing about my role is the unpredictability of tasks; while some days could be as simple as responding to general questions about our office, the next day could require analyzing a storm event, its impact on people and tools we could build to help our partners. Every day seems so different, and that makes me look forward to each day, knowing I could be doing something new – thereby acquiring new skills and knowledge.
So far, I have honed several skills and acquired new knowledge, including bill and policy analysis, congressional engagement strategies, the federal budgeting process, office communication and professional networking.
Fellowship offers many opportunities, resources
The highlight of my fellowship year is the access to a myriad of professional development opportunities and resources. Being at NOAA gives me access to tons of workshops, training, webinars and other resources. Also, I have leveraged the discretionary fund from the National Sea Grant College Program for work trips, trainings and a conference, among other things.
My fellowship year has also taught me the importance of flexibility and adaptability in a changing world. A major lesson I have learned at NOAA is one’s ability to fit into so many roles with an open mind and willingness to learn.
In a world where people are either on one side of the divide of core science or policy, my Knauss fellowship journey has placed me at the interface of both, thereby making me a well-rounded professional. Going forward, I would love to continue working in the interface of science and policy; this way, I am not only part of the science but also actively involved in how the science serves the people, which to me is the actual essence of science.